County, Village Plead for Money
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Big Yummy Big Foot ‘Tis the season to let out the belts and partake Junior Katie Landry completes a hat trick of Key West’s Third Annual Food and Wine with three big scores against rival Festival, Jan. 26-29. Story, 6B. Westminster soccer team. Story 1B. WWW.KEYSNET.COM SATURDAY,JANUARY 21, 2012 VOLUME 59, NO. 6 ● 25 CENTS SEWER CONSTRUCTION County, village plead for money By RYAN McCARTHY absent significant state and State rewards Marathon “Most notably, they have the permit allocation prema- [email protected] federal assistance. reported to DEO that all con- ture, and county Mayor David The five-member Village with ROGO bonus nections will be completed by Rice again raised concerns Marathon won high marks Council tapped Mayor March of this year,” he said. Wednesday. The county has and 100 bonus building units Michael Reckwerdt and Vice George Neugent also spoke to pliance is the Department of Mayor Pete Worthington said the decision on the per- at the Florida Cabinet meet- Mayor Ken Philipson to go to the Cabinet and said the coun- Economic Opportunity. told Gov. Rick Scott and the mits was made prior to Keys ing held Wednesday in Tallahassee for the annual ty has done what it can paying Also at the Cabinet meet- rest of the Cabinet that the input on a new Department of Tallahassee. briefing before the Cabinet. for wastewater projects in ing, the city of Marathon was reward of hotel permits is an Environmental Protection Officials representing Their colleagues on the unincorporated Monroe. allotted 100 hotel-room per- opportunity to revitalize the hurricane evacuation model. Islamorada and Monroe council instructed them dur- “A $1.3 billion project is mits in recognition of sub- city’s economy by converting “The guiding principles County pleaded for more ing a meeting last Thursday an impossibility with that stantial progress with its cen- old mom-and-pop motels have been to methodically money to complete waste- not to threaten to sue the state burden placed on 73,000 res- tral sewer and stormwater into larger resorts. issue 250 units for growth water projects imposed on over the sewer requirement. idents, Neugent said.” projects. The state decides “This will bring new job per year. Twelve years ago to the Keys as an Area of Several local and county offi- Building centralized sewer how many new-building per- opportunities to the city of maximize the residential por- Critical State Concern. cials consider it an illegal and systems is a part of the Keys’ mits can be issued in Monroe. Marathon. The city hasn’t tion, we imposed a hotel unit Islamorada officials said unfunded mandate that many responsibility since the DEO Director Doug wavered in meeting our obli- moratorium,” Rice said. “We the state’s mandate to con- residents simply can’t afford. islands are designated an Area Darling said Marathon com- gations one bit. Every opportu- understand the rationale struct a central sewer system of Critical State Concern. The pleted 94 percent of its 2011 nity we’ve had, we’ve moved behind this decision, and creates an unfair financial County’s concern state agency that determines work plan, as well as addi- forward,” Worthington said. burden on village residents County Commissioner Critical State Concern com- tional tasks ahead of time. Monroe County has called ● See Cabinet, 3A OUR SCHOOLS SHOVEL READY Budget miss examined plus another 80 students for Audit committee the two new charter schools finds charter - Key West Collegiate School and Ocean Studies estimates off Charter School in Tavernier. He did not address By SEAN KINNEY whether those calculations [email protected] included additional grade levels at Big Pine Academy A review of district budg- or the Montessori Elementary eting practices by the Audit School of Key West. and Finance Committee “We were finding that a points to errors in charter lot of charter schools would school enrollment projec- give numbers that were over- tions that amounted to a $1.2 ly optimistic in terms of pro- million temporary budget jected enrollment,” Kinneer shortfall. said. “That became the basis Details emerged following for the budget number.” a committee meeting on A count of charter school Monday where member Roger enrollment conducted and McVeigh pressed for conser- published in August by the vative financial planning. Keynoter indicated 983 stu- “When you’re budgeting dents. in a situation like this,” he When the annual budget said, “you’ve got to budget was approved in September, the cost side at the worst case the charters received collec- scenario. Budget estimates tive funding of $6,272,031.63 are always going to be off. based on a projected enroll- There’s always going to be ment of 755 students. negative surprises. You’ve In November, a head Keynoter photo by SEAN KINNEY got to be prepared if you’re count showed actual enroll- A crew from the Travel Channel’s program,“Sand Masters,” puts the finishing touches on a privately commissioned, ment was above 1,000 stu- going to provide quality edu- 30-ton sculpture, on display at the Casa Marina Resort Thursday.The sculpture was built to grace clothier Land’s End cation to the students.” dents, which Kessler noted Last month, the school was very close to projections kids summer preview catalog, due for release in early April. board approved a $1.2 mil- provided by the charter prin- lion budget amendment tied cipals over the summer. to what administrators The $1.2 million in addi- KEY WEST described as “unexpected tional charter expenditures enrollment increases” at will eventually be recouped Keys charter schools. from the state. That amendment dropped Focusing in on the ratio of Glynn Archer transfer looms the district’s reserves below revenue to reserves, commit- a 3 percent threshold, which tee members agreed they forced the superintendent to would recommend a School No-cost deal notify the Department of Board policy to hold 6 per- hinges on Education. If reserves drop cent as reserves. Based on the below two percent, state current budget, that would be Tuesday vote oversight could result. more than $4 million. Committee chair Stuart School Board Chairman By SEAN KINNEY Kessler said the enrollment John Dick has said he won’t [email protected] projections given by the approve a budget this year charter school principals to (for 2012-2013) that doesn’t On Jan. 24, the Monroe the district turned out to be include at least a 5 percent County School Board could “amazingly accurate.” fund balance. approve a no-cost transfer of He said an “examination Already faced with mil- Glynn Archer Elementary of why the budget was so far lions in cuts, committee School to the city of Key off for charter schools . members admitted it’s going West for use as a new admin- the short answer is (the to be difficult for the district Keynoter photo istrative building. by SEAN KINNEY administration) apparently to find additional reductions Based on a memorandum elected to use last year’s to fund that 6 percent of understanding, in exchange Since winning his first When the Key West City there in anticipation of the enrollment instead.” reserve balance. for the building, the Monroe term in office in 2009, Mayor Commission met this week, Glynn Archer deal, to a Chief Financial Officer “It’s going to be an County School District would Craig Cates has pushed for a architect Michael Ingram brand new city hall, parking Michael Kinneer told com- extremely difficult goal to receive space to park buses on rehabilitation of Glynn presented multiple construc- deck and fire station. mittee members that he used reach in the current austere city-owned property adjacent Archer as opposed to build- tion schemes for the Angela Commissioner Teri the actual enrollment num- environment,” Kessler said. to Gerald Adams Elementary ing a new city hall at its cur- Street site, ranging from put- bers from the previous year, School on Stock Island. rent location, 525 Angela St. ting a standalone fire station ● See Glynn Archer, 3A INDEX Printed on 100% Classifieds . .10B recycled Happy newsprint One Year Living . .3B CONTENTS © 2012 Anniversary Business . .6A KEYNOTER PUBLISHING CO. Respite Key West turns out Obituaries . .2A Commission approves Sunday, Jan. 22, for 100th one-year extension on Opinion . .7A anniversary of ferry subsidy for Pigeon Sports/Outdoors . .1B Henry Flagler’s arrival. Key. Story 4A. Celebrating Our Past, 7A. Crossword . .4B 7786790 22222 2A Saturday, January 21, 2012 KeysNet.com Keynoter NEWS BRIEFS MARATHON Police search for getaway car, robber Replacement courthouse idea shelved Detectives from the Commission project to replace a dated $500,000 and last three to dignified place to do their Monroe County Clerk office, Monroe County Sheriff’s trailer and make numerous five years. court business,” she said. Public Defender and State Office and the Federal Bureau approves refurbishments to the main Completing the ongoing Acting Circuit Court Attorney’s office. of Investigation are investi- courthouse when the mold project would cost between Judge Ruth Becker is based in It would also include all gating a Friday morning bank repairs for now, and asbestos were found. $435,000 and $450,000 and Marathon and has been oper- functions county functions at robbery at Centennial Bank Construction was halted on make the building usable for ating solely out of the new the nearby Marathon on Big Pine Key. By RYAN McCARTHY Dec. 27. 10 years. The memo says trailer. Circuit Court Judge Government Center and Police report that a man [email protected] The discovery led Com- either option requires remov- Tegan Slaton also holds fami- Marathon Government wearing a mask walked into missioner George Neugent to ing mold and asbestos.