John Bartus, city administrator for Key Colony Beach, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the city
Key Colony Beach is always on the watch for storms headed our way, including Tropical Storm Erin.
Bartus said, “We are prepared. We are keeping an eye on this right now. We’re following a lot of the model tracks to make sure that right now it does look like it’s going to turn away, but you never can tell. It’s always a good idea to be prepared. One of the good things about a situation like this is it gives you a chance to go over your individual hurricane preparedness plan, make sure you got your plan ready to go, the stuff that you do if you stay, the stuff you’re going to need if you are told to evacuate, and if you are told to evacuate, please, please leave. It is for the best. When we have a situation where they do call for a mandatory evacuation, there’s going to be no hospitals that will be open. First Responder services will be limited, and it’s not going to be a good place to be if you don’t have to be.”
Police officers will be sharing hot dogs with the public at Key Colony Beach at noon on Friday at Sunset Park.
Bartus said, “The people that will show up there will be able to see the new sunshade sails that we have. It’s really nice, and it will be really fantastic once we have the concerts in the park again, there’ll be a lot more shade going on for people to enjoy the park. We’re just really happy to have that up there too. So yeah, have hot dogs with the police and enjoy some shade.”
The city hall renovation and expansion is continuing.
Bartus said, “We are about ready to get our 100% drawings, which, once those are approved, we’ll be able to put the project out for bid, looking to be able to do that right after Labor Day, to get that project out there, find a contractor who’s going to take us the rest of the way home. So we’re excited about that.”
What about the budget? Will there be any cutbacks?
Bartus said, “I don’t believe so. I mean, we’re looking at, we have some reserves put away, earmarked specifically for that. We’re still working with the DEP. We do have a $2.28 million grant, and we’re going to be using that as we go along to finalize and finish the construction.”
There is a new city commissioner.
Bartus said, “His name is Kirk Diehl. He was appointed at the last commission meeting to fill the term of Joey Raspe, who had resigned, and he will serve until the next election cycle and hopefully will decide to stick around after that, but he’s a good guy, and I’m looking forward to working with him as we develop a new future for the city of Key Colony Beach. He will be at his first in person meeting that’s going to be coming up a week from Thursday, and we also have a special meeting on the 18th, which is Monday, to discuss and go over the final 100% drawings for City Hall.”
What is the timetable for the city budget to be completed?
Bartus said, “We’ve had a couple of budget hearings already. The final formal budget hearings will be in September. We’ve got the number for fire and EMS services from the city of Marathon, which is one of the numbers we’ve been waiting for to plug in, working very good with George Garrett on that one and the city’s fire EMS. Fire chief James Muro is a really good guy. We certainly appreciate him. He’s been very helpful for me over in Key Colony Beach. It’s a great department. We’re looking forward to working with the city of Marathon on a couple of other projects as well.”
It’s important to keep an eye on the weather.
Bartus concluded, “Stay vigilant when it comes to Tropical Storm Erin out there. Keep an eye on it. Things can change, and they can change fast, but they’re predicting this to become a major hurricane. So please keep your eye on the tropics. We’re ramping up into the big part of hurricane season, and best thing to do is be prepared. Make sure you have your personal plans ready to go and put in place.”