|
Key
West's cruise ship numbers continue to rise
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
keysnews.com
KEY
WEST -- The cruise ship industry may still be in its infancy here, but
some fear it's taking over the small island town.
Over the past three
years, the city has seen a steady increase in the number of cruise ships
coming to town, with 323 in the 2000-01 fiscal year and 563 expected
this fiscal year.
Earlier this month,
city officials realized they had violated a 1993 resolution that limited
the number of cruise ships coming to the city's busiest port, Pier B.
Seven ships a week are allowed to dock there or anchor just off shore.
But more have docked there a week in June and May and as many as 12 were
scheduled to either dock or anchor near there next month. The scheduling
problem has been corrected, Port Director Raymond Archer said.
Many residents and
city officials want too see a system of checks and balances put in place
to make sure the city, not the industry, determines the future of the
business in Key West. Groups like Livable Old Town and Last Stand
actively champion causes meant to control cruise ship growth. The city's
recent push to conduct a cruise ship quality-of-life study came out of
lawsuit settlement with Last Stand.
City Manager Julio
Avael and Archer are working on plans to help ease tensions between
cruise ship companies and residents and to allow the city to get a
handle on the issue.
Future of fees
They recently returned
from a meeting of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association, where they
talked about establishing a Caribbean-wide tariff for passengers,
setting up a citizen-based task force in Key West to monitor the
industry and create facilities to handle solid waste. They also
discussed the city's proposal to increase disembarkment fees from $8 to
$10. The increase will go into effect in January. Cruise ships will
probably be hit with more fees later, to help cover the increasing costs
of policing the ports.
Many cruise ship
companies don't see the $2 increase as outrageous and will still dock at
Key West marinas, which include Mallory Square, the Outer Mole Pier and
Pier B behind the Hilton hotel. Cruise ship companies like Key West as a
destination because their passengers get a Caribbean feel, but still
have the safety of traveling in the United States, Archer said.
Avael and Archer plan
to meet with cruise ship officials again Thursday to further discuss
security costs and other issues.
With cruise ships
beginning to make stops in Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Mississippi, city
officials don't want to regulate the cruise ship industry out of Key
West. Roughly $3 million of the city's $33 million general fund
operating budget comes from disembarkment fees.
Key West is not alone
in the battle over fees. At the recent cruise ship meeting, cruise ship
and port officials discussed raising fees to $20 a person in some
sections of the Caribbean. The proposal was met with mixed reactions and
the delegation could not come up with a with a solution, Avael said.
Avael and Archer would
like to see a tariff that is the same throughout the Caribbean and
Florida, to keep cruise ship companies from pitting cities against each
other.
Some offer incentives
Ports in the Bahamas
and Jamaica currently charge $15 per person. But the Bahamian government
provides incentives that bring fees down to $7.50 per person if a cruise
ship company can bring in a half million people a year. Jamaica gives
incentives that drop fees to $8, Florida Caribbean Cruise Association
President Michelle Paige said. Ports in Miami charge $5.50 and $4.50 in
Cape Canaveral.
Alaskan ports charge
$5 a head. A cruise ship watch dog group is pushing a ballot initiative
that would set a $50 tax on all passengers who disembark at Alaskan
ports. The measure would also require cruise ship companies to pay the
government a percentage of gambling revenues, pay state corporate income
tax and require permits for wastewater discharge. Alaska, unlike
Florida, has state regulations guiding the cruise ships. Florida has
letters of understanding with cruise ship companies.
"We have the strictest
laws in the country and ours are still inadequate," said Gershon Cohen,
who heads the Blue Water Network's Campaign to Safeguard America's
water.
Blue Water officials
have continued to push for stricter regulations of the cruise ship
industry and say Florida's lack of state laws governing cruise ships is
bad policy.
"We don't believe a
lot the laws governing cruise ships are adequate," said Teri Shore,
member of the Blue Water network. "Making laws voluntary means the
cruise industry doesn't really have to comply. It gives states a false
sense of security."
tohara@keysnews.com |
