An Open Letter to Mayor Cates and City of Key West Commissioners

Mayor Cates and Commissioners:

As members of the Key West Golf Course community, we want to express our extreme displeasure with the recent news that the City of Key West may proceed forward with construction of a homeless shelter at the Easter Seals location on College Road.

On August 17, 2014, on behalf of our more than 350 homeowners, the Key West Golf Club Homeowners Association (KWGC HOA) Board of Directors has passed a resolution to oppose the placement of a homeless facility at the Easter Seals location and to pursue litigation options in this matter.

Our reasons for taking this step have a long history.  For more than three years, our community has expressed our concerns and was assured by the Mayor, that we would be given active participation and input in any such plans. There has been no such participation. We have continuously maintained that placing such a twenty-four hour shelter next to a residential community in close proximity to a grade school, a residential senior care facility, a rehabilitation center, a community college, a hospital and family-oriented botanical garden and trailhead would be both reckless and dangerous.   It now appears that “expediency” is the only criteria being considered by the City.

At a commission meeting in October, 2013, the Mayor stated that…” he had no idea where anyone got the idea that he wanted to place a shelter at Easter Seals”.  During the recent election, the Mayor also denied such plans at the Hometown Pac Forum at the Tropic Cinema. The Mayor stated: “it would be placed wherever the City Commission decided”.  It now seems that the Commission is being given two weeks to make a crucial and far-reaching decision without any reasonable or comprehensive planning having taken place.

This rushed process has also not been transparent, despite the fact that transparency and public involvement is what was promised by the Mayor and the City Commission.  It was stated at last week’s City Commission meeting that the priority was to “just pick a location”.   Not only  were we surprised to hear of such a proposal and plan within a weeks of the recent election, it was obvious that members of the City Commission and Staff were also left in the dark.

An attempt to designate a site for the shelter without establishing its type and cost is both irresponsible and shows complete disregard for the taxpayers of this City.  The type of shelter, 24 hour or overnight, would influence both the location and size of the facility.  It would also determine the cost of building it and the ongoing cost of operating it.  Neither the type of facility, its budget nor source of funding has been identified.

The other revelation at last week’s Commission meeting is the obvious troubling financial situation in which the City finds itself. The Finance Director described the City’s proposal to tap into reserve funds as “a dangerous” situation.  Where will the ongoing operating funds come from to run such a homeless shelter?  Surely the Dais is not expecting that contributions from private donors and the Soup Kitchen will help maintain such an expensive operation.

It appears that after three years of debate, two things are widely felt to be true.  The first is that the bulk of the homeless population is not from Monroe County.  The second is that a shelter, with any degree of bells and whistles, will attract even more homeless to arrive on our streets.   Furthermore, how can the Dais, in good conscience, burden the taxpayers with such a project?  Particularly when the construction of affordable, low-income housing for our shrinking workforce may well decide the future health of our local economy.

We would hope the Dais rejects the Mayor’s proposal to build a shelter at Easter Seals.  It is crucial that our City leaders understand the negative budgetary impact of this proposal, the safety and security concerns of their constituents and the need to tackle the bigger issue of workforce housing.  We hope that you begin or continue a dialogue with Monroe County to encourage them to find a location on their property for a homeless facility… this is not solely a City of Key West issue.

The passing of this proposal will force us to employ any legal means necessary to do what we can to prevent the City of Key West from making such a critical mistake.

Thank you,

The Board of Directors

The Key West Golf Club Homeowners Association