Key West has a couple of newspapers, both online and in print. They all feature local news and many of them are owned by the same company. Today online at keysnews.com, I was trying to read an article and there were so many typos I couldn't understand what I was reading. Here's the text in full:
"The 2004 and 2005 hurricanehurrricaneseasons turned the waters off the Lower Keys into a virtual boat graveyard, as hundreds of vesselsboat littered the beaches and mangrove islands. While many of the vessels have since have been removed, the task is far from complete.Cleaning up nature's work is an expensive undertaking and cost thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to clean up.
AOnecasino boat, the Lady Luck, is one of the most visible examples of the problem. The vessel still remains mired on shallowhigh and dry ongrasstheflats in the Saddlebunch Keys, visible to tourists and commuters traveling on U.S. 1 around off Mmile Mmarker 13.The 100-ton vessel, registered to a Melbourne, Fla.-based company,was sweptblownonto its muddy berththerewhen Hurricane Wilma brushed the Florida Keys in 2005.
and caught fire last summer. Now, nearly two years later, aAproposed agreement between the Monroe Ccounty and the federal government agency that oversees the Florida Keys National Marine Ssanctuary could finally generatebringa plan and the money to remove thefloatingcasino boat and other derelict vessels, which is registered to a Melbourne, Fla. company, called Coin Castle.
Monroe County administrator Tom Willi and Growth Management Director Andrew Trivette's decision to reduce the Marine Resources Division from three people to one person left doubt's in the mind's of Florida Keys Marine Sanctaury officials and others about whether one person could handle that direlect vessel removal, enforce mandatory pump out laws, repair and replace channel markers and other issues the county receives more than $200,000 a year in state boater improvement funds to do.
Sanctuary Superintendent Dave Score sent Willi a letter after the department was dismantled asking for assurance that the work the department was doing would continue. Willi assured he would and planned to hold with local, state and federal government officials about the county's plan to handle marine related issues. However, the meeting was cancelled after it turn into a public forum that had to be advertised.
The Monroe County Commission will vote Wednesday on anpactagreementbetween the county and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees the sanctuary, "to facilitate cooperation and coordination for the funding and implementation of emergency response and marine salvage efforts within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary."
The agreement would allow the county to receivebe paidcleanup costspaidthrough a federal government fund that is set up to pay for vessel groundings. The — afund is generated from fines levied against and comes from the owners of boats that have grounded on coral reef, seagrass and other sensitive marine habitat.
The agreement would allow the county and NOAA to partner on these projects —,somethingwhichthey informally have informally done informally in the past.
"This will allow for the ability of funds to be transferred between NOAA and the county for projects like the Lady Luck on an as-needed basis, which have happened in the past," said Sanctuary Superintendent Dave Score said.
A draft plan for removingfor the removal ofLady Luck has been approved, but attorneys are still are working on the details. Estimates by various salvage companies have placed the cost atofmore than $500,000.
"It's going to be very expensive," said Steve Werndli, who is overseeing the project for the sanctuary.
Werndli wcould not release details of the plan, or thethe amount it is going tocost of implementing it,,because of ongoing litigation between NOAA and the vessel's owners.
The proposal comefollowsafter a decision byed agreement also comes afterMonroe County Aadministrator Tom Willi and Growth Management Director Andrew Trivette'sdecided to reduce the county's Marine Resources staffDivisionfrom three people to one person, Senior Marine Planner Rich Jones. Thatemove raised concern amongleft doubt in the mindsofficials at the sof Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary officials and other agenciessabout whether one county employeepersoncanould adequately can managehandlederelict vessel removal, water quality programsissues, themaintenance of channel markers and other projects for whichissuesthe county receives more than $200,000 a year from the in state Bboater Iimprovement Ffunds to do.
Score recently sent Willi a letter after the department was dismantled asking for assurancesthat that the work the downsized department was doing would continue. Willi assured him it would, and said he planned to conductholda meeting with local, state and federal government officials about the county's plan to deal withhandlemarine-related issues. However, the meeting was waslatercancelled after it became apparentturn into a public forumthat it would havehadto be advertised as a public meeting. Willi then said he would meet individually with officials.
County Commissioner and Sanctuary Advisory Council member George Neugent has mixed feelings about the proposed agreement with NOAA.
"I think that they (county Growth Management officials) are trying to show that they are quickly addressing these issues," he County Commissioner and Sanctuary Advisory Council member George Neugent said of the agreement."It serves a purpose for both the sanctuary and the county. But there is so much more that Marine Resources does. We are just understaffed to handle all of the duties. There is no way Rich Jones can do this alone."
Also on Wednesday, the commission will vote on the appointment of John Marston to the Monroe County Planning Commission. Marston willwouldreplace Sherry Popham.
The commission alsowill also vote on amendments to its comprehensive land-use plan. Those amendments thatdeal with preservingmaintainingmarinas and working waterfront. "
