TIME CAPSULE FOUND IN RECENTLY DEMOLISHED MONROE COUNTY FLEET BUILDING

​Monroe County Fleet Management found a time capsule in the recently demolished maintenance building on South Roosevelt Drive in Key West. Earlier this year, Fleet Management moved to its new Rockland Key location to prepare for the Key West International Airport remodeling. While removing the original dedication plaque from the 1984 building, the crew found a PVC time capsule in the wall. Monroe County Mayor David Rice said the time capsule is anything but historic given its 40-year milestone next year but said opening it at the ribbon cutting of the new building on Rockland Key in the next year or so would be interesting. No one currently on the commission or staff knew the time capsule existed in the walls of the building or what the contents may contain.
 
“After opening it, a good plan would be to add a few things to it and place it in the wall at the new building, similar to how this was found, to be forgotten once again for decades to come,” said Rice. In the meantime, Monroe County will keep the unopened capsule in safekeeping.
 
The dedication plaque lists the 1984 County Commissioners as Ed Swift, Jerry Hernandez, Ken Sorensen, Wilhelmina Harvey, and Alison Ferar. After speaking with Ed Swift, he doesn’t recall placing the time capsule in the wall or what the contents might be but said he looks forward to seeing what is inside. 
 
The new location of the Monroe County Fleet Maintenance facility is 111 Overseas Highway, MM 9, behind Mama’s Garden Center, Rockland Key.