More Bull from Marathon City Council

 

The Marathon City Council on Tuesday agreed to spend as much as $ 9,250 to investigate the true cost associated with moving a historic Fresnel lighthouse lens back to Marathon.

— Florida Keys Keynoter

This is not a joke. Well, not an actual meant-to-be-funny-joke anyway. It might be Vice Mayor Chris Bull’s idea of a joke, but it’s hard to imagine that most of the taxpayers in Marathon would get the punch line.

That’s $ 9,250 in taxpayer’s money. That’s $ 9,250 that could have been spent on making the new city hall more energy efficient. Or the city itself. It might even pay for making a replica of the lens out Legos.

A little background. Sombrero Reef lies about eight miles off Marathon’s shores and is a much sought after spot for divers and snorkelers. The lighthouse on the reef was put in service in 1858, automated in 1960, and is still in operation. The upper platform, 40 feet above the water, held staff quarters but now the light is automated. The original lens, what’s known as a first order Fresnel lens, is on display in the Key West Lighthouse Museum.

The lens, or as it shall be referred to here, the stupid lens, would never actually be owned by Marathon. It’s the property of the Coast Guard and would merely be on loan. It was made in France, the country that right-wingers mocked during the Iraq war. Remember Freedom Fries? Yes, that France.

The stupid lens, which is a fairly large structure, hasn’t been on the Sombrero Reef light since 1983. Many people who live year-round in Marathon haven’t resided there since 1983 and know nothing about it. Many snowbirds haven’t heard of it at all. But think of all the tourists it might attract. Hordes of lighthouse [stupid] lens aficionados will swarm to Marathon to visit the structure. These are the same folks, no doubt, who collect telephone pole insulators. Maybe the TDC will even give the city a grant to capitalize on this influx of lens tourists. Heads in beds. Certainly the local chamber will pitch in.

Or maybe not.

The Marathon city staff has already spent a good deal of time, under the direction of the council, to investigate the cost of moving the stupid lens. Apparently the council, or at least Bull, doesn’t believe city manager Mike Puto’s estimate that moving this potential tourist attraction would cost more than $ 40,000 plus all the costs associated with storing it.

This is the same Mike Puto who was greeted as practically the second coming by the council when they appointed him as permanent city manager recently. His appointment lasts until January but he can’t apply to be permanent, permanent city manager. All five city councilors said they wouldn’t allow that. At least that’s what they said. But then they haven’t yet stuck to what they said they were going to do about the city manager position anyway. So, there you go.

It’s the same Puto who was reamed out by Mayor Dick Ramsay at the last city council session for not providing concrete costs for bringing the city finance director’s position in-house. So maybe Bull is right to doubt the permanent city manager.

It turns out that the cost of moving and installing the stupid lens could be more than $ 70,000. In taxpayer’s money.

Ramsay, to his credit, is dead set against spending the money to do anything about this bizarre and ill thought out idea. He’s already been clear about that, laying out all the reasons at a recent city council meeting.

Apparently Bull doesn’t believe Ramsay either.

The company that is co-responsible for designing and engineering the new city hall is Solaria.

According to the Keynoter:

Solaria worked up an estimate for the city that includes 58 paid hours “for designing in, installing and operating the historic lens.” Solaria says the lens would require “special labor requirements for maintenance; energy for climate control and lighting; specific lens testing and maintenance; and liability insurance.”

That’s 58 consultant hours. Not staff time, which doesn’t bill out. Fifty-eight outsourced hours that will cost taxpayers’ more money. Their cost estimate doesn’t include the cost of constructing an energy-controlled environment or the cost of cooling, lighting and dehumidifying such a room. On-going, not one time, costs. So, therefore, bringing the stupid lens back to Marathon would require more energy usage and not less in the new city hall.

Councilman Bull, who a few years ago, professed to care about how much energy the city uses doesn’t care about that now. He wants the damn lens. Sorry. The damn stupid lens.

The 58 consultant hours to estimate the cost of installing the stupid lens in a humidified, climate controlled room doesn’t include the cost of redesigning city hall itself. It doesn’t include the cost of additional building construction or reconfiguring how the lobby is set up. The lobby is supposed to be a space to handle overflow from a city council meeting, an overflow of people who might object, for example, to spending $70,000+ to install a stupid lighthouse lens in the new, not-so energy efficient city hall.

Or maybe people don’t care. The Keynoter hasn’t editorialized against it. There weren’t any comments on the article about undertaking this project. Maybe if they install a dog park inside city hall people will speak out. Or a bar. Something the locals care about.

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Michael Welber  has lived in Marathon for 16 years, and has long experience as a writer and media producer. Most recently he helped establish and was the first editor of Keys Sunday, a publication of the Keynoter. He has also been active in environmental issues in the Keys, forming and chairing the City of Marathon Green Team and creating and editing GLEE’s monthly newsletter.