The next salvo in the cruise ship wars in Key West could take place at Wednesdayâs city commission meeting.
Two opposing resolutions to either accept or reject a federal grant that would help pay to rebuild and expand the T-pier at Mallory Square are on the agenda. The decades-old pier is a small, T-shaped concrete slab extending off the front of Mallory Square that is used for docking visiting ships. It is owned by the city.
Normally, accepting federal or state funding for a local infrastructure project is a no-brainer. But this time, some city officials are concerned that taking the grant funding will commit Key West to accepting cruise ships at Mallory Square larger than those approved in last Novemberâs referendum. Indeed, the original grant application from the city, written in 2018, long before cruise ship restrictions were being discussed, said that one reason for the T-pier overhaul was to allow the city to dock larger ships at Mallory Square, contributing to the