Item K01
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Meeting Date:
10/18/00
Division: Mayor Freeman
Bulk Item: Yes
No
x
Department: BOCC-3
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
Name the new Monroe County justice building in Jackson Square (corner Thomas & Fleming Streets) the
FREEMAN JUSTICE CENTER in memory of William A. Freeman, Jr., William A. Freeman, Sr.,
William "Billy" J. Freeman, T. Jenkins Curry and Claude Freeman for their combined 98 years of public
service in elected office to the people of Monroe County.
ITEM BACKGROUND: William A Freeman, Jr.- Monroe County Commission 1955-74
Florida State Representative 1974-76;
Monroe County Sheriff 1976-1989.
William J. "Billy" Freeman - Supervisor of Elections 1956-84;
Monroe County Commission 1984-88.
William A. Freeman, Sr. - Key West City Council 1927-45.
T. Jenkins Curry - Monroe County Commissioner 1938-40;
Florida Keys Electric Coop Board 1940-48.
Claude Freeman - Key West City Council 4 years in 1920's.
Excerpts from Billy Freeman, Florida Keys Sheriffby AnnieLaura Jaggers which give more detail are
attached.
TOTAL COST:
-0-
BUDGETED: Yes No
COST CENTER #
COST TO COUNTY:
REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes
No AMOUNT PER MONTH YEAR
APPROVED BY: County Atty OMB/Purchasing Risk Management
- - -
DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL:
Mayor Shirley Freeman
To Follow:_ Not Required:
DOCUMENTATION: Included: X
Agenda Item #:
l:Jl1
DISPOSITION:
t--
WILLIAM A. FREEMAN, JR.
Billy's contributions to Key West and the Florida Keys as
an elected official for 34 years in three different offices were
extraordinary. As a Monroe Countyl commissioner from 1954 to
1974, he pushed for the first zoning laws. He was directly
responsible for the creation of Bahia Honda and Long Key State
Parks and for saving the historic buildings on Pigeon Key from
the wrecker's'ball and a potential Howard Johnson's motel. He
brought "sunshine" to the co~ssion by refusing to participate
in making decisions behind closed doors years before Florida
enacted the sunshine laws which mandated open meetings. He
stopped many a proposed action by the commission that would
have benefited a few private individuals at the expense of the
public. He established the first veteran's service office. He
proposed the commission hold meetings in the Middle and the
Upper Keys and that courthouses be built in each of these
regions. .
As state representative in the Florida legislature from
1974-1976, Billy was named as one of the outstanding freshmen
legislators. He obtained millions of dollars in state and federal
funds to replace the crumbling Florida Keys bridges; he
established Indian Key and Coupon Bight on Big Pine Key as
aquatic preserves, and he strengthened protection of the coral
reef.
It was as Monroe County sheriff from 1977 to 1988 that he
made his most remarkable contribution. He wrenched the
department out of the' hands of drug smugglers and made it one
of the top local law enforcement agencies in the nation.
As one of his men, Major Mike Somberg, put it, Billy
Freeman "dragged the Monroe County Sheriff's Department by
its heels, kicking and screaming, out of the 19th Century directly
into the 21st Century." His campaign promise in his first run for
sheriff in 1975 was to give the people of Mgnroe County a
sheriffs department they could be proud of.,
WILLIAM A. FREEMAN, SR.
There is evidence that Will's way of handling problems
mixed courage with ingenuity. The Miami Herald provided this
instance:
"On the top shelf of the City Hall vault is a worn leather
satchel with several hundred dollars in it. But it isn't worth a
dime's spending cash. It's only a reminder of how the city han-
dled budget problems during Depression days when the Key.
West purse was empty. City councilmen took their woes to the
shop of a local printer who with a little ink, paper and a lot of
ingenuity quickly produced between $50,000 and $100,000. The
exact amount is unknown today.
"In some snobbish circles this action might be referred to
as 'counterfeiting.' But in Key West it may go down as one ofthe
more brilliant moves in island history.
"The idea, initiated by William Freeman, Sr., then chair-
man of the city council, kept the defunct city operating. 'There
was no demand for real estate,' said Freeman. 'What was the use
to foreclose - who'd buy?' The money, called 'scrip' ... was issued
as pay wages to about 50 city e~~?yees instead of cash. ... They
handled it like CUlTency and used it to pay bills to anyone who'd
accept it. Some merchants were delighted to get it. They could
use it to pay 50 percent of their taxes. ... H anyone still has any,
they should hang on to it, along with their Confederate dough, of
course. "5
Will was instrumental in seeing Key West establish its
own electric utility, tOday known as City Electric System.
Previously, the electric utility in Key West belonged to Stone and
Webster, a company that owned electric utilities in several
states. In the early 1940s Stone and Webster wanted to sell the
company to the city. The city, however, didn't have the money.
Will Freeman helped work a deal that paid for the company with
revenue bonds, no cash involved. The deal was put together at
.. ro_Qm ~ble of the Eaton Street house.... . _. . .
,"',.," .
. .",
A full-page picture
of about twenty-five
men showing Will
Freeman in center-
front was taken at the
Florida State Council
of the Knights of
Columbus in May 1930
in West Palm Beach.
Eloise has labeled this
picture "When good fel-
lows get togetherl" Will
Freeman was continu-
ously an active mem-
ber. Hilario .Charlie"
Ramos, Jr. told me that
Will and his father,
Hilario Ramos, Sr.,
were responsible for
the stained-glass window over the altar at St. Mary Star of the
Sea.
William A. Freeman. Sr. (left]. acting
mayor and. president of the Key
West City Council. circa 1940.
T. JENKINS CURRY
Thomas Jenkins Curry, Billy's maternal grandfather, was
born on Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas on July 13, 1878, and
his wife Muriel LouiSe Thompson was born in Key West on
December 8, 1880. Her mother Effie "Affie" Sarah Russell was
born in Nassau in 1855. The Currys were descendants of British
loyalists - 'lbries - who, during the American Revolution, fled
from the Carolinas to the land in the BJlhJlmJlI3 granted to the~
byKingGeo~em. :.. - - -----
Grandfather Jenkins
served on the Overseas Road
and 'lbll Bridge Authority which
acquired the right of way of the
defunct railroad and established
a toll road with bridges for auto-
mobiles. The road was built over
the existing railroad bridges
including the Seven Mile Bridge
and the Bahia Honda Bridge.
The hand-rails of the old Seven
Mile Bridge are actually made of
train tracks from the original
Flagler Railroad.
'lbll booths were placed on
Matecumbe and Big Pine Key.
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1: Jenkins Curry with
grandchildren. 1932. He is
holding Mary Ann Albury.
Inftont are (l-r) Murtel
!.Dulse Albury, Dcwtd and.
BUly Freeman.
After
President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed for niraI electrification,
Jenkins was a driving force behind bringing electricity to Key
Largo. He helped organize the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative
which provides electricity from the Seven Mile Bridge to the
Florida mainland. Charles A Russell, current chief executive
officer of the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Association,
recently sent Shirley documentation Showing that T. Jenkins
Curry of Rock Harbor was a member of the original Board of
Trustees ofFKEC and served from January 20,1940, to'April30,
1948, "at which time he chose not to run for re-election. "3
. ,
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This is a June 1938 photograph of the Overseas Road and
Toll Bridae District's Lower Matecumbe Keu toll booth on the