It took only one round of voting for Brian Barroso to earn four of the seven votes needed to be selected as Key West’s next city manager.
The city commission cast votes from among five finalists at its Dec. 12 meeting. Commissioners Lissette Carey, Donie Lee, Aaron Castillo and Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez supported Barroso. Commissioner Monica Haskell voted for Mark Sohaney. Commissioner Sam Kaufman voted for Rod Delostrinos and commissioner Mary Lou Hoover voted for Steve McAlearny.
City staff are now negotiating a contract with Barroso, who grew up in Key West. In recent years, he was living in Charlotte, North Carolina, but indicated in his application that he was eager to move back to the island.
Barroso’s twin brother Jason Barroso is the city’s fire marshal and a division chief at the fire department.
At the Dec. 12 meeting, the five finalists — Barroso, Delostrinos, Sohaney, McAlearny and James Brownlee — were not invited to speak or answer questions. Barroso also was not asked to make any comments once the votes were cast.
Kaufman, in keeping with tradition, then called for a confirmation vote to enable the entire commission to cast votes in support of Barroso to show a united front that is committed to working together for the good of the community.
Barroso is a graduate of Key West High School and works as a banker. Before moving to North Carolina, he had served on several local boards, including the governor-appointed board of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority.
“I thrive in high-pressure and fast-paced situations, striving for positive results by applying my leadership and management abilities,” Barroso wrote in his cover letter. “Further, I possess expertise in finance and acumen for maximizing performance and inspiring colleagues.”
The need for a new city manager was prompted by the commission’s 4-3 vote in June to fire city manager Al Childress without cause despite opposition from dozens of residents, who filled city hall to speak in support of him. Kaufman and Mary Lou Hoover, along with then-mayor Teri Johnston, voted in support of Childress.
In other city news
After a lengthy discussion, the commission voted 4-3 to declare its intent to seek the maximum number of building permit allocations from the state of Florida, which distributes such permits given the Florida Keys’ designation as an Area of Critical State Concern. Given the fragility of the Keys and its vulnerability to hurricanes, requiring evacuations, the state has long limited development in the island chain and doled out building permits every 10 years or so.
Monroe County and the other Keys municipalities are currently formalizing their requests for the next round of permit allocations, also known as ROGOs, for Rate of Growth Ordinance, which restricts development.
A group of Keys residents known as the ROGO Coalition have been speaking at public meetings in recent months, opposing new development and urging officials to conduct detailed analysis of how many permits are actually needed rather than simply asking for as many as they can get.
Lee voted in favor of requesting the maximum number of building permits. “But let me be clear,” Lee told the Keys Weekly. “My vote was not to build new McMansions, or more vacation rentals or more second and third homes. I want every permit we get to be restricted to affordable, workforce housing. That’s it.”
Lee said he wants the city to have enough permits to cover any potential takings lawsuits, which could arise if property owners bought a lot thinking they could build on it, and then learn they couldn’t get a permit to do so. Unlike Monroe County, where more than 2,000 vacant lots could be the subject of potential takings cases, Key West only has 84 vacant lots, Lee said.
“I want us to have enough permits to avoid any takings lawsuits, and then use however many are left only on affordable and workforce housing. And yes, we need to update and amend our land development regulations to close loopholes and ensure that those building permits aren’t approved to be used for anything other than the housing we actually need,” Lee told the Keys Weekly.
Kaufman initially wanted to postpone the decision of how many permits to request until January, but his motion failed.
Ultimately, the resolution to request the maximum number of permits passed with Lee, Castillo, Hoover and Henriquez in favor. Commissioners Kaufman, Carey and Haskell opposed.
