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City takes a welcome first step in effort to balance tourism
We
enthusiastically applaud the city commission for embracing the report of
the mayor's Ad Hoc Planning Task Force and for expressing its
willingness to undertake the next steps toward fashioning a
comprehensive resident/visitor plan.
The tasks
ahead will not be easy and cannot by any means be accomplished
overnight. But the issues are now officially on the city's to-do list.
That's a good start.
Michael Dively,
chair of the Ad Hoc Task Force, presented a suggested "road map" for
further planning and implementation at the commission's meeting
Wednesday, provoking a lively and encouraging dialogue among the
commissioners. At the suggestion of Commissioner Merili McCoy, City
Manager Julio Avael was directed to take a look at all previous
initiatives that address these matters, including a couple that are
under way now, with the objective of discovering relevant data and
recommendations that could also be usefully adopted in developing a
comprehensive plan. The commission also agreed to schedule a workshop to
explore the best means to organize and direct the work.
What strikes
us as especially significant is the fact that the commission is unified
it its commitment to move forward. Only one member, Jose Menendez,
rejected the proposals presented by the task force. The reasons for his
dissenting vote — that the economy is thriving because of tourism and
the environment is not being impacted — remain incomprehensible to
observers who witnessed the commission's deliberations.
Hopefully, the
commission will adopt a formal resolution summarizing its intent at its
next scheduled meeting.
We heartily
agree that the resources of the city manager's staff should be employed
to assist in the messy and complex work that's ahead. But, as
Commissioner McCoy also suggested, we earnestly believe the commission
itself should get its own arms firmly around the overall project,
especially at the outset.
Perhaps a
practical means to do this can be a subject of discussion at the
forthcoming workshop. We also strongly favor the idea of establishing a
citizen advisory committee for policy input and, perhaps, other
responsibilities as well. In our view, it is absolutely essential that a
coalition of citizens and civic organizations be involved — and
consulted — at every step along the way.
We believe that the best way to affirm goals, establish priorities,
build consensus and ensure timely progress is to keep the public
continuously involved. Some commissioners had earlier criticized Mayor
Jimmy Weekley for establishing the Ad Hoc Task Force without their
involvement. That same logic applies here: Having now taken up the
challenge, the commissioners need to keep the larger community's
leadership engaged.
Indeed, an
advisory group could be mandated to keep the commissioners continuously
informed as the various planning tasks unfold.
As reported in
our news pages two days ago, National Geographic Traveler magazine, in
its March issue, will cite Key West in its category of destinations
labeled "Getting Ugly." One might reasonably challenge the magazine's
criteria and admittedly subjective appraisals.
Nonetheless, a prestigious magazine has now fired a shot across our bow
and if we don't summon the courage to take timely action, our
tourist-based economy may begin to feel the effects. That's a risk we
dare not take. |
