The Debate About The TAMPOA Board

To the three-time commenter who suggests we haven't attended TAMPOA Board meetings, we say: Wrong! But even the commenter has to admit, it's a little hard to attend them or be effective when the meetings are closed to TAMPOA members, and even at the open meetings it is clear that the Board members have had secret discussions among themselves about almost everything controversial might come up. Our objection to Board secrecy was the point of our post, which apparently the comment poster didn't understand. We'll try to be more clear next time.

It's too bad the Sunshine Law doesn't apply to the TAMPOA Board. They are willing to invoke it against the City Commissioners, but don't adhere to even its spirit when dealing with their own constituents.

We're glad, however, that we lit such a fire under the commenter that he or she felt compelled to post the same message three times. We want you to know, Commenter, that we heard you, and see that you seem to care about something. Our purpose is to get people to care and those who care to speak up. We accomplished our purpose with this commenter.

But, we don't agree with the commenter when he or she says we are "part of the problem." We're not sure on what problem the commenter is focusing. The commenter also wants us to be "part of the solution," without stating what the comment poster's version of "the solution" is. Obviously, we'd want to know what the commenter's version of "the solution" is without willy-nilly signing on to it.

Another difficulty with the position taken by the commenter is that the while we applaud and appreciate the fact that the TAMPOA Board members are volunteers, we (and many others) simply disagree with some of their thinking and actions. Despite their efforts, some of the Board members don't seem to recognize or understand the full dimension of the problems with TAMPOA's relationship with the rest of the Key West Community. They have used poor judgment (e.g., the full page ad in The Citizen, which Board President, Tom Tukey, now admits was not a smart move). They have acted on bad advice (e.g., the gate). They have run up exorbitant legal bills. They have made a mess and seem unable to clean it up. They appear to be out of touch with their constituents. And they seem generally to be out of control by TAMPOA members.

Our "solution" to the problem of the out of control TAMPOA Board members is to stimulate debate about this deplorable circumstance. Apparently we are having some effect in getting people to pay attention to what the Board is doing. While that may upset some folks, like the comment poster (who we assume is either on the board or closely aligned with one or more of its members), such debate is good for the Truman Annex community. So we don't intend to "shut up," as the comment poster wants, and we hope our readers will not either.

We'll be right here to report on the Board and other interesting news and opinion affecting TAMPOA members. After all, TAMPOA doesn't seem to be doing it. Have you taken a look at the TAMPOA website lately?