Two weeks after its first public workshop on the subject, Cedar Key city officials and residents gathered again on Thursday to discuss the future of Dock Street and the Marina area.
The event, held at Cedar Key City Hall, was geared toward addressing the challenges in rebuilding after the damage caused by Hurricane Helene and a fire on Dock Street in September. Cedar Key City Commissioner Jeff Webb said he felt community involvement is essential for the future of the city.
“I want the community to be involved because I believe if they don’t feel like they’re a part of the process, they might not be there for the result,” Webb said.
The group discussed various ideas, with projects categorized by the timeframe until completion. Short-term projects were those taking two years or less, mid-term projects would take three to seven years and long-term projects were those taking longer than seven years to complete.
Webb asked participants to vote on how long they believed each project should take. From there, each group discussed the plans and identified possible issues and proposed solutions.
About 70 participants worked in groups and at the end of the workshop, each group shared the contents of their discussion with the rest of the room.
They discussed funding sources and how to add street lights and benches and bring structures on Dock Street back up to code. Protecting Cedar Key from future storms was also a priority.
One proposal was to build a jetty, a structure that acts as a barrier to protect the shoreline. Another proposal considered having mobile vendors that could exit the city when there was a storm on the way, allowing Cedar Key’s economy to be more resilient.
Residents pointed out numerous roadblocks to various proposals. Economic feasibility was a point of emphasis throughout much of the room.
Cedar Key resident Andrea Dennison said she was concerned with an increase in the public works budget with all the projects on the horizon. She said she’s worried about the revenue the city will be able to generate, especially without some of the financial benefits from Dock Street and the Marina.
“There’s a lot to consider, but we want a resilient dock area,” Dennison said.
Although funding is a concern, workshop participants said they didn’t want to lose what makes the city special to them. When presented with the possibility of bolstering tourism by changing open container laws that might make alcohol consumption more prevalent in the dock area, many vehemently rejected the idea.
Resident Lynn Martindale expressed concern over what the change could do to the wildlife and clamming industry, along with an uptick in trash, an issue the city has struggled with.
Andrea Dennison was concerned about the environment open containers could create and said she didn’t want to see Cedar Key become a party scene.
“Absolutely not,” Dennison said. “The thing that I love about Cedar Key is that it’s family-centric. We want to keep it that way.”
Webb described Dock Street and the Marina as Cedar Key’s living room, and the desire to make them feel like home again. Residents and city officials are taking on the rebuild together through community involvement.
Another workshop participant, Denise Ludtice, emphasized the importance of collaboration during the process.
“We need to use the voices we have in the community. We need funding, and we need true vision,” Ludtice said.