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.
How is the project with the new City Hall coming along?
Bartus said, “We got a grant for $2.2 million to storm harden the existing facility, flood proof it, and then add a new addition onto that. We got the 90% construction drawings in yesterday, and it looks really good. We’re getting down to the brass tax, to everything we’re going to need to put in. So the contractors, who will bid on this will have every bit of information they’re going to need. That is everything, the mechanical stuff, the engineering stuff, the bathrooms, the toilets, the fixtures, where everything is going to go, plumbing, all the good stuff, electrical, and just these final comments from our commission, we’re getting them to weigh in on everything, and then we should be able to be putting this out to bid in August.”
What’s the 10% that remains?
Bartus said, “It’s basically mostly feedback from department heads and our mostly our commission, and the quicker we can get that to them, and they incorporate their comments, and the 100% rise, and those will be the ones that will go out to bid. We’re going to probably put out an RFP or an invitation to bid on the project and put it all out there so people will be able to get a chance to see the drawings, and it’ll be able to give us a very exact informed bid. We’re going to be broadcasting this on a platform that we use called Demand Star, and we’re able to reach out and a whole bunch of different contractors and builders through this. Hopefully it’s not going to take another six months. Let’s go through the bid process, get a contractor on board that’s going to handle this, and we’ll get going.”
With the state budget signed, were there any surprises for Key Colony Beach?
Bartus said, “We’re feeling pretty good. I mean, we’re looking at the Stewardship Act funding that came through with the full $20 million this year. We’re just trying to figure out how to best go about getting our funding for that, for each individual entity in the Keys. There’s going to be other stuff we’re going to be applying for, like Resilient Florida, some grants to do some planning, and also some grants to actually achieve some projects. That’s the good news for municipalities like ours in the state of Florida and the Stewardship Acts. I definitely want to thank our State Representative Jim Mooney and our State Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez, for everything that they’ve done to help make sure that stays in the budget. Governor signed it. We’re very happy that that survived this round of vetoes.”
There is a vacant seat on the Key Colony Beach City Commission.
Bartus said applications “are out there. You can check through our city clerk at Key Colony Beach City Hall and you can maybe check the website as well. The call is out and if you are a Key Colony Beach resident, registered voter in Key Colony, that’s your primary residence, we’d be interested in hearing from you if you are interested in serving. There’ll be a special call meeting on the 23rd to consider the replacement. The City Commission will fill that vacancy.”
July 4 was a good time in Key Colony Beach.
Bartus said, “It’s a nice combination of locals and visitors, residents from both cities, residents from the unincorporated areas around as well. The city of Marathon puts on a great event. I’ve been part of that since before we ever incorporated. I still think that Marathon has the best small town fireworks display in the United States. They go all out. It’s an amazing show. I’m glad to be part of it, doing the voiceover work for the soundtracks of the concert, the sky concert, as we call it, and it’s just an amazing day, and it’s probably my single longest day of the year. I get out there fairly early in the morning, and have a nice crew that works with me. We set up a PA system. We host music all afternoon, and then we make sure everything’s running for the soundtrack for the fireworks display that night.”
What about the city’s budget?
Bartus said, “Our first budget workshop is tomorrow morning, 9:30 at a Marble Hall. If you’re interested, please come on out and make your feeling known on this. It’s going to be an interesting budget cycle. I mean, the cost of doing business for cities, just like the cost of doing business in the private sector has not gotten cheaper, and I know we’ve got a great commission that is working very hard to make sure that all of the tax dollars are spent responsibly, because we know where they come from. They come from the people, and that needs to be looked at and treated with the utmost respect. Definitely nobody wants to overspend anything. I know our commission is working very hard on looking at this and trying to at least to keep the keep the taxes as low as possible.”