Airport hotel plans should be rejected

Last Stand Director and Treasurer Mark Songer has posted the following personal editorial message to the local newspapers....

Airport hotel plans should be rejected The Key West City Commission should reject the county’s offer to build an 18-story hotel at the airport. There are two good reasons to turn the offer down. First, an 18-story hotel is at least 15 stories beyond the height limits. The city charter requires that if the Board of Adjustment would approve a variance for habitable space above the height limit, it still must go before the voters. Time after time, citizens in Key West have spoken out against changing the height limit, and it is very unlikely that this project would be the exception. Second, neither the city nor the county should set themselves up in competition with private concerns in order to raise revenue, no matter how many hundreds of thousands per year it may be. The significant subsidies in this proposal will harm the interests of current hotels and innkeepers by adding competition with a lower cost of doing business. If there is an economic need for hotels in the city or the county, developers will justify building them within the Rate of Growth Ordinance. If the need for additional hotel rooms is great enough, developers will find a way to tear down condos and build hotels. If Key West or Marathon needs an emergency operations center that will house workers in a hurricane or other emergency, then the city or county should bring a proposal to the table that relies upon city, county or state funding. If city or county government needs additional revenue, it should look to the taxes under its control or continue the difficult process of cutting costs while maintaining essential services. Mark E. Songer Key West