Mayor: Should city buy island?

BY MANDY BOLEN reporter  Key West Citizen Newspaper

The question of what will become of Wisteria Island remains unanswered, but Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson wants to know if voters want the city to buy the offshore island. At Tuesday‚s City Commission meeting, McPherson will propose a nonbinding referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot that would ask voters whether the city should buy the 21-acre island that is 645 yards from city limits. There is no mention in the proposal of the purchase price, spending limit or what the city would do with the island, but McPherson on Friday said that preservation would be the purpose of buying it. Some local civic groups have suggested developing it into a park and having a private foundation own or manage it. Morgan, along with a majority of the City Commission, last month shot down a proposal to ask voters in a referendum whether the city should annex the island. The question arose when developers asked the city for the annexation so they could build up to 168 residential homes on the island. They later withdrew their request with no explanation. The issue has never been annexation, it‚s been preservation,‰ McPherson said Friday, adding that the city‚s purchase of the island would be the proper mechanism to ensure preservation and would give the citizens input on what then happens on the island. „Once the city owns the island, it will be up to the citizens to figure out how to run it and what to do with it. McPherson said he would like to see another city-operated mooring field around the island, and use it for camping and a park. If the City Commission agrees to ask voters whether the city should buy the island, McPherson said he is prepared to have the island appraised to determine its fair marke value. The funds to buy it likely would come from bonds, he said. A citizens group now is collecting signatures in an attempt to change the city charter so that voter approval would be required for the annexation of any land. McPherson said he wants to work with State Rep. Ron Saunders to change the state laws that govern annexation, but emphasized that annexation is unrelated to the preservation of Wisteria Island. No one is trying to limit anyone he said. The City Commission on Tuesday will discuss McPherson‚s proposal, and will be armed with a legal opinion from City Attorney Shawn Smith about the possibilities for the island. In other business at Tuesday‚s meeting, the City Commission will: ? Vote on the long-awaited ordinance that will govern the existence and proliferation of tattoo studios on Duval Street. If passed on Tuesday, the ordinance will require one more reading before being enacted. The ordinance would: limit the number of tattoo studios on Duval Street to 10, with a lottery system being used to award any surrendered license; require the shops to be at least 150 feet away from each other, and at least 250  feet away from churches, schools, parks, libraries and day-care centers; and set a $2,500 annual fee for each studio to help defray the city‚s cost of business regulation and inspection. The commission meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Old City Hall, 510 Greene St. A copy of the agenda is available at www.keywestcity. com.mbolen@keysnews.com