KW Citizen Editorial

[Bobcat]

Tread carefully but keep powerboat races
Must all good things come to an end? We hope not with the annual offshore powerboat races.

The boat races have been a fixture in Key West for many years. The public and our visitors throng to the races each year. We understand that the competitors, their crews and sponsors love Key West as a venue for the championship races. No doubt our local economy benefits mightily from the annual event.

During the past few weeks, the promoter of the races has been suggesting that he needs nonspecific assurances from the city of Key West to enable him to host the races at the Truman Waterfront, or he will be required to relocate the races to other venues on Florida's west coast.

This is not the first time that the promoter has made such veiled threats. What has raised the threat level is the proposed redevelopment of the waterfront property into a first-class park.

The proposed park plans have been approved by the Truman Waterfront Advisory Board and, in turn, by the city commission. Final approval of the park plan now awaits the approval of the Navy, which hopefully will come soon.

We understand that the design of the park incorporated requirements of the race promoter to allow access to the waterfront area for launching and retrieving the race boats, as well as adequate roads providing access to the race village that is crucial to the economic viability of the races. That is the type of cooperative effort that should be expected from our government and those who would use city property to sponsor events, such as the powerboat races.

We are not sure what additional concessions the race promoter requires so that he can continue to stage the races at the Truman Waterfront. We are told that the Truman Waterfront Advisory Board likewise is in the dark. That is a shame.

Dialogue is essential.

To be clear, the proposed waterfront park must take priority over all other temporary uses of the park property, but there ought to be a way to meet the reasonable requirements of the race promoter without sacrificing what the public expects in its proposed park.

Under no circumstances should the construction of the park be delayed, or material changes to the park design be implemented, simply to accommodate the race promoter.

We urge all concerned to work in a spirit of compromise so that a first-class park can be realized, and the boat races can continue in Key West.

-- The Citizen

[Ratickle]

Something tells me the park may win, but I certainly hope not....