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: