First of all, I want to pass on some important information:
– October 14th, FIRM is hosting an insurance assistance workshop at
*2798 Overseas Hwy, Monroe County Board of County Commissioners Chambers) 3:00pm – 6:00pm
– October 15, FIRM is hosting an insurance assistance workshop at
* Whale Harbor, 83413 Overseas Hwy (Islamorada) 10:00am – 1:00pm
* Murray Nelson Board of County Commissioner’s Chambers, 102050 Overseas Hwy (Key Largo) 3:00pm – 6:00pm;
– November 9th is the last day to apply for FEMA Individual assistance;
– The KCB business tax deadline is extended to December 1st;
– Commissioner Tracy reports that her Cabana Club will be opening in early December;
– The Key Colony Inn hopes to be open in a couple of weeks;
– The Fishing and Boating Club will start their season schedule on time in Marble Hall;
– Our Community Association will also start hosting their events as scheduled.
I have been receiving e-mails asking how the City is recovering from Irma. Today, we are still pretty banged up, but through the efforts of your city staff and some great contractors cleaning up debris 7 days a week, we are looking better than any place I have seen in the Keys. Our disaster recovery team headed by City Administrator Chris Moonis, Operations Coordinator Vice-Mayor Ron Sutton and Insurance/FEMA Coordinator Commissioner Jim Pettorini are leading our staff through huge obstacles as we restore our city to the Gem it is.
Our police have worked long and hard hours keeping us and our properties safe as our residents evacuated and returned. Chief Digiovanni has just completed a survey of our canals. There are some obstacles, but they are open and we ask for your close attention to safe and slow navigation (Idle Speed) as we clear them.
Ed Borysiewicz and our Building & Public Works Department are spearheading cleanup and rebuilding while keeping the work moving and safe, cutting red tape where possible. Building permits are flying out the door. They are also conducting rental inspections.
The City’s staff is finally shifting modes from helping you with recovery questions to a more normal business routine to support your needs. Our City Clerk Kathryn McCullough’s team is the best in the Keys.
Joe and our Post Office team have also been forced out into a trailer, but are keeping regular hours.
I would be remiss if I did not thank Dave Evans and our Sewer Plant staff. We were up and running in days after the storm. What a great relief to know that a major concern, sanitation, was not an issue.
I hope I did not miss recognizing anyone’s hard work. Our entire city team and our partners in the County, State and Federal Government have been fantastic.
Now, we still have challenges:
Storm debris is not just a city issue but a state issue. This monster storm has stressed state resources to an unprecedented level. Our streets are mostly clear, but we have major issues clearing the large collection debris piles from KCB. We have an intergovernmental agreement with the County for debris removal and I have been addressing this with our County Mayor. Marathon Garbage is back on a regular schedule now, taking your garbage, recycling and yard waste. Please have your yard waste in cans or bundled for their pickup and recycling in the proper containers.
Our city infrastructure is also in need of much work. City Hall was badly flooded and your Commission voted to hire an architect to design a new building. We need to have our city’s center replaced with a building that will support our needs well into the future and built to the current codes and floodplain. Funding will of course be an issue for our small city, but we are exploring grants, low interest loans and asking our State leadership for assistance. We will be moving back into our current City Hall as soon as we make temporary repairs. Much of our equipment and vehicles were also damaged and need to be replaced.
Our parks and recreation facilities are sad to look at, but we are already receiving donations from you that will go directly to our recovery. FEMA has very limited funds available for landscaping. The City is a tax deductable organization for your donations and we greatly appreciate them as we rebuild our parks and all of our important infrastructure.
It is great seeing many of our winter residents returning and I am looking forward to another fun season with friends. I even hope to have my boat back in the water soon as I am told there are big (flag) Yellow Tail Snappers biting on the reef.
CLICK the ‘HURRICANE IRMA UPDATE CENTER’ icon for historical IRMA information including all messages from Mayor John DeNeale and City Administrator Chris Moonis. This is also where videos of our streets and City Official interviews taken the few days after IRMA are viewable.