The Latest News: May, 2025
The KCB City Commission Will Hold a Special Meeting on May 5
The City Commission has called a special meeting in Marble Hall and on Zoom on Monday, May 5, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Note that the restriction on public commentary continues; "Members of the Public may speak for three minutes and may only speak once unless waived by a majority vote of the commission."
The agenda includes:
Architect Brandan DeCaro's presentation of the 60% city hall drawings, discussion, and approval of the "60% drawings." Not included in the agenda but expected us approval to complete the design as shown in this drawing set. Kudos for the quick posting of the drawings!
Observations of the 4-28-25 city hall drawings The three story "architectural feature" still appears to tower more than 21 feet over the existing city hall roof. The additional story is "empty space."
The new drawings have more information than the last set and there are a lot of details for bathroom clearances and door specs and the like. People Are Asking many of the same questions about this plan:
Ground Floor - The gym is slightly biggified to 674 s.f.
- The gym bathroom has grown to 82 s.f.
- The lobby shrank a little to 711 s.f.
- There are still seats for as many as three receptionists.
- The Admin reception space is slightly larger (5%) than the city clerk's office.
- There are no stairs or ramp shown to the entrance veranda. How are people supposed to climb up to the lobby, the 674 s.f., "fitness room," and the stairs leading to the second floor?
Why is there still a 711 s.f. entrance lobby to serve only the police department and building department if the admin area has its own ground level (ADA) entrance?- A still-unanswered question: Why are the administrative offices are completely isolated from the public, reached only through a gatekeeper office with a closed door from the hallway and a second closed door into the office area?
- A still-unanswered question: Why does administrative office access through the lobby still require climbing four or more steps to the lobby elevation and then going down four or more stairs to the admin floor.
- The floor plan still shows eight offices or workstations plus a reception desk. How much staff is our little city planning to add?
- A still-unanswered question: Why is there no locker or changing space in the non-ADA fitness room bathroom? And why not arrange the design so the gym shares bathrooms with Marble Hall and the administrative space?
- A still-unanswered question: Why is the only ground floor records storage room below Base Flood Elevation?
- A still-unanswered question: Why does the new tower and addition (and the unshown ramp and stairs at the entry) usurp some of the crowded driveway?
- Whether you call it a "tower" or not, there is still a real concern that changing the roofline that much is not harmonious in character and appearance with existing buildings in the neighborhood.
Second Floor - There are still two enclosed, office-sized reception rooms upstairs.
- The building department shrank slightly to 494 s.f.
- The police department space has been rearranged at 1,125 s.f.
- There are still seats for seven police officers.
- The second floor restrooms have grown slightly with lockers and changing space for eight police officers. Why are there still no showers?
- A still-unanswered question: Why does the second floor have an open balcony overlooking the lobby? The open atrium design is pretty but a tremendous waste of space (and construction cost).
- A still-unanswered question: Why are there additional mechanical and electrical rooms on the second floor but no janitor's closet?
Other Issues - A still-unanswered question: Whether you call it a "tower" or an "architectural element or feature of the proposed expansion, [that] does not have any correlation with the finish floor elevation," there is still a real concern that changing the roofline that much is not harmonious in character and appearance with existing buildings in the neighborhood.
- A still-unanswered question: Why hasn't the commission insisted on value engineering?
- A still-unanswered question: With commercial construction costing some $500 per square foot in the Keys why are we planning to spend nearly a million dollars for lobbies, an "open atrium" and a gym?
Click or tap here to email your questions and comments to the commissioners and city clerk to ask these and other questions about the plans.
More than ever, we--KCBers and commissioners and architects together--need to think critically to make this project the best it can be.Read the Key Colony Beach Special City Commission Meeting Agenda Packet here.
See the 60% city hall plans here.
Compare the 30% floorplan with the 60% floorplan here.Join the 5/5/25 meeting from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device: Please click this URL to join. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86726149912?pwd=d3Nd7ERHtBNNt1BwsYj9YSKzuYEXdi.1
Passcode: 629520
What Happened at the Cinco de Mayo Special Meeting?
The General 60% Discussion
The commission unanimously approved the 60% drawings for city hall; the next phase is due befiore June 27. People on a ship and at home and at least one reporter had trouble connecting to the Zoom meeting.
"Additional views" of the proposed building were on hand at the meeting but were not included in the agenda packet. City Clerk Silvia Roussin said there was no correspondence although our prior email was sent to each commissioner and to the city clerk. There were no live citizen comments at the meeting.
The commission discussed raising the parking lot. Assuming the porch is at lobby elevation, the porch will be 2'3" above the admin office floor and 3'3" above the parking lot at that point. The parking lot will need an 8% grade to fit that change in elevation. Mayor Foster said "I'm trying to wrap my head around a hill in the driveway." The sketch below shows a "USPS" tractor-trailer leaning on that slope. Brandan DeCaro of CPH noted that they would need three 7" steps if the lot is not raised.
It is noteworthy that the simplest solution is to build the entrance lobby on ground level and floodproof it. That simple solution eliminates ADA issues, eliminates parking lot issues, reduces the overall height of the building, and reduces costs.The commission explored showers upstairs but CPH claims it squeezes the building department and they don't recommend it. No one acknowledged our suggestion to expand into the OPEN UNUSED space of the upstairs lobby. Continuing the "shopping mall" vibe of this design, CPH's James Tirado discussed the "storefront" of the new building. They ignored concerns about the height of the three story tower.
CPH recommends a very dark blue ceiling with exposed ductwork and other mechanicals for the open office area (and other spaces). Vice Mayor Raspe noted that "the ceiling color is too dark" and that they "absolutely have to have showers" on the second floor.
Marble Hall is KCB's "point of last refuge" but Mayor Foster "doesn't expect to have people living" in Marble Hall in an emergency.
Brandan DeCaro disclosed that the tower space "isn't a real EOC."
James Tirado noted that the front entrance needs to be accessible for entrance if the flood panels are up. It also needs to be accessible to the gym because the "ADA" entrance is locked at night. Ditto.
Other discussion included downspouts and gutters for rain control, the possibility the dark blue roof will fade and whether the 24 ga steel is adequate or will lead to oil canning, whether the new ceiling in Marble Hall will be noise dampening (rainfall on the standing seam roof is tremendously noisy in addition to crowd volume), lighting prices, the maintenance free finish for fascias and soffits, tooled stucco exterior panels, and if the design needs to go to Tallahassee.
How Do We Get up to the New Tower Entrance?
The current parking lot is about elevation 4.01' at the turn in from West Ocean and about elevation 4.78' at the concrete walk entrance to the existing 2-story building department wing. The floor elevation of the city hall admin area is 5.76'. All elevations are from the official city hall survey.
The commission proposed rasing the parking lot. CPH noted that traffic would need a ramp, making a "hill" in the parking lot in front of the tower. The ramp or hill would stop at a curb or step up to the tower entry porch. There would have to be a "curb cut" for wheelchair access.
The CPH parking lot drawing shows a 6-8% "slope" at the parking lot entrance. An 8% grade (slope) means that for every 100 feet of horizontal distance, there is an 8-foot rise or fall. The maximum allowable slope for an ADA-compliant ramp is 8.33%, which is equivalent to a 1:12 ratio. As a visual comparison, most KCB duplex "boatels" have 1:12 roofs.
The parking lot ramps CPH suggested appear to have some issues because the slopes on their drawing can't reach the needed elevation. Concerned in KCB clarified the drawings to show the most feasible ramp and grades.
The parking lot "hill" to surmount varies from 2'7" to 3'5" in height plus that step up to the porch. An 8% grade means a 41-foot ramp for that height. The parking lot is not wide enough to ramp up to a "flat" landing near the building--the ramp will have to go from near the edge of the parking spaces to the curb of the porch.
That 8% grade is steep but within the law although the 8% ramp will require more than the entire 26' distance from the property line to the porch to climb the entire height.
More. A standard tractor-trailer is not designed to handle a lateral 8% grade. Tractor-trailers are designed for longitudinal grades, and a lateral grade of 8% would likely cause the trailer to slide or tip over due to the angle.
Since that porch is also within 15' of the "ADA entrance" to the admin offices, that entrance is then too close to the "hill" for an allowable direct slope back down. Further, access to the ADA entrance from the ADA parking spaces is again blocked by the "hill." Visitors will have to climb the hill and go back down (or go around the hill) to get from the ADA parking spaces to the ADA entrance.
The landscape to the south and east of the building will require grading as well.
Keys Could Get 900 ROGO Allocations
The Citizen reports that the Florida Keys could receive up to 900 residential building allocations during the next 10 years and see its state-mandated residential emergency evacuation threshold increase by 30 minutes to 24.5 hours after both chambers of the Florida Legislature approved late amendments.
What will the KCB City Commission do at the Public Hearing and Regular Meeting on Thursday?
Public Hearing
The City Commission will host a public hearing and regular monthly meeting in Marble Hall and on Zoom on Thursday, May 15, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The public hearing will consider a variance request for the installation of a residential pool on 9th Street and a request to install a communications cabinet on W. Ocean Drive.
Note that the restriction on public commentary continues; "Members of the Public may speak for three minutes and may only speak once unless waived by a majority vote of the commission."
Read the Key Colony Beach Public Hearing Agenda here: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/05-15-2025-public-hearing-agenda.pdf.
(Please note: our email system seems determined to change the "URL" of these uploads. You may copy and paste the link above into your browser or find the originals on the city website.)
Regular Commission Meeting
The City Commission will host a regular monthly meeting in Marble Hall and on Zoom on Thursday, May 15, beginning at 9:35 a.m.
KCBers may want to ask our commissioners about these items in particular:The agenda includes:
- People Are Asking why the commission has approved the planned three-story city hall tower that appears to violate KCB's two-story maximum?
- People Are Asking why the planned city hall addition "isn't a real EOC" and how that public statement could impact the grant funding?
- People Are Asking if the Polaris Ranger "4-wheeler utility vehicle" will replace one of the two existing building department trucks?
- People Are Asking why, in this day of sunshine and perfect transparency, city "insiders" had electronic copies of the 175 page meeting packet last week but the public had to wait until Tuesday or later to see it?
A special request to recognize National Police Week and Peace Officers Memorial Day
Consent Action Items include the purchase of a Polaris Ranger; contract renewals with Atlantic Pipe Services, Brightview, and lobbyist services from Southern Group, all totaling $144,478.50; termination of contractual engineering services with K2M, moving the June 16 meeting (formerly on June 19) to Wednesday, June 11, a spending warrant for "TBD," and meeting minutes.
The commission will discuss a change to wastewater commercial billing.
The commission will adopt resolutions to amend the city's fiscal year 2024-2025 budget as well as to make recommendations to improve traffic flow, congestion, safety, service on US1.
The city attorney will present a rationale for using "standard form contracts" and the city's procurement packages.
Commissioner Tom Harding will publish the April 2025 Financial Summary and discuss the 2025/2026 stormwater assessment, the May 12 wastewater sampling, and give updates on the FDOT pedestrian safety project at US1 and Sadowski Causeway and the April South Florida Regional Planning Council meeting.
Mayor Freddie Foster will release the 2025 city administrator evaluation.
Read the Key Colony Beach Regular City Commission Meeting Agenda here.
Read the Key Colony Beach Regular City Commission Meeting Commissioners' Packet here.
(The commissioners' packet was not available on the city website at the time of our mailing.)Click or tap here to email your questions and comments to the commissioners and city clerk .
Join the 5/15/25 meeting from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:
Please click this URL to join. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87975682891?pwd=YMDl6o35sJF5yN6NQinbrq8Ox58zbm.1
Passcode: 384665
Sad News
David W. Tribbett, 64, of Collegeville, PA, and Key Colony Beach died April 30. He was the husband of Michele (Feldi) Tribbett, his wife of 25 years. Dave was known to KCBers as a friendly and accomplished engineer and serial entrepreneur who designed, ERNE, the #1 Pickleball training machine. He was an avid woodworker and carpenter, and he loved music and electronics. Always an athlete, he enjoyed playing basketball and pickleball and was a committed Philly sports fan. He also loved vacationing with his family in KCB, on Inch Beach, and down the Jersey Shore.
The New Sargasso Sea
Wondering about the "seaweed" washing up on the Key Colony shoreline? Marathon Weekly reported on two pelagic sargassum species that have started inundating our coast. Some readers have reported difficulty with external links so we also have a local copy.
Other Local News
The Keys were cut off from the mainland when the 18-Mile Stretch and Card Sound Road were shut down for a brush fire on the Miami-Dade side. The Florida Forest Service reported that 50% of the fire had been contained by Friday. Both roads were open as of Saturday morning but drivers can still expect heavy delays traveling in and out of the Keys even without the road closures. For an interactive map with live traffic updates, visit https://fl511.com.
A 53-year old man armed with an AR-15 rifle shot up three MCSO vehicles at an apartment complex on Sombrero Boulevard in Marathon before apparently taking his own life. No deputies or members of the public were injured. A perimeter was maintained as the SWAT team and additional officers from the FHP, U.S. CBP, and Florida FWC also responded. Nearby roads were cordoned off. Two helicopters from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office also responded.
Morada, an 11'2", 761 pound, female tiger shark, pinged on the Cay Sal Bank recently. Visit https://www.ocearch.org/tracker/detail/morada for more details about Morada.
CLOSED
The KCB Farmer's Market is closed. San Pablo Farmer's Market on Fridays is also closed. It will re-open for the new season from November, 2025 through April 2026.
Most of the vendors will be working through summer at Boondocks MM27.5, every Saturday from 10am-2pm.