Key West officials had to cancel the March 16 city commission meeting 30 minutes before it was due to start. The meeting had not been properly and publicly advertised, and therefore elected officials were prohibited from taking any official actions.
City Manager Greg Veliz told the Keys Weekly Tuesday evening that the meeting would be rescheduled for March 31.
The agenda is a lengthy one, and will include a discussion of how the city will find a replacement for City Manager Greg Veliz, who has submitted his resignation to accept a job with the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority. Veliz’s contract as city manager requires him to give the city 90 days notice before leaving.
His contract started Aug. 21, 2019 with an annual salary of $180,000.
Commissioners are expected to discuss the process by which they’ll seek and select candidates for the city’s top position on March 31.
The Keys Weekly last week requested copies of any resumes, applications or letters of interest that were received from interested candidates. Assistant City Manager Patti McLauchlin reported that no such applications had been received, as the commission first needs to decide on a selection process.
Housing Authority board expansion?
Also on tap for the commission meeting that was rescheduled for March 31 is a discussion of Mayor Teri Johnston’s proposal to add two seats to the Key West Housing Authority board.
Florida state law allows a city’s mayor to appoint five to seven members of a commission or board.
Johnston has said she would rather add to the current housing authority board rather than replace anyone currently on the board.
“What better way to add ideas and expertise to that prominent board than by expanding it rather than replacing anyone currently on it?” the mayor said.
Johnston also said she is looking for people with an understanding of the current state of affordable housing, available funding sources and the potential for “infilling,” meaning adding units to existing housing authority sites such as at Poinciana Plaza and Porter Place.
Commissioner Sam Kaufman told the Keys Weekly this week that current housing authority board members have been lobbying against the expansion of their board.
Electric bike regulations
While the city’s new ordinance regulating electric bicycles was slated for its second and final public hearing at the rescheduled March 31 meeting, the item has been postponed until April 6.
The first approval occurred at the Feb. 17 commission meeting.
E-bikes, as the vehicles are known, can reduce the number of cars on the road and are a viable fitness option. But they’re also fast, cumbersome on narrow sidewalks and all but silent when approaching a pedestrian or fellow bicyclist.
Electric bikes have been gaining in popularity on the island for two to three years, with residents purchasing them and businesses renting them to visitors. And since the start of the pandemic, sales of e-bikes have increased by 70% nationwide, according to an August 2020 story in The New York Times.
As it stands now, e-bikes will be prohibited on city sidewalks other than North and South Roosevelt boulevards and Atlantic Avenue. On North Roosevelt Boulevard, they must remain on the water side of the road, the ordinance states. In all other areas, they must ride on the street. The bikes must also be parked in designated bicycle parking areas, the ordinance states.
The new law, as currently written, also limits the speed of e-bikes to 15 mph everywhere in town, despite their ability to travel between 20 and 30 mph.
