Thanks to a move initiated by openly-gay City Commissioner Donnie Lee and supported by Mayor Danise Henriquez, and commissioners Castillo and Carey, the City of Key West missed its opportunity to have its day in court piggy backing off efforts by the City of Delray Beach.
On Friday, attorneys for Delray Beach, filed a 68-page motion asking for a new mediator other than FDOT insider Jennifer Marshall.
The filing, which Key West would have been party to sans Lee’s push during a contentious Sept. 3 meeting, laid out 15 reasons why Delray Beach should get a new mediator — including the fact that Marshall had been in previous back channel discussions with officials at FDOT.
Delray’s Vice Mayor, Rob Long, said the move wasn’t about money — despite the city receiving the same funding threats as Key West — but about fighting for his municipality and its resident’s.
“These crosswalks were compliant when they were installed and we believe they are compliant now,” said Long. “All we want is the opportunity to present evidence that this crosswalk is safer now, and we have that.”
That was the same argument made by City Commissioner Sam Kaufman leading up to Wednesday’s showdown.
“Our crosswalk was installed by licensed contractors familiar with the state guidelines,” Kaufman has said previously. “And KWPD and City Staff have told me that they have seen no major issues caused by the crosswalks.”
Several studies conducted around the state have shown that intersections decorated with similar pieces of street art are in fact safer than regular crosswalks due to their high visibility.
Kaufman originally called for special meeting to discuss the City’s legal options, but did not receive a co-sponsor from either the commission or embattled City Manager Brian Barroso — who is facing a series of internal meltdowns at City Hall.
During Wednesday’s meeting, commissioner Monica Haskell seconded Kaufman’s resolution to join Delray and Miami Beach in a cost sharing strategy to defend the crosswalks.
After Kaufman failed to garner the support of Henriquez and the rest of the commission, Lee was able to get a resolution passed by the cabal to specifically direct city staff to take no further action against FDOT, fearing reprisals related to road and mass transit funding.
In what many see as a miscalculated political blunder, Henriquez could have saved face by supporting Kaufman’s resolution, which wouldn’t have passed anyway due to Commissioner Mary Lou Hoover’s absence for health reasons.
Marshall, on behalf of FDOT, had given the cities until Friday afternoon (yesterday) to submit their final arguments, but the motion stayed proceedings until a judge can hear Delray’s motion.
It is unclear when FDOT will rule on Key West’s request to keep its crosswalks.
This is an evolving story. Watch this space.
