Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The seat on the dais between Key West City Commissioners Bill Verge and Barry Gibson will be empty next month after the resignation of Commissioner Dan Kolhage.

Before he leaves the commission, Kolhage will provide input about whether commissioners should appoint someone to serve the last three months of his term or leave the seat empty.

When the commission meets tonight, City Attorney Shawn Smith will help lawmakers establish a procedure for nominating and selecting a replacement, if they so desire.

Before his departure, Kolhage, who officially steps down the first week of July, wants to honor his predecessor, former Commissioner Jose Menendez.

Menendez served as a commissioner from 1969 to 1971, and again from 2003 to 2007.

Kolhage will ask his fellow commissioners to support him in naming a new bandstand at Bayview Park after Menendez.

"Menendez was an enthusiastic and constant supporter of the reconstruction of the bandstand at Bayview Park," reads a proposed resolution that puts the former commissioner's name on the structure.

Also tonight, commissioners are expected to cough up the $1.3 million the city pledged in support of the Hoyt S. Vandenberg as an artificial reef. The money did not have to be paid unless and until the former military ship was successfully scuttled as an artificial reef, which occurred around 10:25 a.m. on May 27.

Finally, the Mel Fisher Maritime History Museum is expected to take over a lease of the historic turtle cannery building at Key West Bight, where it will install an interactive exhibit that details the history of Key West's sea turtle industry.

The commission meets at 6 p.m. in Old City Hall, 510 Greene St.