We goofed.
Correction: Surveillance in Sunset Park
We goofed. In our update about whether KCB is becoming "Surveillance City." we noted that the request for WiFi was made "with no suggestion of cameras." We all read the request in the package and somehow missed that the person making the request wanted to see the sunset view from afar and did suggest both WiFi and a camera facing the sunset in the park.
From the meeting notes:
At the regular commission meeting on August 21, 2025, Commissioner DiFransico asked about cameras in Sunset Park. The chief noted that we don't have a dispatch center to monitor the feed which means we have a liability of response. Commissioner Harding said we have IT coverage for the connection. That desire for surveillance started with Dave Turner's city-wide Hotwire proposal. Read about the plan to Hotwire our "Smart" City.
At the regular meeting on February 19, the commission will discuss Wi-Fi and Camera Installation at Sunset Park at an annual cost of $3,154.20 for Internet connectivity alone.
That request for WiFi was made by a KCB property owner to watch the sunset. Owners and renters will be able to see the KCB even when far away. The Recreation Committee declined to make either a positive or negative recommendation and deferred the matter to the city commission for determination. Other KCBers have expressed concern about data collection and the increased surveillance.
Correction: Speed Limits
Correction: Our "Citizen Comments" page reported that Roy Virost had requested lower speed limits. That was exactly the opposite of what he asked of the commissioners. He specifically wrote "it would be dumb to lower the speed limit."
How we got here: The February 19 meeting transcript incorrectly included that "Roy Virost wrote the City Commission requesting to lower the speed limit on the island from 25 to 20 miles per hour." That was incorrect.
"In a nutshell," Mr. Virost wrote in his letter, "the accepted norm in the U.S for residential city streets is 25 mph... Do not change the speed limit in Key Colony Beach."
Read Mr. Virost's complete letter here, along with other commentary about February happenings in KCB.
Damned If We Do, Damned When We Don't...
Another Mea Culpa
Dan Gillmor wrote about some good news for reporters: "Corrections work. When you correct your errors, the people who see the corrections have a more accurate understanding of [what has] been reported."
The bad news, he added, is that research from Dartmouth shows that readers lose trust when they read the corrections. That's worrisome in this age of mistrust of the "big" mainstream media, let alone for a small, local newsletter like this one.
News reports, whether in newsprint, on your phone, or on TV summarize the facts. Although we (now) have Mr. Virost's letter, the original summary at the meeting undoubtedly keyed on his opening paragraph alone, "the request ... to lower the speed limit on the island from 25 mph to 20 mph." We repeated it. And just like the game of "telephone," that was all anyone heard. But that's not all that he wrote and it's certainly not what he meant.
Here's the bottom line. We try to bring you the facts and we try to get it right the first time but sometimes a goof will get through. That's where KCB readers come in: please pass along not only your news of activities around our little town but also the (hopefully very) rare goofs you catch. Thanks!
