Meeting Notes of the Frances Street Neighborhood Association

November 15, 2010
Notes by Margaret Schaeffer

A big Thank You to Lynn Sherman for hosting our first meeting of the year!

And to Jon Allen who took on the major responsibility of moderating the meeting!!


There were a number of topics discussed at this meeting:

• Duck Tours – Jimmy Weekley told the group that the City was forced to allow the Duck Tours to operate because of the past lawsuit the City had with them. At this time their route includes Southard Street from White Street all the way down to to the Truman Waterfront. Jimmy is hoping to make some changes to this route; perhaps entry on Simonton or for them to go down Eaton Street, but nothing is set yet. Also, if they do not begin operation at a reasonable time set by the Commission they could lose the franchise.

• Parking – Jimmy Weekley and John Wilkins are working on parking issues in Old Town. Jimmy is striving for the residents of Old Town to have a parking place when they come home. They are considering a Permit System with a yearly sticker that the Parking Patrol would be able to see to ascertain your right to park. The Citizen newspaper indicated they would probably have to issue permits to all residents, and even those outside of Key West, at different fees.

• Bicycle Master Plan - Diane Nicklaus, city staff coordinator for the Bicycle Action Advisory Committee discussed the City’s plans for the Bicycle Community. She said their plan was Education, Enforcement, Encouragement and Engineering. They will have more racks on taxis and buses, will add more bicycle racks around town, and will work with local companies to have franchises at the Ferry Terminal and the Cruise Ship piers. They also plan on adding a new route from the White Street Pier to the Truman Waterfront and revamping the existing Southard and Fleming Street routes.

• Angela Street – Clayton Lopez said the one-way change on Angela Street seems to be working. The City removed half of the bumper strips to allow for handicapped accessibility and plan on replacing these with Rumble strips, which are safer for motor vehicles.

• Frances Street Cemetery Gate – First Jimmy Weekley told the group that in 1996 a bicycle route from Windsor Lane to Frances Street, through the Cemetery, was dedicated, but never created. He is going to bring this before the Commission to see if this will force the Frances Street Gate to be opened.

Jim Scholl said many problems have been solved since the Frances Street Gate was closed and that the City Ordinance on the route through the Cemetery overrides any Resolution Jimmy Weekley has made or will make in the future. They would have to change the legislation to allow for the gate to be opened.

Helen and Ben Harrison and Christine Russell made a presentation on their research on opening the Frances Street Gate. They stressed how much the Cemetery means to residents and tourists alike, and that the Sexton’s job description did not allow for making this decision. They also stated that as a paid official he had no right to send out emails to the “Conch Network” soliciting their support to close the Frances Street Gate. They recommend opening the Frances Street Gate for one-year trial run period. They would start a Friends of the Key West Cemetery that would conduct Cemetery Watches and report any problems to the police and have signage at the gates to indicate the rules and punishments for disobeying these rules.

They also described an example of a another cemetery group, Friends of the Old Sacramento City Cemetery, which has established a wonderful program revolving around the history and importance of their City Cemetery. Please visit their website at http://www.oldcitycemetery.com

The next Meeting of the Frances Street Neighborhood Association will be on Monday, December 27 at 5:30pm at the home of John Padget and Jacob Dekker at 611 Frances Street.

JIMMY WEEKLEY TO HOST DISTRICT 1 MEETING ON PARKING

On Wednesday, November 10th, Commissioner Jimmy Weekley will hold a meeting to discuss residential parking issues in the Old Town area. The public meeting will be held at 6:00pm at Old City Hall on the corner of Greene and Ann Streets.

FSNA November 15, 2010 Meeting Notice

Dear Frances Street Neighbors -

Our first meeting of the 2010 - 2011 season will be at Lynn Sherman's home, 706 Ashe Street, at 5:30 pm on Monday, November 15th.

We will have brief discussions on the following topics:

- Diane Nicklaus, city staff coordinator for the Bicycle Action Advisory Committee, will discuss the latest Bicycle plans

- Commissioner Jimmy Weekley will discuss the tour vehicle policy, including the new Ducks Tour

- City Manager Jim Scholl will address the cemetery gate issue.
Ben Harrison will bring up local concerns on this gate closure.


See you November 15th.

Margaret Schaeffer
for the Frances Street Neighborhood Association

An Update From The Frances Street Neighborhood Association Steering Committee

Frances Street Neighborhood Association Steering Committee

October 19, 2010

Dear Frances Street Neighborhood Members:

Our neighborhood association remains as informal as ever, but several members got together over the summer to set dates and sketch out plans for the coming year (at least Fall through Spring).

Before the details for next year, however, our deep appreciation to MaryBeth McCulloch for her fabulous work in organizing and guiding our meetings over the past two years. Great work MaryBeth, and many thanks from your neighbors.

Dates: Dates for meetings are as usual on Mondays at 5:30: Nov. 15, Dec. 27, Jan. 24, Feb. 28, March 21, April 25, May 23. Lynn Sherman has once again generously offered to host the November 15 meeting as has John Padget for the December 27 meeting. More on these meetings later.

Hosts and Co-Hosts: Those willing to host a meeting as well as those who cannot host but would like to co-host by buying drink and snacks for one of our meetings, please contact Pauline Sherman or Jan Koos Oostdijk. They will serve as the contacts for hosts/co-hosts in order to provide updated information about the upcoming event and field questions they may have.

Moderator: Rather than one person being responsible to moderate all meetings, we will ask others to volunteer for this responsibility. Please contact Jan if you are interested.

Other Responsibilities: Jane Vetter has agreed to remain as treasurer, Phil and Margaret Schaeffer will update the blog and send and receive email on behalf of FSNA. Jane, Phil and Perry will take responsibility for our meeting topics and contacting guest presenters. Anyone with ideas about meeting topics is welcome to contact any of those members.

Please do take note of the meeting dates and join your neighbors in discussing neighborhood issues. If you have comments or questions or if you wish to be removed from the mailing list, you may contact the appropriate person directly or through Margaret and Phil.

For those who are in town, see you in the neighborhood! For those out of town, we look very much forward to your return home.

Contact Info:

Perry Johnston   293-8075   perryjohnston@bellsouth.net

Jan Koos Oostdijk    509-9243   jan@jangeorge.com

Phil Schaeffer   587-6909   keywestphil@gmail.com

Margaret Schaeffer   294-7825   keywestmargaret@gmail.com

Jane Vetter   296-3703   janevetterkeywest@yahoo.com

Pauline Sherman   433-1008   paulineinkeywest@aol.com