Monroe County Administrator Christine Hurley joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the county.
As we look back at 2024, there have been some major accomplishments.
Hurley said, “I put together an end of year statement for all the staff and the public and when we go through the accomplishments, it’s almost jaw dropping what the commission and staff have achieved. It certainly was during a tumultuous time where other things were going on that were not quite as celebratory, but they still persevered. It’s amazing what got done.”
The accomplishments include the new Emergency Operations Center as well as road elevation and drainage projects.
Hurley said, “Watching the public, the neighborhoods, the citizens come forward constantly over the past four or five years, upset with their situation of flooding was a real challenge and the staff and commission would tell them, we’re working on it, we’re working on it, and it gets old. It gets old when you’re driving through water, but now, given the great technical expertise of our staff, huge amounts of federal and state money have been leveraged through grant programs to really make those projects a reality. It’s inspiring, it’s amazing and I can’t wait for those neighborhoods to be finished so people can get back to normal in their real lives.”
The Twin Lakes project was another big one.
Hurley said, “Oh my gosh, for sure, and $23 million. I mean, think about that order of magnitude, which leads us to, I think, the real challenge facing the Keys. Now that the staff has been so successful, getting these grants for not only Twin Lakes, but Sand subdivision, Stillwright Point, Conch Key, I mean, these neighborhoods are scattered throughout the Keys, and unfortunately, unless we have a miraculous stop of sea level rise, it’s going to be one of the most challenging things to accomplish in the future, just like sewers were. Remember decades ago, we had to sewer the whole Keys, and now we’re facing a lot of challenges relative to these neighborhoods and flooding.”
The ROGO and BPAS situation was another major discussion in 2024.
Hurley said, “We’re still submerged in it, actually, they did make their recommendation on December 19, and now we start the process of working with state legislators to see if the state is willing to move forward with the board’s recommendation. Next Tuesday is the local delegation meeting where our legislative affairs director will go in front of Rep Mooney and Senator Rodriguez, and make a formal request. We have also sent our formal requests directly to them, and then we wait for session to see what happens and whether or not any additional units are going to be distributed. The thing our board also did, that’s very important, is gave us direction to take what we do have and spread it out longer, in case we are not successful in obtaining more units. So that’s something planning is going to be working on in 2025 and it’s up in the air right now. We hope for the best, and we’re going to see what happens.”
It’s also hopeful that the legislative session will provide funds for the Stewardship Act. The county also will look at how to spend the $35 million surplus Tourist Development Council funding.
Hurley said, “Our board also at the end of 2024 adopted a program, basically outline for spending that $35 million and we’ve already got the first project in line to go on the agenda in January, to award 10 million of that to the Key West Housing Authority. They’re creating around 54 units down there, and we’re going to have 20 of those reserved for tourism based employees. So again, rapidly working on that project, just so we can prove to the public and the tourism industry we’re serious about this. Commissioner Cates, this has been a big initiative of his, and he really, really is focused on providing these opportunities for folks so we can try to keep our workforce intact.”
The mooring field initiative is also moving forward, as well as the first artificial reef in the Florida Keys.
Hurley said, “If I could have included pictures in the summary of the accomplishments, the reef, literally, within a day or two that we created, it’s not completely finished yet, Hanna Koch is the director of that program, but she sent pictures of fish already circling around the reef. It’s an exciting time to watch something like that happen and it’s innovative. It’s so, so innovative. So we’re appreciative of her contributions to the county staff, and she’s got a lot more to do, plenty of money there to use and try to create something really special for our visitors and our residents.”
The Veterans Assistance Programs in the county has secured more than $12.6 million in monetary awards for the organization.
Hurley said, “It’s been impressive to watch her (Cathy Crane, director of Veterans Affairs) improve our services in this regard, not only leveraging or helping those veterans leverage the funds they deserve for the impacts that serving has had on their lives, but just the way she’s brought awareness to the veterans, their needs, and really improved the county’s contribution to making sure they are taken care of. I’m very excited, and I don’t want to steal her thunder, but the Warrior Ride is going to occur next Friday, and it’s going to be a really, really important time for people to show their support. So she’ll be marketing that this next week through different venues on the radio, and just really proud of what she has brought to the table for that department.”