Category Archives: Key West
The Land Scarcity Chess Board – Part 1
There’s a finite amount of land in the Florida Keys. Very little of that can be developed. And there aren’t enough available permits to go around even for what can be developed. Real estate is in high demand. At the … Continue reading
Emergency Services Surtax – “Shifting” All Over Key West Locals
Updated to clean up the tables. County Commissioner George Neugent said this in our correspondence about the Emergency Services Surtax (ESS) the other day: There has been a tremendous transformation of Monroe County & municipalities. Going back to the 80s when … Continue reading
Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Fire and Ambulance, Key West, Taxes
Leave a comment
Peary Court Mind Bender
Saw this in the paper this morning: City staff: Wait on seeking Peary Court lender. So Key West voters are supposed to vote on purchasing Peary Court without having any idea what the terms of the loan are? Really??? So … Continue reading
Posted in Affordable Housing, Key West
1 Comment
Peary Court – Not Adding Up
Update: Revised to include Area Median Income (AMI) chart. The purchase of Peary Court is such a high priority for some in Key West, that they are willing to pay $55 million for a property that was purchased for $35 … Continue reading
Posted in Affordable Housing, Bubba System, Key West
Leave a comment
Emergency Services Surtax – It’s a Shift Alright
I want to make a brief point about the sales tax. Key West is the largest generator of the sales tax in the Keys – by far. Key Largo is second. The two areas are actually very close when it … Continue reading
Peary Court – Resource Suck?
At this point, most reasonable people would agree that the purchase of Peary Court doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. What we’re being told is that the City of Key West plans to buy the property for $55 million … Continue reading
Posted in Affordable Housing, Bubba System, Key West
3 Comments
Peary Court – Many Questions
Update: There are a lot of people way ahead of me on this. Check out the discussion here. I found the bit about comparable rents especially interesting. The Peary Court purchase is a very small piece of the affordable housing … Continue reading
Posted in Affordable Housing, Bubba System, Key West
Leave a comment
Peary Court – The Next Big Rip Off?
Update: There’s a nice write-up at goodmorningkeywest.com on this. It actually answers some of the questions I asked below. And here’s a link to the Housing First PAC started by Key West officials to push the purchase of Peary Court … Continue reading
Posted in Affordable Housing, Bubba System, Key West
Leave a comment
Update on Greg Veliz and Danny Kolhage
Update 2: The Kolhage involved in this particular situation might be Daniel Kolhage (former City of Key West commissioner) rather than Danny Kolhage (current Monroe County commissioner). It’s hard to say. Research ongoing. Update: Looks like Greg and Danny got … Continue reading
Posted in Bubba System, Key West
1 Comment
Single Member Districts Endorsed by Key West Citizen
A citizens group, SMART Districts for the Florida Keys, has proposed a solution to inefficient and corrupt Monroe County government. The idea is to replace the current “at large” districts with single member districts. Under the current system, county commissioners … Continue reading
Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Key West, Monroe County, Single-member Districts
1 Comment
The Real Poop 