Bobcat
Founding Member
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA Citizen Staff
tohara@keysnews.com
The Monroe County Commission shot down a request from the Florida Powerboat Club for $10,000 in Tourist Development Council (TDC) funding to market a Columbus Day weekend regatta off Key Largo.
The denial during the commission's monthly meeting held Wednesday in Key West comes after U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials complained about a recent club event that drew more than 100 powerboats to Boca Grande island in the Key West National Wildlife Refuge.
The event was held during the annual powerboat races in November in Key West.
The club holds the annual poker run from Miami to Key West each year. Part of the poker run is a Saturday "Fun Run" to Boca Grande, which event organizers said they downplayed this year because of the concerns of the refuge managers that too many people and too much noise on the island could cause problems with the bird rookery.
The TDC approved giving the club $10,000, but commissioners rejected the request because of concerns about having large groups of loud, fast boats off residential neighborhoods.
Commissioners David Rice and George Neugent also referenced a video from the Boca Grande event that showed hundreds of people drinking, bikini-clad girls dancing on a stripper pole on one boat, and more than 100 boats rafted and beached on the island. The video shows people violating refuge regulations, Rice said.
"I don't support funding this at all," Neugent said. "We can put a bullet in this right now."
Powerboat club President Stu Jones plans to meet with Keys Refuge manager Nancy Finley, National Marine Sanctuary superintendent Sean Morton, and TDC member Harry Appel on Jan. 30 to discuss issues with the club's events in the Keys.
Jones contends he did change the name of the "Fun Run to Boca Grande" to just the "Fun Run" on the event itinerary, and he told captains during a pre-event meeting that refuge managers did not want them going to Boca Grande.
Jones argued that only a small number of Florida Powerboat Club members took part in the Boca Grande excursion. The remaining boats were not affiliated with the club, he said.
tohara@keysnews.com
The Monroe County Commission shot down a request from the Florida Powerboat Club for $10,000 in Tourist Development Council (TDC) funding to market a Columbus Day weekend regatta off Key Largo.
The denial during the commission's monthly meeting held Wednesday in Key West comes after U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials complained about a recent club event that drew more than 100 powerboats to Boca Grande island in the Key West National Wildlife Refuge.
The event was held during the annual powerboat races in November in Key West.
The club holds the annual poker run from Miami to Key West each year. Part of the poker run is a Saturday "Fun Run" to Boca Grande, which event organizers said they downplayed this year because of the concerns of the refuge managers that too many people and too much noise on the island could cause problems with the bird rookery.
The TDC approved giving the club $10,000, but commissioners rejected the request because of concerns about having large groups of loud, fast boats off residential neighborhoods.
Commissioners David Rice and George Neugent also referenced a video from the Boca Grande event that showed hundreds of people drinking, bikini-clad girls dancing on a stripper pole on one boat, and more than 100 boats rafted and beached on the island. The video shows people violating refuge regulations, Rice said.
"I don't support funding this at all," Neugent said. "We can put a bullet in this right now."
Powerboat club President Stu Jones plans to meet with Keys Refuge manager Nancy Finley, National Marine Sanctuary superintendent Sean Morton, and TDC member Harry Appel on Jan. 30 to discuss issues with the club's events in the Keys.
Jones contends he did change the name of the "Fun Run to Boca Grande" to just the "Fun Run" on the event itinerary, and he told captains during a pre-event meeting that refuge managers did not want them going to Boca Grande.
Jones argued that only a small number of Florida Powerboat Club members took part in the Boca Grande excursion. The remaining boats were not affiliated with the club, he said.
