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.