Monroe County Commissioner Craig Cates joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM yesterday morning to talk about what’s been going on in the county.
Wednesday was a town hall meeting to discuss the mooring field in Boca Chica.
Cates said, “It was a very good meeting. I think it went very well. It’s got the support of the vast majority out there, obviously with the turnout that we had there. I want to thank Captain Dave Dipre for being there to address the law enforcement and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Our marine resource administrator Brittany Burtner put on a great presentation, and it went really well. Some of the concerns were addressed. At the end of the day, I believe everybody that walked away from there was supportive, except maybe one and I think his concerns will be addressed as we move forward. It’s going to clean up that whole area. There’s no control over there. There’s no designated anchorages in the state of Florida. Then the legislature passed the bill that there are designated anchorages now in Monroe County. We’re the only county that has that. Once the mooring fields are complete, we will be able to enforce the anchorages, we’ll be able to enforce the 90 day rule that you have to move and you have to be on an anchor, you can’t drop an engine block or a 55 gallon drum poured full of concrete, there’s all kinds of things on the bottom these boats are moored to and then they end up sinking. They’re not maintained. You’ll have to be on an anchor and you have to move every 90 days to one of these designated anchorages. So it’s going to be great for the environment, it’s going to be great for the sea beds be able to let them come back where they’ve been damaged from all these debris on the bottom. We’ve got a grant coming for almost $2 million to clean up that whole basin with all the debris that’s on the bottom now once we’ve put the mooring field in. So it’s a long term fix for that area out there which should never get in that condition again. So we’re very excited about it.”
How many mooring balls will be in place?
Cates said, “Boca Chica basin will have 40 mooring balls, and you can’t anchor within 100 feet of the mooring field. If you do anchor in an area where you’re allowed to anchor, you’ll have to move every 90 days, but you’ll have upland facilities and that what we’re moving forward now, the zoning on that parcel of land that the county had purchased. This was for changing the zoning and a public meeting to discuss that, but that it’ll have restrooms there. It’ll have showers, it’ll have parking, it’ll have a dock masters office and security 24 hours a day at this facility. It’s just going to clean up that whole area. The whole idea is it’s a managed mooring field so we’ll be able to make sure that everything is done properly.”
Another special meeting will be held next week in Key Largo to discuss ROGOs and permitting.
Cates said, “The mayor of Monroe County called for this meeting, it’ll be at 10 o’clock in Key Largo, it’ll be on the Monroe County TV channel. Also you can zoom in on it and interact with it if you want to. Also, we’ll have our commission meeting at one o’clock that afternoon after that meeting, that way, we’ll all be there and do both meetings at one time. But that being said, this is for the ROGOs, what the county wants to do in the future. Do we want to ask for all the ROGOs that could be made available, extending the time of the evacuation or not extending the time? We’re going to have two really good presentations there to inform the public about the ROGOs, the impact, the takings cases, how that could impact us. We want the residents to make an informed decision. It’s very important that you get involved, stay informed and involved with your Commissioner so we can make the proper decision for the future of Monroe County.”
The recent fish test and abnormal behavior being exhibited saw Jim Mooney provide $2 million to continue studying this issue and FWC is still continuing researching the issue.
Cates said, “Everybody is definitely concerned about that anytime something affects the fish like this and could potentially lead to other fish. Mainly it’s with the sawfish, which is endangered species and such a beautiful fish. When I was a kid, there were a lot more of them now and we’ve lost quite a few recently with this. It’s great that they’re that Representative Mooney got this money for the FWC to study this. They obviously eliminated a lot of things that aren’t causing it. I think several universities are involved in this study. It’s so important to everyone. This will take time. I’m sure we will find eventually find what causes it. Hopefully, we’ll be able to correct it.”
If you have any information, contact www.myfwc.com/reportfishkill or call 800-636-0511.
There were a number of funding victories in the legislative session this year.
Cates said, “I think our Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez did an amazing job. State Rep. Jim Mooney did a great job. They fought hard. They had to make some tough decisions, prioritize what they pushed the hardest on because they were limited in the funding. So I think they did a great job. All in all, I’m very happy and thankful for the leadership we have up there in Tallahassee.”