Commission okays release of long-delayed reimbursement funds

At tonight's Key West City Commission meeting, the Commission -- in their role as the BAHAMA VILLAGE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (“CRA”) -- took under consideration a reimbursement request by the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust. The BCCLT had formally requested that a long-overdue disbursement from the dedicated "Tax Increment Financing" ("TIF") funds be issued to cover 7 years of unreimbursed expenses. From the agenda:

RESOLUTION:

(a) Authorizing an expenditure of tax increment financing monies to the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust (BCCLT) in the amount of $102,306.00 for “Unreimbursed Allowable Acquisition and Rehabilitation Expenditures” and $353,418.00 for “Developer Fees Associated with or attributed
to Property Development Activities” (Total amount of $455,724.00). (Commissioner Lopez)

The Commission chambers were filled with residents and friends of Bahama Village and the BCCLT, including residents of the BCCLT-managed properties, community leaders, life-long community residents and others interested in seeing the BCCLT's mission continue unabated.

When the agenda reached this item, BCCLT Board of Directors President Jim Marquardt opened the public comments discussion by introducing the Board members who were present, as well as the BCCLT staff and the current and past auditors of BCCLT financials. He was followed by BCCLT Deputy Director Wheeler Winstead who provided the background rationale behind the request.

At this point a steady parade of Bahama Village and other Key West citizenry stepped up to the podium to express their support for the BCCLT and the work it has done for the community. Everyone in the room, or watching on TV, had to be moved by the stirring testimonials. Some of the speakers cited the local and state legislation directives that support the request. All of the speakers made it clear that they felt that the reimbursements were both necessary and urgent. Finally BCCLT Executive Director Norma Jean Sawyer closed out the public input period with a historical perspective of the issues involved.

After the public input the Commissioners spent over an hour dissecting the request, analyzing many factors both pertinent and superfluous to the issue at hand. Wheeler and Norma Jean returned to the podium several times to answer questions and clarify some of the points being raised. Though the questioning became contentious at times, the directors kept their cool and answered all questions -- but corrected any erroneous conclusions or opinions expressed by the commissioners.

The BCCLT directors agreed that the 1995 and 1998 plans and agreements between the CRA and the BCCLT needed to be updated and supported plans by the City to begin the process of doing so. They also made it clear that the BCCLT considers the City to be partners in their mission and urged that any contentiousness be muted.

In the end, after about 2 hours, the Commissioners (acting as the CRA) approved the reimbursement unanimously.

KeyNoter article about BCCLT

In today's KeyNoter newspaper, reporter Kyle Teal reported on how the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust provides affordable housing to the citizens of our city. The article can be found on-line, or for convenience is reproduced here....

For some, Land Trust is essential
By Kyle Teal, Photo by Kyle Teal, Posted-Friday, May 23, 2008 7:23 PM EDT

Affordable units make Keys possible

Bahama Village resident Laetryce Smith found an unconventional Christmas gift for her 14-year-old daughter this past holiday season: A new place to live.

Smith, a mother of three, packs up her work materials each night at Avis Car Rental at Key West International Airport and hops on her blue moped, back to a home she never thought she could afford.

Smith was staying with her sister before December, where the living situation was a little cramped. When she contacted the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust, the nonprofit made it possible for her to have a place to call her own.

“I was born and raised in Key West, but I ran into some difficulties,” she said. “I went to [the Land Trust] and filled out an application, and [Executive Director Norma Jean Sawyer] got me in a nice, roomy place.”

Smith pays $585 a month, and doesn't think it would be possible to live in the Key West if it weren't for the Land Trust subsidizing part of her housing cost.

Smith said the Land Trust will charge her according to her salary. If she makes more, her rent increases.

According to the guidelines of the nonprofit's agreement with the city, Land Trust tenants shouldn't pay more the 30 percent of their income not including utilities, which sometimes presents a quandary, according to Deputy Director Wheeler Winstead.

Tenants who start to make more money don't want to be evicted and the Land Trust doesn't want to do the evicting.

And what about the people who make very little money, if any?

“How can we can exist when we are charging less than our cost to operate?” Winstead said. “If we want to operate like a good business, we can't run it at a loss.”

Tenants cannot make more than 100 percent of the area median income; the 2007 median for a family of four in Monroe County was $61,000, and $42,958 for individuals renter or buying.

The group's bookkeeping is under scrutiny by Mayor Morgan McPherson and other city officials. Information from last year showed 13 tenants were out of compliance with renting regulations and that 12 units were vacant, pending renovation and other delays.

Sawyer said the figures are outdated and that new information will show most all of the units are filled.

Land Trust members say those critical of its actions should see their accomplishments in preserving the character of Key West and making affordable housing available to low-income residents.

“We could not live here without the BCCLT,” homeowner Jim Marquardt said. He shares a 1,000-square-foot home at 204 Olivia St. with his partner of seven years and Land Trust board member Norman Laurendeau.

Marquardt is concierge at Simonton Court and the president of the trust board. He bought his home with a 15-year fixed mortgage rate from Wachovia bank in 2001 for $96,000. The couple pays about $1,700 a month with insurance and should have it paid off “in just few years.”

Their carpentry skills came in handy, as the home wasn't much when they started out.

“It was basically just a house on dirt,” the Arizona native said. “We installed the deck, fencing, landscaping, and interior lighting.”

Knowing their deed-restricted house will stay affordable for 99 years is a comfortable feeling for the couple.

Jethons Williams, a 32-year-old TV specialist for Monroe County, pays $895 a month to rent his two-bedroom apartment. His cost of rent, originally $630, rose steadily with his salary.

He made sure he had a unit secured with the Land Trust before he moved to Key West from upstate New York.

Our Bi-Annual Report

The Bahama Conch Community Land Trust is proud to present our 2007-2008 Bi-Annual Report. The report is made available in a 2MB "pdf" file, which can be printed on virtually any computer. Just click the picture of the report on the right to view the full report.....

While viewing the report, you can also "save a copy" on your own computer if you wish to refer to it again while off-line.

(Like all "pdf" files, you'll need to have the Adobe viewer on your system. Most all newer systems have this installed already. If you don't have it on your system, you can install the viewer from: HERE. )


We are excited about our accomplishments since our last report, and are looking forward to great things to come.

BCCLT Valentine Cake Sale

VALENTINE CAKE AUCTION
“Bid on Sweets
For your Sweetheart”
Feb. 9th at 3pm
A fundraiser for Oyotunji African Village Black History Program

Sponsored by:
The Restaurant Store
1111 Eaton St.
And
The Art of Baking by Henrietta
At the Resturant Store
Featuring:
Exotic Cakes (i.e. Vanilla Wafer Cake and Banana Pudding Cake)
Created by our own Henrietta of the Food Network Fame!


So come, bring your honey and let’s raise some money!
The Resturant Store 1111 Eaton St. on Feb. 9th at 3pm

It's Your Vote

Now that the Key West City Commission has approved the conduct of a referendum at the November 6 run-off municipal election, BCCLT is mashalling its resources to ensure that the referendum, which grants a long-term lease on 6.6 acres of the Truman Waterfront for the construction of its long-dreamed Bahama Conch Village at the foot of Petronia Street.

Voters approved a similar lease for the Assisted Care Living Facility (ACLF) being planned by the Florida Keys Assisted Care Coalition. The FKACC referendum passed by a better than two-to-one margin, following a very effective lobbying campaign by the FKACC. If the BCCLT referendum is approved, it will make neighbors of two unique facilities at the edges of what is destined to become the jewel of Key West parks. The ACLF will allow Key West senior citizens to age in place in the Southernmost City instead of having to leave the homes that sustained them in their lives. The Bahama Conch VIllage puts a mixed-use village of small retail shops, educational facilities, recreational facilities, and 60-70 units of affordable housing on land that integrates the legacy of Bahama Village within the property that was seized from their ancestors, and that provided good jobs to its residents through the years of the two World Wars and much of the Cold War.

FKACC provides some affordable housing as a part of their development proposal. All of the residential units in Bahama Conch VIllage will fall into that category. BCCLT's proposal includes elements of economic opportunity to small-business entrepreneurs, job training programs for the youth of Key West, programs and facilities for artists, and recreational programs for all of the children of the city.

Even with these two projects, up to 80% of the property will still be park land, green space for all citizens to enjoy and a showcase for tourists of a significant element of the culture of this place.

Time grows short. The referendum will appear on the November 6 ballot. It requires only a majority vote of the electorate to be approved.