New city manager takes KCB helm

Turner marks one month on the job

SARA MATTHIS

sara@keysweekly.com

When Dave Turner took over the management of Key Colony Beach one month ago, it marked the start of his fourth career. He has been a cop, a firefighter, a chamber of commerce executive and now a city manager. In Trenton, New Jersey, where he’s from, he spent 30 years on the job as a firefighter. He was, by turn, the youngest captain on the force and then the youngest battalion chief. He was also pulled into the executive arena as chief of operations, overseeing a $53 million budget and a staff of 253 firefighters and support staff. By comparison, Key Colony Beach’s $5 million budget and 21 employees is a walk in Sunset Park. What’s the most surprising thing about his new role as city manager of Key Colony Beach? “How fast the day goes by,” Turner said. “And I didn’t expect the amount of support I would receive from staff, residents and elected officials.” Rather than being thrown into the deep end and told to figure it out, he said everyone is willing to sit down and give him the full story. “They give me the information I need to succeed,” he said. Turner and his wife, Kimberly Matthews, moved to the Florida Keys in 2017. She is Monroe County’s strategic planner as well as director of libraries. They settled into their home five weeks before Hurricane Irma hit. She was immediately dispatched to the Emergency Operations Center to help manage the crisis during and after the storm, and Turner was recruited to help former Fire Chief Jim Callaghan with logistics. One of the first services he provided was cooking for the large group of evacuated officials at Ocean Reef. So, yes, it’s true that firemen know how to feed large crowds. Here’ a little more about Turner:

How did you discover the Keys? I had been coming down for years for Fantasy Fest with buddies — fishing during the day and people watching at night. I brought Kimberly down one year and we drove around Big Pine Key. Before that, we had been a bit like “Green Acres” — I wanted to live in the country, and she wanted to live in the city. But we could agree on Big Pine Key.

Will you ever move to Key Colony Beach? I’m considering it down the line. It’s a great town. It’s like Mayberry.

How did you meet Kimberly? I was called to do a fire inspection at a library! We’ve been married 13 years now.

Before Hurricane Irma, did you have any hur-

ricane experience? Well, we went through Superstorm Sandy up there. After the storm, I couldn’t get to my shift at the fire station because of downed limbs, so I rode my bike 17 miles to work because I could lift it over obstacles.

Is Key Colony Beach going forward with a new city

hall? Yes, I think we should have a working set of plans in about two months. It will be close, but we think the $5 million construction cost can be covered by our reimbursements from FEMA for Hurricane Irma debris removal and our reserve fund. I will be happy if we don’t have to borrow any money.

How many lots are still unbuilt in Key Colony Beach?

Less than 20 lots that can accommodate a mix of multifamily, single family home and duplexes. We are exempt from the state’s ROGO (rate of growth ordinance), although Tallahassee still has to approve the plans.

What are some challenges facing Key Colony Beach?

Well, we’re about done with our stormwater infrastructure, I think we have less than three streets left to finish and then we will be complete. We’re also looking at how to manage sea level rise and looking for a solution to the city’s lack of a boat ramp.

How many vacation rentals does Key Colony Beach

have? We have 570 registered rentals out of 1,800 homes including condominiums. Our population can go from 800 to 3,300 during season.

Are you a fisherman? What’s one of your best fish

stories? I just love fishing with my dad for stripers up north. Although I have no idea what’s going on right now. I am “snake bit” every time I go fishing lately.

Were you good in school? Heck, no; I was a “flunky.” I didn’t want to be at school. My whole family worked in carpentry and construction, but it’s no fun banging nails in New Jersey’s cold weather, so I took the civil service test and became a police officer as a young man.

How long did that last? About three years. The turning point was that I was under 21 years old and couldn’t legally buy my own ammunition; the chief of police had to buy it for me. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense, so I switched over to the fire department. When I took the “chief test,” I got the highest grade among 1,540 applicants. (Editor’s note: So, no, not that bad at school!)

Is being a fireman in Florida completely different

than being a firefighter in New Jersey? Absolutely. We have separate crews that handle emergency medical service and firefighting. Up there, I was a student of fire science — learning about how different chemicals burn and arson investigation.

Can you tell us about some notable moments on the

job? Well, I worked “the pile” for three weeks after 9/11 looking for human remains. I also lost two buddies in a windowless structure fire in 1986. At that point, I put my nose to the grindstone and started working even harder to become a better firefighter. There was a lot going on in that job in that place — we handled the response to an anthrax attack and even used a ladder truck to get obese patients out of a window.

How has life changed for you since moving to the

Keys? Kimberly can’t believe how many people we’ve met and how many friends we’ve made. Back home, in eight years I probably only ran into a single acquaintance at the grocery store. Now, it’s impossible not to meet someone you know every time you go out. It’s a really great, friendly feeling.

Is there anywhere else a city manager can wear an

earring? Not that I know of.

FLORIDA KEYS AQUEDUCT AUTHORITY NOTICE OF A VIRTUAL STATUS UPDATE CALL REGARDING COVID-19

PUBLIC MAY JOIN THE VIRTUAL STATUS CALL AT URL: h ps://us02web.zoom.us/j/81998853628 Meeting ID: 819 9885 3628

OR VIA PHONE: 1 (646) 558- 8656 Meeting ID: 819 9885 3628

Friday, June 4, 2021, 11:00 a.m.

The purpose of this virtual status call is to discuss COVID-19 response activities and provide updates on operational aspects of the organization.

Disclaimer: Meeting changes or updates will be posted on www. aa.com

City of Marathon Public Meeting Notice

The City of Marathon invites you to participate in a second online meeting to discuss its plan for economic development on Thursday, June 10 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. The City was awarded a grant from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Competitive Florida Program to create a plan that identifies solutions for challenges and leverages opportunities for economic development. At this meeting the Project Team will discuss the draft plan, based on feedback obtained from a public survey and stakeholder input. Participants will be asked to share additional thoughts on the City’s Economic Development Strategy. There are two options for joining this meeting:

Option 1: Online – Type the link below into your web browser.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84424523195

Option 2: By Phone – Call the number below and enter the Meeting ID when requested.

TWO SCENES FROM A BREEDING SEASON

MARK HEDDEN

... is a photogra-

pher, writer, and semi-professional She flew in and landed atop the fence, birdwatcher. He although it wasn’t immediately clear that has lived in Key she was a she. Mourning doves are sexuWest for more than 25 years and may no longer be employable in ally monomorphic, meaning both genders look the same, at least to humans. Males can be up to 10% bigger with slightly brighter plumage, For the moment, though, the two mourning doves just stood there companionably, staring off into the distance. the real world. He but to really tell them apart, you need to weigh and I’m fortunate to have a workspace at The Studios of Key West on is also executive measure them. To be extra sure, you need to move Eaton Street, where a former Masonic Lodge had been falling slowly director of the Florida Keys Audubon Society. some feathers and inspect their, um, bathing suit area. (Most birds’ sex organs are recessed in what are called their cloacas.) into disrepair. For the first few years, the windows in the studios were old-school frosted glass, which was oddly isolating, offering only the vaguest notion of what was going on outside. You could look up from The question was answered, though, when a computer screen and realize the sun had been down for hours. another mourning dove landed next to her and started pitch- Then TSKW raised funds and installed clear, hurricane-rated glass, ing woo. If this was the start of a courtship, he would have making my studio a sensory explosion — a treetop view of Old Town been puffing out his throat and stepping slowly toward her, and all its bustle. Planes pass overhead. Osprey eviscerate fish on the stretching his neck high, then bowing low, uttering a vowelless cross of the United Methodist Church steeple. Storm clouds roll in coo. But they seemed to have advanced beyond that. Instead like moving cities. Down below, tourists do dumb things on scooters. he sidled up to her and did what is called allopreening, reach- There are so many ways to not get any work done. ing over with his bill and straightening out some of her neck Mostly I find myself staring at the mahogany tree across the street, feathers. where the white-crowned pigeons hang out. I expected her to fly away, because 99.99% of the time you I try to track their activities and understand their behavior, but the see a male do this, the female flies away with what can only be mahogany is so heavily leafed I know I’m missing most of what’s haptaken as a hard no. But she just stood there. pening. “Ooh,” I said. “I think it’s on.” Mostly the white-crowns loaf and stand around without much of “What’s on?” my wife asked. an agenda. Sometimes they chase each other, which I just assume “Dove sex.” is more boy-girl stuff, as white-crowned pigeons, like all doves and She looked up from her book. pigeons, are not particularly territorial. The male preened a few more of her feathers. After three For a while last summer I watched at least two pigeons disappearor four such sorties, the female leaned over and preened him ing into the same area of the tree over and over again, at all hours of back. Then she crouched down a bit; he jumped on top of her, the day. I was pretty sure there was a nest there, but I never managed fluttering his wings manically through the whole act. to get a good look. Three-and-a-half seconds later, he jumped off. The techni- My hopes got raised the other day when I saw a scene similar to cal term for the act was a “cloacal kiss.” Sure, there are plenty what happened on our fence take place in the mahogany. A male flew of potential jokes, but it was a damn efficient act of lining up in and landed close to a female. When she didn’t fly away he sidled a parts and conveying genetic materials. So to speak. little closer, and when she still didn’t fly away, even closer. Finally he “Is this the cuddling and cigarette part?” my wife asked, took the leap and landed on her back. then returned to her book. I started counting, wondering if it would be as quick as with the This was most likely the beginning of their pair bond. In mourning doves. One, two, three, four… two or three days the male would select a nest site, probably At 20 seconds I started throwing Mississippis between the numvery nearby, and they would build a nest together, him bring- bers to make sure I didn’t count too fast. At 60 I was wondering if I ing the female a series of twigs and her slowly assembling it. In should start a timer. about 30 days the chicks would fledge and the two would go Somewhere around 70 seconds he jumped off and stood next to for another round, or decide to switch partners. There was a her for a few minutes. Eventually they both retreated into the tree. chance they would raise multiple clutches, usually two eggs at I’m not really sure what sense I can make of putting these two incia time, between now and early fall. dents together, other than to say hey, it’s breeding season, keep your eyes open. Maybe have a stopwatch ready.

SPOTLIGHT ON ELECTRIC SUPPLY BUSINESS

CES combines grand opening with Make-A-Wish fundraiser

Christopher Rodriguez, left, and Jaime Naranjo are pictured in the Marathon store soon after it opened the doors in January. This week, the corporation is throwing a grand-opening celebration. WEEKLY FILE PHOTO

ity Electric Supply (CES) opened its first U.S. branch in 1983 in Florida. The founder, Thomas Mackie, decided to expand the company from the United Kingdom to the U.S. while visiting South Florida. Now, nearly 40 years and over 500 U.S. branches later, CES is staging a grand opening of its newest store in Marathon. It’s set for Thursday, June 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “My grandfather, Tom Mackie, opened the first U.S. CES branch in South Florida, which makes the opening of the Marathon branch even more meaningful,” said CES president & CEO Thomas Hartland-Mackie, who will attend the Marathon event. “It is a privilege to carry on the tradition and continue to serve the Florida community.” CES Co-COO John Gray and CES regional manager Mike Bertone are also looking forward to celebrating the new store, one of 112 branches in Florida, including one in Key West. "We’ve already accomplished a lot with our first location here in the Keys and are looking forward to expanding our network further,” said Gray. “This event will have something for everyone, and we are excited to celebrate with the branch team and customers.” "I have been coming down to the Marathon area for years with my family for vacation. I’ve always wanted to open a CES branch here as we are a family business that fits perfectly into this family community,” said Bertone. “We found the perfect location right on Overseas Highway, and we are very excited about inviting the entire community out to see what we are all about." The grand opening will also mark the company’s fourth Make-A-Wish fundraising event. The recent partnership with Make-A-Wish was made possible through City Electric Supply’s social impact program, CES Cares, and supports the goal of granting life-changing wishes to children with critical illnesses. “We have been pursuing new and creative ways to bring the power of a wish to kids because hope can’t wait. By holding fundraising events or asking for donations, you can become a champion for a child who is waiting for their wish to come true,” said LuAnn Bott, the vice president of revenue and partnership services for MakeA-Wish America. CES will be raising money at the event to help grant fishing-related wishes for children with critical illnesses in our local communities. "The Make-A-Wish Foundation has provided us information on a kid that wishes for a fishing boat and sea fishing experiences,” said Bertone. “This is the perfect fit for our Marathon location right here in the Florida Keys. We want to make sure the kid can go fishing whenever he wants." "Make-A-Wish has been a very strong partner for our Canadian teams for some time now, and we are looking forward to seeing the same success with our USA branches,” said Co-COO Andrew Dawes. “The level of personal service that our branch teams offer each and every day aside from their day-today customer service duties is quite remarkable.” Captain Don Dingman of Jacksonville, the host of “Hook the Future,” is donating 100 fishing rods and reels kids’ combos, sponsored by Carolina Skiff, which will be handed out to kids who attend. “I think it’s so great that a company like City Electric Supply is choosing a charity to help kids. For me, it’s just cool to be a part of something that I know is going to be right,” said Dingman. “It’s good people and a good event, and why not? I’ve got extra rods and reels. Because of COVID, we couldn’t do half the boat shows last year.” The event will also include raffles for Engel 123 & 80 coolers, assorted promotional buckets, an F4P Bluetooth job site speaker, vendor gift cards and more. Milwaukee, TAMCO, Generac, CES Renewable Energies and Lutron are some of the vendors that will be present. The event will take place on Thursday, June 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2735 Overseas Hwy., Marathon. — Contributed

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

Who will take their bucket list road trip to the iconic Florida Keys when they are driving through swarms of genetically modified mosquitoes (GMMs)? How many travelers may fear getting bitten by a GMM? This largely untested and relatively unknown technology is a big risk to our continued recovery. So if you are not already asking why release this technology, let’s start asking it now. We all know hurricanes deeply affect us in the Keys and the memories and impacts of Hurricane Irma in 2017 are still felt today. In 2019, Fodors placed the Florida Keys on its “No” list for 2020, advising people not to visit the Keys because of our “sickly coral reefs,” a fragile ecosystem already in need of help. Before our inclusion on that list could affect us, we faced another challenge as the world entered a global pandemic in 2020 and shutdowns cut off our tourism. Many tourists didn’t travel to the Florida Keys initially, but that has changed. April was a record month for tourism, but we now face a new and self-imposed threat: the recent release of genetically modified mosquitoes. Why release 500+ million genetically modified mosquitoes into an already fragile ecosystem and a recovering tourism economy? Why release these largely untested, unnecessary and risky experiments when we are finally open and anticipating a robust 2021? Why release them when one bad story or event involving these mosquitoes can go viral and negatively alter the already fragile Florida Keys forever? We’ve all been hit with enough in the last few years. Let’s not inflict another potential disaster upon ourselves. Let’s ask our elected Mosquito Control Board and our local government assemblies to stop the genetically modified mosquito experiment before it becomes too late. Even those who believe in the technology’s potential, surely can agree to say NO to continuing this experiment when many questions still exist and while the Florida Keys are a top destination to visit. Let’s not risk the future of the Florida Keys on an unneeded, unproven and untested new technology at this critical time. Let’s wait until we know more about them and their safety in our environment. Tell your elected government to stop this genetically modified mosquito release in our fragile Florida Keys. Visit StopGMM.com to learn more.

Sincerely,

Craig Zabransky Islamorada

As the county emerges from the COVID pandemic, prices for all sorts of goods are rising dramatically for a wide range of goods like lumber, gas and food. The Keys, typically insulated from national economic swings, are situated on the very end of the supply chain and are starting to feel the crunch.

SIGNS INFLATION HAS ARRIVED IN THE FLORIDA KEYS

10. Local banks are offering financing options on stone crab dinners.

9. Smugglers are dropping lumber out of airplanes.

8. Suddenly the $1 billion needed to raise Monroe County roads seems like a paltry sum.

7. The homeless population is now accepting credit cards ... with additional fees for American Express members.

6. The boat slip you rented for the month is more than your grandfather made in his entire lifetime. 5. There is a $20 “service fee” just to cast a vote in the Bubbas. (Just kidding … it’s free. Visit keysweekly.com and vote today!)

4. The Board of County Commissioners is proposing a toll on both ends of the Overseas Highway.

3. FKAA is now charging “by the flush.”

2. Citizens Insurance is complaining about their own rate hikes.

1. A gallon of gas now costs as much as a mojito.

Mainstreaming

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

A star returns with another thriller, a newcomer’s tune is climbing the charts, and is it too early to start planning for Father’s Day? We think not.

WATCH | THE OUTSIDER

Jason Bateman (“Ozark”) is back with another really, really good series he stars in as well as produces. “The Outsider” is a psychological thriller-horror crime series penned by Stephen King. It has an intricate plot and an all star cast — Ben Mendelsohn (“Bloodline”), Julianne Nicholson (“Mare of Easttown”) and Cynthia Erivo (“Bad Times at the El Royale”). The series is on HBO.

LISTEN | OLIVIA RODRIGO

This U.S. artist is climbing the charts with hits like “Driver’s License,” and the recently released “Good 4 U.” The 18-year-old is also an actress, having appeared in Disney+’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” which we think has an excessive amount of colons in the title. See her videos on YouTube.

BUY | FATHER’S DAY

The day to celebrate Dad is just around the corner. Let’s plan ahead with this minimalist wallet — super thin at less than a half-inch wide — that can carry five credit cards, a driver’s license and cash. Some are equipped with RFID blocking to protect digital information from unauthorized data scans. So skinny, super efficient and safe. What dad won’t like that? Available for about $8 on Amazon. .