Monroe County Commissioner Holly Merrill Raschein joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the county.
Traffic has cleared up with the aqueduct repairs.
Raschein said, “It was just right outside my house, right in the thick of it, and a huge shout out to the sheriff and working closely with DOT and the aqueduct. It’s a project that it’s critical. It’s got to be done. It’s going to obviously, considering the area, it’s a difficult area and they’re undergrounding it right now near Snake Creek, so that’s a pretty important component. They’re going to be working 24/7, 5 days a week, not on holidays and things like that. I think once people get used to it. The initial startups can be kind of difficult, but again, we’re resilient, and we’ll persevere.”
With Florida Keys Day next week in Tallahassee, what are some of the issues that could be discussed?
Raschein said, “It’s a busy week next week. There’s a pretty interesting dynamic right now that’s bigger even than us, and that’s between the governor and the legislature. So you’re kind of seeing a little pushback. Governor DeSantis has really enjoyed his executive powers and his relationship with the legislature, and just kind of having his laundry list of things he wanted to get done. But we’ve seen a little shift there, so that’s going to be something that we’re going to want to pay attention to, hopefully that won’t bring any kind of sort of deadlock to the process. But with regard to the Keys, we’ve got a couple big bills out there that deal with several issues are contained within one piece. Obviously, insurance reform is going to be big. We’re talking about making some tweaks for habitat and their model of business. Then I think the most important thing is the stewardship funding, which I’m always grateful for you mentioning and keeping that at the forefront, but is the ROGO issue. So you’ve got two pieces of legislation that are similar in some facets, but very different when it comes down to evacuation times and the numbers. I think we’re going to see some back and forth. We’re going to have all the stakeholders, whether it’s the city of Marathon, Islamorada, obviously, the county is a huge player in this, the city of Key West has kind of got their stuff worked out. But I think what it’s going to come down to is sitting down and saying, what can you live with? What we want to try to keep from happening is deadlock, right? Just nothing, but that at the end of the day is also an option. We’re still owed 220. The 220 units, Keys wide, it does not adjust the evacuation hours. Is that a path? We just sort of focus on that and then come back and do the big bill. Hats off to our team and my fellow Commissioners and the community for the hard work that we went through all last summer and all fall, sticking to our plan, sticking to that timeline. So I’m really, really proud about that, but I think there’s lots of moving parts, and I don’t see those parts coming together right now, but session is 60 days, and it started on Tuesday, so the clock is ticking. You’re going to see for forces folks that don’t really want any more growth. You’re going to see folks that are really, really focused on workforce housing. That’s something that’s a huge priority of our commission. Then you’re going to see the developer side that have these clients that have property rights, and we’re concerned as a community. We’re we don’t want to be bankrupted by taking cases. We also want to protect our environment and make sure that we have workers to make our community run smoothly. So it’s complicated, it’s political, it’s personal, and it’s important, and we’re going to rely on the Department of Commerce, I have a feeling. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of new faces up there. I mention that all the time that may not quite grasp what we have to wrestle with constantly as a community. I just hope questions are answered. I hope that there are some really thoughtful and convicted discussions. I think you’re going to see that. I know the county is going to be involved, the city of Marathon, the environmental community. So more to come on that.”
Our state representative and senator seem to have two different thoughts on the ROGO issue.
Raschein said, “Representative. Mooney to sort of just mention him real quick. He’s a little old school. Maybe he wants to see things, the temperature turned down in the Keys. I think at least my angle from choosing to go with the larger number and the additional hours was when you’re negotiating, you always want to have as many options available. Are we going to need 26 hours? Are we going to need 3,500 units? I don’t know. I don’t believe so, but at least we have that option in case something happens, and with our community, our growth being regulated by state, it’s cumbersome, it’s complicated. You can’t just buy a lot build a home. It’s different. We want to make sure we get it right. We also reserve the right to come back and tweak things. If we don’t get the big dog done this year, I know that will be disappointing, but I do feel we have options. The legislature is a very individualized community body and I think you’re going to see a lot of give and take and a lot of tugging and pulling and it might be a little uncomfortable. Our delegation is so wonderful. They’re so cordial. They get stuff done, they bring the bacon home, and at the end of the day, I don’t want there to be this ongoing rift. Senator Rodriguez still has many years on her clock in the Senate, as Representative Mooney has got another term after this. So there’s other things that are going to come up, and we want to make sure that they’re protected and that we have a very, very open dialog.”
There’s also a third bill talking about just evacuation times.
Raschein said, “I saw that one pop out. I was like, alright, alrighty. So this is how it’s going to be. Again, it’s a legislative process there. There are going to be these last minute efforts to get certain things done. The clock was ticking. I think the deadline was last Friday right before session. Typically that happens. I have to reiterate that we’re a special place. We deserve this attention and I’m thankful to the state for recognizing that and designating us as an area of critical state concern. I know it’s been a pain for some, but I think it’s been such a protective measure that has kept us unique and why people want to move here and why people want to visit here well.”
What about the potential of eliminating property taxes?
Raschein said, “Given our high property value, we’re able to do a lot of things that other rural counties aren’t able to do. So that is a little scary. Do you make up the money somewhere else? Do you just lose that? That could be a huge, huge shift. But there are a couple other things going on in the capital. To kick off the week, I’m going to be up there for Emergency Management Day. So the Florida Division of Emergency Management is hosting industry stakeholders, so I’m excited to go up there for that. Then this past summer/fall, Speaker Paul Renner, on his way out of office, reappointed me to the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. So it’s going to be Arts Week, very important in the Keys. We’ve got so many wonderful artists and arts organizations and theaters and dancers and musicians. So I’m super excited to go up there. There’s millions and millions of dollars and tens of millions of dollars in requests for arts organizations, whether it’s brick and mortar or programming. So that’s kind of my favorite personal space to work in. Then, of course, it’s Florida Keys Day, so I’m super excited. I know there’s a bunch of folks coming up and I think you’re going to see a lot of talk around this ROGO issue, and there’s going to be lots of meetings with staff and with our legislators. I have a feeling that this is going to be kind of the umbrella issue that will drive our advocacy.”