Rules may rule out FEMA trailers in Keys

Jan. 19--A tangle of technicalities on 200 travel trailers for temporary hurricane-relief housing appears to be too much trouble, Monroe County Commission members said Wednesday.

A proposal to bring a fleet of used travel trailers owned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Florida Keys comes with a long list of rules, time limits and expenses, county staff briefed commissioners, meeting at the Marathon Government Center.

In addition to requirements for tie-downs and liability insurance, the agency insists the trailers be removed from the Keys during hurricane season, which begins June 1.

"I don't see what we have to gain if they have to be out of here in six months," Mayor David Rice said. "That's a lot of trouble...If we can't get some flexibility, there's nothing we can do. It is a problem we'd like to solve."

"If we don't get around [the June 1 deadline] it's not worth the headache," Commissioner Heather Carruthers said.

Senior Planning Director Mayte Santamaria said plan would require county staff to move, install and maintain the trailers -- if suitable tie-down locations can be found.

Liability insurance seems may not be available, she added. "It's very difficult to get quotes."

"It's just not practical...We have a need; it's a shame we can't work something out," Commissioner Danny Kolhage agreed.

Commissioner George Neugent suggested seeing if there is a feasible way to purchase the trailers outright from FEMA.

"We're going to wind up displacing as many as 500 people if we don't find some housing for these folks," he said.

Under the proposal, trailers would be loaned to the state for use in the Keys. State officials contacted county staff to gauge local interest.

Rice asked staff to continue efforts to resolve "the requirements that are the real deal-killers."

Boat removal

All vessels sunk or "displaced" in Florida Keys waters by Hurricane Irma may be out of the water, Capt. David Dipre of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told commissioners.

"Everything we could legally remove as a hazard to navigation has been removed," Dipre said.

"The whole thing was a monster, but we defeated it and are cleaning it up," Dipre said of the storm-recovery efforts.

Other boats, yet to be discovered, may lie beneath canal waters, he noted.

Some recovered boats remain at six storage locations, pending destruction or return to the owners. "That should be done soon," Dipre said.

Tavernier's Harry Harry Park, closed since the Sept. 10 hurricane, "has the least number of vessels and should be the first [storage site] to be cleared out," he said. Other sites "are emptying out pretty quickly."

Carruthers asked about storm-damaged boats dumped along roads or on private property. Dipre said hauling vessels off dry land normally lies outside the FWC's jurisdiction, but the agency is seeking solutions.

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