Vandenberg In Political Trouble?

[Tom Winters]

I can't comment on Monroe county politics, although it is RIGHT next door to Miami-Dade, but if this project requires even minor state funding to succeed, then it's not going anywhere. I do have a spot for this ship a mile-and-a-half north of the Hydro Atlantic that I would cede for free in perpetuity if they sank it there.

 

[deepstops]

That's incorrect Tom, the spot is 1.5 miles south of the Hydro Atlantic. :no

 

[deepstops]

Much like Louisiana, Monroe County politics is a great spectator event

 

[trtldvr]

The V-berg is still fighting to stay alive.


Ships ahoy or bon voyage?

[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]

BY MANDY BOLEN
Citizen Staff

A Key West city commissioner is working to protect the city from liability in case the USS Vandenberg does not sink as an artificial reef, but he maintains hope for the project's success as the mayor continues to seek state funding.
Mayor Morgan McPherson met Wednesday in Tallahassee with Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and members of the governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development, which could help with funding.
"They are working to try to come up with a grouping of funds," McPherson said. "Have they committed to it 100 percent? No. But they believe in it and they want to get behind it."
He said he told the group the city was working with a two-week deadline for funding.
"It's either time for the state to become our partner in this or not, but I'd say as of now we have better than a 50-50 chance," McPherson said.
If the funding is not in place within those two weeks, McPherson and City Commissioner Bill Verge both said they need to protect the city of Key West.
Verge, a longtime supporter of the reef project, on Tuesday will ask the city attorney to "begin negotiations" for the city to release the title of the ship, possibly to the banks that have committed financial support.
As of now, the city holds title to the ship "and has entered into various memorandums of understanding or agreement with federal, state and local governments to assist in the project. Private funding institutions have also cooperated in funding the project," according to the proposed resolution.
Verge also remains hopeful for the project.
"The full-court press is on right now," Verge said. "I have to keep the banks comfortable, but I'm trying to keep the window open as long as I can."
He emphasized that, if approved at Tuesday's City Commission meeting, his direction to begin negotiations to release the title would not be the final death knell for the project.
Unforeseen cost increases have jeopardized the hard-fought sinking, with project organizers needing an additional $2.3 million.
Verge and McPherson both have championed the reef project, citing positive economic impacts and environmental benefits to the natural coral reef.
mbolen@keysnews.com
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[polarguard]

Let's keep our fingers crossed
Any idea if this will happen this spring if they get their money
Kind of hard to plan a trip to a new reef with this much political uncertainty going on

 

[trtldvr]

It either will happen by June first of this year or not at all.

Safe dives
trtldvr
Florida Keys Safe Diving Initiative

 

[Buoyant1]

Get that thing sunk...I'm coming back down in November!

 

[polarguard]

NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET BUT THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL IS
HOPEFULLY NOT A ON COMING TRAIN

READ BELOW

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Vandenberg project may get help from fund
BY MANDY BOLEN

Citizen Staff


KEY WEST — The 523-foot former military ship planned as an artificial reef off Key West could be $1 million closer to the ocean floor, after discussions with a state representative who identified a funding source.

Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson met this week in Tallahassee with State Rep. Stan Mayfield from Vero Beach, who chairs the Natural Resources Council and is an outspoken supporter of artificial reefs.

"Rep. Mayfield has created a fund for artificial reefs, and there is currently $1.5 million in that fund," McPherson said Friday, still in Tallahassee. "It looks like we secured a million dollars from the fund, and it's moving through committees as we speak."

The Vandenberg reef project, which has been more than 10 years in the making, is facing critical funding shortages of about $2.3 million that have jeopardized the planned sinking.

"We need help, and we need it by March 31," project organizer Joe Weatherby said on Friday.

McPherson hopes to get the remaining $1.3 million from the governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development (OTTED), which provides funding for projects that will benefit the state's economy.

"This money from Rep. Mayfield's fund would be another point of leverage with OTTED," he said, hoping to have an answer by next week.

Key West City Commissioner Bill Verge, a longtime project supporter, said he was hopeful about the funding, but will not bank on it until the money is in the bank.

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McPherson says ‘Vandy' money found

By Kyle Teal kteal@keynoter.com



But there are no specific promises made

The sinking of the USS Hoyt Vandenberg as an artificial reef 7 miles off Key West could become a dead project if the Key West City Commission passes a resolution Tuesday that would begin negotiations to turn the city's title over to banks that have already invested in the project.

But Mayor Morgan McPherson has been talking to state lawmakers in Tallahassee this week and told the Keynoter things are looking up.

“We have resolved some funds for the Vandenberg,” McPherson said. “It looks like we picked up $1 million. We're about halfway there.”



McPherson said he's worked with state Rep. Stan Mayfield, chairman of the House Environment and Natural Resources Council, in securing the funds from the state's Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto was unavailable Friday afternoon.

City Commissioner Bill Verge said $2.3 million is still needed to sink the 520-foot former military ship.



“I don't want to say that we're there yet,” he said. “I want to keep the pressure on.”

The current cost for the project is $8.45 million, about 40 percent more than the expected original cost, $5.7 million.

Its being financed by the city of Key West, Monroe County, the county Tourist Development Council, U.S. Maritime Administration, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.



Those entities earmarked funds for the projects but nothing's been spent. The title would be released - at no liability to the city - to the local banks that have invested in it.

“You have to start the process and begin talks and negotiations with banks to turn the title over,” Verge said. “You have to look at what's plan B and plan C.”

Verge is also concerned with the U.S. Coast Guard's demands if the vessel is brought down to Key West from its current location, a shipyard in Norfolk, Va. Hurricane season begins June 1, and the vessel can't be towed from Virginia after that because “the Coast Guard is going to say it needs to be off the sea wall before hurricane season,” Verge said.

Organizers have planned for a May 15 scuttling.

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I STAND BY MY ASSESSMENT THAT THIS IS BEING POLITICALLY STAGE MANAGED TO MAKE THE GOVERNOR LOOK LIKE THE HERO - WHO WILL GET TO PUSH THE BUTTON TO SINK THE SHIP:14:

 

[ONESPEED]

This link was just forwarded to me:

Sink the Vandenberg

 

[trtldvr]

Commission cautious on reef project

[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]BY MANDY BOLEN [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]Citizen Staff [/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]KEY WEST — The 523-foot USS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg could very well end up on the ocean floor, as planned, but the Key West City Commission has taken steps to ensure the project will not sink the city if it flounders. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]Commissioner Bill Verge on Tuesday asked his fellow commissioners and the mayor to support a resolution that would enable City Attorney Shawn Smith to begin negotiations, "if necessary," that would release the title of the ship from the city's hands to the banks that have funded the artificial reef project. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]"The purpose is not to terminate the Vandenberg project," said Verge, who has worked with project organizers to sink what would be the second-largest ship ever intentionally sunk as an artificial reef. "The purpose is to put the city in the right position." [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]Currently, the city holds the title to the former military ship that project organizers hope will come to rest, as its final tour of duty, on the ocean floor about seven miles from Key West. Proponents say the new reef would attract divers, fishermen, snorkelers and researchers. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]"Things are still moving along, and we're making some progress," Verge said. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]He reminded those attending Tuesday's commission meeting that the Monroe County Tourist Development Council has predicted a bleak financial summer for Keys tourism, and said the sinking of the Vandenberg in May would rectify much of that. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]Verge also has letters from the producers of Discovery Channel's "Mythbusters" and CBS "Sunday Morning News," both of whom have said they want to produce television shows about the sinking of the ship. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]"If that's not good publicity for Key West in the summertime, I don't know what is," Verge said. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]Toward the end of the meeting, Commissioner Barry Gibson, the owner of a business on Duval Street, thanked Verge for his commitment to ensuring a good summer.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Times New Roman]mbolen@keysnews.com[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Time New Roman]Published on Wednesday, April 2, 2008[/FONT]​