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Commission approves site for senior living center
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
Citizen Staff Writer
KEY WEST— The
city is setting aside four acres of Truman Waterfront property, off
Southard Street and near the front of the entrance to Fort Zachary
Taylor Park, for a senior assisted-living center.
The city is
negotiating with an engineering and architectural firm to create a
master plan for 33 acres of property on Truman Waterfront, which was
given to the city by the Navy as part of its 2002 Base Realignment and
Closure program.
Restrictions
on the property call for a majority of the land to be used as park and
open space. There are also plans for a marina and affordable housing.
The city
commission voted 4-1 on Tuesday, with Commissioner Carmen Turner
dissenting, in favor of the center, after hearing more than an hour of
emotional testimony from seniors and their family members.
Some talked of
the struggles of living with someone who has Alzheimer's, dementia and
other mental illnesses that afflict older people. Some commissioners
told how they had to quit their jobs because they needed to provide
full-time attention to family members.
There are 16
beds in the entire Lower Keys set aside for senior assisted care, at
Bayshore Manor on Stock Island. Many seniors who spent their lives in
the Keys have been forced to move away when they could no longer care
for themselves at home.
"Please set
aside this land," said Jan Marie Weatherhead, whose father has been
diagnosed with Alzheimer's. "This is not only necessary for our parents,
but soon will be for us."
A group of
community leaders and retirees formed a nonprofit organization two years
ago and have been lobbying the city to build an assisted-living facility
and looking for available land throughout the Lower Keys.
Turner wants
to wait until the engineering firm completes a master plan for the site,
she said.
"We shouldn't
put the cart before the horse," she said. "We haven't gone through the
process and that is not smart."
tohara@keysnews.com |
