Why Not Buy Southard Street?

Commissioner Jose Menendez, in a flight of fancy, has suggested that Wisteria Island be turned into a gaming mecca. Mayor McPherson wants the City voters to consider buying Wisteria Island, saying the issue is preservation and never has been annexation. Preservation? Really? Preservation from what? The island is already preserved if not pickled. Until some good citizens came along and organized a cleanup the island was a twenty-one-acre dump that neither the owners, the county or the city seemed to care about.

The City doesn't need to buy Wisteria Island to turn it into a park. The would be developers could do that and charge money to go there. It seems that the City Commission has linked annexation with development. Indeed, they are separate issues. The City could annex Wisteria Island any time its wants. The problem is the messed up laws the City has on development. If the City annexes the island, under the existing laws, the developers could build homes on the island. That's not an annexation problem. That's a development problem. That's what the City needs to work on, but, of course, it won't because the City is controlled by developers.

The Mayor is a realtor, after all, which is why one ought to be suspicious of any proposal that the City buy Wisteria Island. One has to ask, "Why?" The Mayor doesn't really want the voters' nod to buy the island; otherwise the proposed referendum would be given a green light and made a binding referendum. So what's behind all this wrangling over Wisteria Island? We're all ears, Mr. Mayor!

Meanwhile, we have a suggestion. If the City thinks it can buy Wisteria Island, why doesn't it buy Southard Street? It would likely cost a lot less and solve a whole bunch of issues for the City, not to mention that it would put an end to what may ultimately be a costly lawsuit for the City.

The reality is that the City does not have the money to buy (or even pursue eminent domain over) Southard Street. And the City doesn't have the money to buy Wisteria Island either. If the Mayor is proposing to ask the voters something, he 'd probably get a more positive response if he asked the voters whether they'd finance an eminent domain suit to take over Southard Street.

Now Six Are In The Race

There are now six mayoral candidates. Joseph "George" Claing has joined the Mayor's race.

He along with five others, current mayor Morgan McPherson, Jimmy Weekley, Rolland Montefalcon and Sloan Bashinsky will compete in the October 2 election.

And Now There Are Five

Candidates for the Key West Mayor's job, that is. The current mayor, Morgan McPherson, will have to run against former mayor, Jimmy Weekley, as well as candidates, Joseph "George" Claing, Sloan Bashinsky, and the newest entrant, Rolland Montefalcon.

Weekley and McPherson are the front runners. Will any of the others be spoilers?

Quit Whining

The Commissioners and the Mayor should quit whining about the fact that they can't collect more property taxes and may have to spend less money. This Commission hardly has been frugal. They could have paid a ton more to the police in salaries and other benefits had the City not engaged in dumb behavior that has gotten the City embroiled in lawsuits that have needlessly sapped taxpayers' money.

Will the public and City staff understand when the City Commission and current Mayor plead poverty while spending on lawsuits (and losing). We don't think so.

Getting Even

As we have observed, masterful politicians don't get mad, they just get even. And City Manager, Julio Avael, that master of politics, has done just that to his detractors and their efforts at control by granting raises to the Chief of Police and the Assistant City Manager. These raises were neither small nor (in the case of the Assistant City Manager) uncontroversial. Avael's payback not only rewarded these public servants for their loyalty and hard work in certain areas, but exercised a prerogative granted by the City Charter to the City Manager that the Commissioners and future City Manager are now stuck with. Avael's move also emphasized once again the message of all good bubbas: that if you stick with this bubba, you'll do all right. And do all right in the pay department they did.

The Mayor and some Commissioners had been out to get Avael. They made no secret they wanted him out, and some even wanted him fired or worse. They were playing for keeps, but they were playing with fire.

Now, the sputtering Mayor and seemingly politically inept Commissioners have been caught napping at the game of politics while the shrewd and knowledgeable Master has cunningly out maneuvered them. It was so easy; it must have felt like taking candy from a baby. And all the Mayor and Commissioners can do now is put their best face on it and whine a bit.

Undo the raises? Not a chance, which is why the whines were not screams or howls. The Mayor and Commissioners knew they'd been had by the Master, and all they could do is wonder how it happened and what just had occurred. It was all so smooth.

Even when gone and as he moves into retirement, Avael has, of course, unwittingly insured he will remain in the good graces of the Assistant City Manager and Chief of Police. Should Avael remain in Key West, his bridges to important influence in City government remain in tact.

In many ways Avael plays the game of politics like another master, Sam Rayburn, maybe the most masterful of all House Speakers at the game of politics. It's a gift few have. Rayburn taught it to Lyndon Johnson, who forgot it during Vietnam by listening to the wrong crowd. We dare say Avael didn't have such distinguished mentors; but regardless of what you think of him, he sure has the gift. Let's hope he is willing and able to pass some of this gift to his successor, who surely will need it.

The Commissioners also could learn much from the masterful political lesson Avael has just administered. But in their arrogance, we fear they won't. What they really should be worried about is what else is in store for them in the remaining days of Avael's term. There may be more to this than meets their dollar.

So now the fun begins. As granddaddy once said, "He who laughs last, laughs best." Or, as Jackie Gleason used to say, "How sweet it is!"

Mayor Served With TAMPOA's Federal Suit

TAMPOA's attorneys have made an effort to insure early and timely service of its lawsuit papers on the City and avoid any potential difficulty in complying with a Federal Judge's Pretrial Order issued in the newly re-filed case by TAMPOA against the City. (TAMPOA's prior federal suit was dismissed because of a failure to file a required scheduling report in a timely manner). TAMPOA's attorneys have hired a process server who promptly served the new Summons and Complaint on the City on May 9, 2007. The new Summons and complaint were served on Mayor Morgan McPherson at 525 Angela Street. The declaration by the process server that the Mayor had been served was filed with the Federal Court on February 14, 2007.

According to the Federal Court Clerk's Office, the City's Answer is due on June 8, 2007. Our guess is that the City will ask for an extension of time.

As he did in the prior (dismissed) case, the Federal Judge, on May 10, 2007, issued a Pretrial Order. That Order requires, among other things, that the attorneys for TAMPOA, forward a copy of the Order to all the defendants upon receipt of a responsive pleading. The Court's Pretrial Order was issued on May 10, 2007 and sets out the various procedural matters the judge expects the parties to deal with prior to the trial as well as deadlines for completing that work. Of course there is no reason for the City's attorneys to wait to be served with the Pretrial Order, since it is available from the Federal Court Clerk's Office or by a phone call to the Andersen Firm (TAMPOA's attorneys). The City's attorneys can get it, if they have not seen it already, and get a head start on complying with it.

A joint pretrial scheduling conference required by the court's Order of May 10, 2007 must be held no later than 20 days after the answer or other responsive pleading filed by the last responding defendant, or within 60 days after the filing of the complaint, whichever is sooner. This likely would make the scheduling conference occur sometime around July 9, 2007, unless the United States had not been served by that time. If so, according to the federal court's order, TAMPOA would be obligated to request the federal court to extend the time to hold the scheduling conference. However, at the rate TAMPOA is moving, if the United States has not been served, it likely will have been by July 9.

Within 10 days of the joint scheduling conference counsel for the parties must file a joint report with the judge. (It was the parties' failure to file this report that lead the judge to dismiss the case the last time around). According to sources at the Federal Court, a plaintiff's counsel (in this case TAMPOA's counsel) generally has the primary job of preparing and submitting the report.

The Intrigue Continues

The Mayor has called for an investigation of the City Manager's use of sick time and other benefits. Meanwhile the State Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) has been investigating the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy for the Rum Barrel Restaurant back in February 2006 that was apparently signed by Assistant City Manager, John Jones when the City's head of the Building Department and chief building official, Joe April, declined to sign.

Now, it has been reported that the DBPR would charge Assistant City Manager, John Jones, with a violation of State law for not being authorized to sign the (then temporary) Certificate of Occupancy. And, as reported in The Citizen, April 21, 2007 (Page 1), Jones has surrendered (and been released on his own recognizance) to face two misdemeanor charges for allegedly impersonating a state licensed building inspector.

While this brewing scandle may come close to Avael, close only counts in horseshoes, not hardball Key West politics. So far, the Mayor, who has made no secret he'd like to terminate the City Manager for cause, doesn't seem to have the solid amunition he may need to avoid the City having to buy out the rest of Manager Avael's contract if the City wants him gone immediately.

Avael is a survivor. The reality may be that the City will wind up having to pay Mr. Avael regardless of what happens. Before the Moguls in City Hall burn their bridges to Avael, they better take stock of what he may have on them. Now Avael has applied to be hired as the City Manager, perhaps throwing a monkey wrench into the hiring process, forcing the City to consider who may be the best qualified individual to hire, and requiring the City to reject him again if it doesent want to consider him. Is he giving himself political leverage or setting the City up for a lawsuit? It is no secret that at the game of political intrigue, Avael is one of the masters.

"Either way he is going to get his money"

That's what the Mayor was quoted as saying in advance of tonight's City Commission meeting. The Mayor is preparing to ask the City Commission to terminate the City Manager's contract nine months early. The Mayor has asked the City Auditor to audit Manager Avael's sick leave and vacation time. It is clear that the Mayor wants Avael gone, but what do you suppose is really going on behind the scenes?

We suspect that it's not just that Mayor McPherson believes that Manager Avael is not being effective as a City Manager any more. What was the straw that broke the Mayor's confidence in Avael. Was it the replacement-of-the-code-enforcement-officer flap? If Avael does get the axe, who will take his place? Oh yes, we know there is the Assistant City Manager, but there has to be more to the story. Whatever the full story is, unless the City is careful, it will likely impact the search for the next City Manager.

The Mayor At the TAMPOA Annual Meeting

Mayor Morgan MacPherson spoke (by invitation) to the TAMPOA members at at the Annual Meeting on January 29, 2007, but the public was not invited. Some of what he said was particularly interesting, although not necessarily new. We all know, for instance, that tourism is down. Some like that, some don't. Those that don't know that the downturn in tourism hurts the tourism-based Key West economy and could portend higher taxes or more belt-tightening for an already financially strapped Key West Government. Particularly interesting were the Mayor's observations about the downturn in foreign visitors to the island and the Mayor's observation that this may be due to the increased scrutiny now being paid by the government to foreign visitors arriving in the country.

Another interesting observation -- in case we all hadn't noticed -- was that Key West is changing quickly and we all better pay attention. Translation: we are moving away from being the welcoming, live-and-let-live, vibrant, economically and culturally diverse community we once were. Instead we are moving toward a community in which only the rich can afford to live, and the gap between the rich and what was once the "middle class" continues to widen. Housing, for instance, is scarcely affordable for even the middle class.

The Mayor also indicated that he still supported the Master Plan for the Truman Waterfront. Good news, but no concrete move has been made to implement it. The Mayor says that the traffic plan for the Waterfront should be revealed soon. It will be interesting to see this proposal when it is released.

The Mayor said that the City could not sell any of the Waterfront property for the development of single family homes. Not now, but since the City Commission approved the Waterfront Plan, why couldn't the City Commission go through the steps to change it?

Maybe we didn't understand this the way we initially thought it was meant, but from what we gleaned from MacPherson's remarks, the original plan for an assisted living facility would have gotten in the way of access to the waterfront and the City's asserted efforts to use all of the streets for access. The clear implication was that was changed or is to be changed.

The Mayor also indicated that the only affordable housing units to be built on the Waterfront property were to be built above the retail space. Key to the development of the waterfront at all is the development of an upscale marina, which the mayor supports, as the City would need the revenue from that to sustain the project. Where, however, will the revenue, much less the political will, to build such a marina come from when access to the waterfront continues to be a contentious issue?