It is ironic that our society has abandoned the historic
notion that seniors are a valuable resource of a community. Throughout the thousands of years of human
socialization in cultures from Asia to the New World, seniors were held in high
esteem for their experience and often times sage advice. They usually lived with their families and
were part of their council of elders who were looked up to and respected by
all.
Perhaps it is the age of medical miracles that has affected
how we think of seniors but, the fact is, they are living longer and are
requiring more and more highly specialized care. Even with that being said, I do not think
much else has changed. I, and we, should
feel a strong sense of obligation and responsibility for those in our community
who have made Key West the wonderful place it is to live. They fought our wars, coached our Little
League teams, built businesses, drove school buses, kept us safe and generally
provided services to us all over the past several decades. It is a matter of honor and respect for us
not to forget their contribution and sacrifices.
It has been ten years since the city set aside a small
parcel of land on Truman Annex for an assisted and independent living
community. After much consideration, three
years later the Commission put the question out to the citizens of Key West and
the referendum was passed with a sixty seven percent approval. The people want this and for good
reason. Their parents are aging and so
are they. The alternative prospect is
not a pretty one. With no such
facilities in our community today, the prospect for working families is to send
their elders “somewhere else”, wherever that may be. Suffice it to say, it will be far enough away
so the family ties will be effectively broken.
In the process, there have been some questions asked which
appear, at least on the surface, to be reasonable but, quite frankly, they are
not, both in terms of economics and common sense. The questions have ranged from this is
valuable waterfront land which should not be allocated to such a purpose, to
let’s let the Housing Authority take care of it and, of course, why should
anybody make money off this enterprise?
Taken separately or together, they just do not hold water. More recently, a Commissioner has asked for
yet another referendum. Why? The people have spoken and the Commission was
elected to represent the people. If we
dilly dally too long, we will have the same thing happen as happened with the
Truman Waterfront. We will lose it.
The land which has been designated for the purpose is the
least desirable on Truman Annex that has been given to this community. This land has not been given for a marina, a
resort or an entertainment complex. It
has been given to the community. If the
Housing Authority or anyone else could have done such a project, they probably
would have, given the obvious nature of this longstanding problem. Finally, building such a project is a high
risk undertaking and there is not a line of developers. Anyone so risking their private capital
should be reasonably compensated for the effort.
The non-profit coalition that has doggedly stayed on the
trail of this project, donating countless hours of thankless meetings and
planning have done their job. Now it is
time we, as the citizens of Key West, do ours.
The alternative to not approving this long overdue project is that the
tax credit financing will soon be lost forever.
The fact is that putting it on Truman Annex puts our seniors within easy
commuting distance to their families, shopping, entertainment and the new park,
an ideal site. In addition to the land
being identified and available, a qualified developer has been identified and
is in place ready to go. All we need now
is for our city leaders to say the word.
Yes, this does require this land be leased at a minimal level, and even
though the developer has agreed to front $500,000 to lease the property, my
point is, the seniors of our community have already paid for this many times over
in their contributions to Key West over the past fifty years. To paraphrase Hillel: If not here, where? If not this developer, who? If not now, when?
I urge all of Key West to support the City Commission by
calling your City Commissioner and voicing approval for what you have already
voted for. Then, come to the meeting at
City Hall when this subject is to be voted upon. The time for action is now and it may slip
away quickly.
On a personal note, I have been here before. We took care of aging parents and it was not
easy, nor was it inexpensive. We have
the opportunity before us to do the right thing, not just for those who can
afford it but for many who can afford something and those who can afford very little. Not to do the right thing is a sinful,
shameful thing which I think we will regret for many days to come and perhaps
more so when we, too, are forced to leave Key West because no such facility
exists. Imagine a life, theirs or ours,
that has been dedicated in some measure to this community. Imagine getting old and having to leave
because there is no place here to live out your life. To provide a facility so our seniors can “age
in place” is a sacred, unspoken covenant within our community. Break it at our peril.
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