TAKE ME HOME

Keys SPCA

Keys Weekly is thrilled each week to showcase some “furever” friends that are ready, waiting and available for their perfect adoption “match” at the Florida Keys SPCA’s Marathon campus – complete with their best qualities, preferences and turnoffs to ensure the best fit.

From cats and dogs to Guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, reptiles and birds, the perfect addition to your family is waiting for you at one of the SPCA’s two campuses, in Key West and Marathon. The SPCA’s knowledgeable staff will help with advice and care tips while working to ensure a good fit between each pet and its people. The SPCA’s Golden Paw program also provides special assistance with vet bills and medications for special-needs and older animals that require a little extra TLC.

See all the animals waiting for a home at fkspca.org. To contact the Marathon campus, call 305-743-4800 or visit the campus at 10550 Aviation Blvd.

COWBOY

13-year-old male domestic shorthair.

Looking for: My retirement home.

Turnoffs: If there are no cozy spots to nap.

On April 25, AJAX celebrated the “topping off” of the new Monroe County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Marathon. The topping off is the completion of the highest point of the building.

Monroe County Mayor Pro Tem Holly Merrill Raschein and commissioners David Rice, Michelle Lincoln and Jim Scholl toured the building with County Administrator Roman Gastesi, County Attorney Bob Shillinger and other key staff who will call the new EOC home. Once finished, the category 5-rated EOC will house Monroe County Emergency Management, Monroe County Fire Rescue administration, and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office 9-11 call center. The EOC is expected to be completed in spring 2024.

Highlights of the building include:

- 28,321 square feet (including areas at bottom of elevator and stair towers)

- A design based on a 500-year storm.

- Designed for 220-mph wind.

- Impact rating: windborne debris missile criteria for hurricane shelter safe room (FEMA P-361)

- A first-floor elevation of 20.2 feet (17 feet above ground) due to wave action (above code BFE+3)

- Self-sustaining for 72 hours for up to 150 people, including food, drinking water, electric power and wastewater storage.

- Emergency communications via satellite phone and internet service.