Key West Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the city.
The holiday parade over the weekend was magical.
Henriquez said, “That was a huge success, our holiday parade, and I would like to thank all of our volunteers, our city staff, and all who participated, including yourself. So when I say you needed that ice cream afterwards, with all of that talking with 119 placements in that parade, you needed some ice cream after that.”
Michael Stapleford of Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM said, “It was a wonderful event, and I’m honored to be a part of it. The city does such a fantastic job. You would barely know there was anything happening on Duval Street. Shortly thereafter, they’re hard at work cleaning everything up. Of course, police presence is there to make sure everybody is safe and orderly. A wonderful event, once again, from the city of Key West. It was great to see you there right before Santa with our own police chief Sean Brandenberg and others. So it was a great holiday, festive event.”
Say Hello to the Mayor will happen every Monday from 2 to 4 at City Hall.
Henriquez said, “I’m very excited about being able to finally implement this. So please everyone stop by today. It’s from two to four. Stop by. Say hello. Share any questions, concerns or ideas about our community, something that you’d like to see improved, anything that’s on your mind, please come by. But it doesn’t have to always be Monday from two to four. I have the open door policy, because I do start my day at 7am here at City Hall, you can always making an appointment anytime, starting at 7am and if it has to be after work after five, I’m here after hours as well. I will accommodate everyone, but I just wanted to start that conversation and that transparency, and now I was finally been able to start it, and starting today from two to four. So I’m looking forward to meeting each and every one of you.”
Last week the commission voted no to give additional funding for food pantries. What was that about?
Henriquez said, “I’m not the Grinch and it’s not that we were not in supportive of Commissioner Kaufman’s resolution. It’s just we needed more information. You just can’t have a resolution out there that’s open ended. And in that resolution, it was only identifying four entities, and it said also the resolution wanted to take it from our emergency relief fund. So we asked our city manager if he would identify if it’s only those four organizations that need it, maybe there’s others, and how much do they need? Maybe that $40,000 was not enough money, or maybe it should have only been 20,000 where do we get the $40,000 ? Where did that number come from? So I am meeting with the city manager today to see where he’s at as far as identifying the need. Because we are willing, we’re not going to take it from the Emergency Relief Fund. At least I don’t want to. There is a line item that was used that was going to be used for UNESCO, and so that did not pass. So there’s money sitting there that we can use, and it’s $75,000 so is it $20,000 that we need? How much money do we need for each one? Nothing was identified as far as how much goes to whom, and how much they need. So I needed more information. I just can’t say, okay, here’s $40,000 and what are we going to do with it? So I like to be transparent. I like to see who else is in need, if anybody, and if so, how much do they need? Maybe 40,000 isn’t enough. Maybe we need 60. Maybe we need the whole 75,000, so that’s why I voted no, not because I’m against helping anybody in need, because I am always here to help anybody. But I just needed to have a little bit more clarification than what was presented to us. So I am going to be meeting with our city manager this morning to see how far he’s gotten it. Make it a priority to make sure that we have everyone that’s in need. How much do they need? And I’ll call a special meeting just to be able to approve this one item so that they still can get what they need before Christmas or before the holidays.”
What is going on with the Haitian community?
Henriquez said, “There’s been conversation that is starting to be created again in reference to the Haitian community. And I will tell you, we received an email from our HR director, and so human resources, along with the pension administrator, has met with our directors, and there are eight city employees who will be affected by this TPS employment authorization that comes to an end as of right now, the expiration is February 3, 2026. We have not seen any extensions yet. Based on the current timeline, they are anticipating to get another update by January 5. So I’m hoping that they’ll be able to extend it again. But as of right now, we do have eight employees that would be affected by this, but the city does remain committed to supporting these employees in this time of uncertainty, to be able to help them and guide them and answer any questions that they may have. This is at the federal level, with the President of the United States, and unfortunately, there’s nothing that we can do other than just try and help them and support them and find them a path forward.”
How are things progressing with the grand jury report?
Henriquez said, “Here we go again about trying to be transparent with everything that we do here at the city. We are 84%. We went over that in our City Commission meeting, we have 16% still pending. But that is a work in progress, and some things take a little bit longer than we would like to see. But this has been our priority and it is 84%.”
There are a number of meetings coming up this week.
Henriquez said, “Our sustainability Advisory Board meeting starts at 230 today, here in the commission chambers. Tuesday, we have the tree commission meeting starting at five. And just so everyone knows, because I know there was a lot of conversation last month in reference to the removal of two strangler fig trees in the cemetery, and that is going to be requested to be postponed by staff until February 17, 2026, so we’ll see what the will of the board is on that. But I just wanted to highlight that, because there was a lot of conversation last month about that. And then on Wednesday, we have the Bight Board meeting starting at 4pm and there was conversation about that in reference to the lease agreement to negotiate with the sound boat house, and they are requesting to withdraw that one as well. So we’ll see what the will of the board is at 4pm. I just wanted everybody to know that they’re requesting to withdraw that one. And then on Thursday, we’re having our strategic plan workshop update. Finally, we’re excited about that with the City Commission that’s starting at 9am at Beachside on the second floor, and it is open to the public if anybody would like to come and observe. Then on Friday is our Early Bird cleanup this week. It is going to be located at 1105 White Street. So come on out and volunteer and help us pick up trash. And then Saturday, it is the 34th annual Schooner Wharf Bar Key West lighted boat parade starting at 8pm and then the end of Sunday, it would be the city’s annual menorah lighting ceremony at Bayview Park, and that’s going to start at 5pm, so as you can see, we have a lot of stuff going on here at the city. Every day we have something going on. So in between all the holiday parties and everything else, we’re still getting work done.”
The Lower Floridda Keys Hopsital District board held a workshop last week.
Henriquez said it was “to refine the draft for the request for proposal that’s supposed to be expected to be released in January. I just want to let everybody know that the next district board meeting is scheduled for January 6, 2026 at the DoubleTree Grand Key Resort. So I just want everybody to know, mark that on your calendar as well. Get involved, participate in the meetings, so you could see what and hear what’s going on, in reference to the RFP. So I know that’s another topic that everybody’s watching as well.”