Key West Bight Board to Review CRA Budget as Shrimpboat Sound Debate Is Delayed
Presentation on Bight preservation, FY26 budget highlights lead Wednesday meeting and a new slip lease for a historic schooner.
The Key West Bight Management District Board convenes Wednesday with a trimmed agenda after a controversial discussion on the future of Jimmy Buffett’s Shrimpboat Sound Studio was removed — a move that delays debate on the city-owned landmark until at least January, according to officials familiar with the process.
The meeting begins at 4 p.m. at City Hall, 1300 White St., with routine business including roll call, the Pledge of Allegiance and approval of the agenda. Board members are also slated to approve minutes from their Nov. 12 meeting. The meeting will be streamed live on the city’s website, and public comment can be via eComment.
Two presentations headline the session. The Key West Bight Preservation Association will brief the board as part of its ongoing role representing tenants and stakeholders within the Historic Seaport. That will be followed by a Community Redevelopment Agency budget review from CRA Manager Karen Wilman, who is expected to outline the FY26 financial outlook for Bight-related accounts 601 and 603.
Probably the most consequential item on Wednesday’s agenda, the board is scheduled to discuss and vote on a resolution directing the city manager to negotiate a dockage agreement with Seth Salzman for his historic schooner When and If.
The proposed action follows a detailed review of the Bight’s strict 2011 wait-list policy, which requires applicants offered a slip to place a vessel in the berth within 30 days or be moved to the bottom of the list.
According to the resolution and back up, Slip A-1 — became vacant on July 1, 2025, and was initially offered to Paul McGrail based on a 2011 wait-list entry. The resolution states McGrail never brought a schooner to the Bight in the months following notification and had not made dockage payments as of Nov. 1. It also says the wait-list dates used to award him the slip had already been used to secure dockage for other vessels, including the parasail boat Sebago X in 2012 and the schooner Appledore V later that year.
With no other valid wait-list entries under McGrail’s name, Salzman’s When and If appears next as the eligible historic vessel, with an entry dated Jan. 9, 2016.
Salzman has argued that had the 30-day rule been enforced and the wait-list maintained properly, his vessel would have been awarded the slip. The resolution also cites the board’s authority to award slips to historic vessels and working boats outside the wait-list order with board approval.
Ahead of the vote, the board received written public comment urging support for Salzman’s request. Key West resident Mary Ann Matter wrote that historic vessels play a vital role in the city’s tourism-driven economy and said the addition of When and If would “elevate the Historic Seaport’s authenticity” following the loss of the schooner Western Union, formerly the city’s flagship. She described the Patton-designed vessel as “a historic gem” that deserves a permanent home on the waterfront.
Capt. Joanne Paliemri, a longtime Key West mariner, wrote that the mix of vessels at the Bight has shifted in recent years toward motor yachts and commercial “booze cruise” operations, with fewer historic sailing vessels remaining. She told the board that Salzman’s boats are “impeccably maintained” and said securing dockage for When and If would help preserve the character of the Historic Seaport.
If approved, the resolution would authorize the city manager to negotiate a dockage agreement with Salzman for suitable berth space at the Bight.
The pared-down lineup heightens attention on the Shrimpboat Sound Studio issue, which had been expected to generate significant public interest before its removal.
Shrimpboat Sound — an iconic piece of Jimmy Buffett’s recording legacy and a focal point of preservation concerns within the Bight — is “likely to return to the board’s January agenda,” one city official said Tuesday, noting that the timing aligns with broader strategic discussions about long-term planning for the waterfront district.