We firmly believe that local news should come from local sources – the people who live and breathe these stories in real time with our communities. As we look back on the headlines that caught the most attention in 2024 – the joyful, the sorrowful, the triumphant and the controversial – it’s our honor to present the annual Year in Review for Marathon.
January
Key Colony Beach settled a highly-publicized lawsuit over construction of a new City Hall, repealing a previous contract to build a new $8.4 million building.
Meanwhile, draft legislation sent from Marathon City Hall posing up to 8,000 potential building rights for the Keys drew the ire of residents and county leaders, before the city agreed to delay its ask for one year.
On the other end of town, a hotel redevelopment ordinance that some said appeared to aid the upcoming Florida Keys Resort on Sombrero Boulevard met scrutiny from the Marathon City Council.
February
Citing her upcoming move to Marathon, former KCB commissioner Beth Ramsay-Vickrey became the second commission member to resign in four months. She wasn’t alone, as multiple employees, including Code Enforcement Officer Barry Goldman and Building Official Lenny Leggett, resigned later in the month. As the city turned the page to finding ways to augment its existing building, KCB celebrated a long-awaited reopening of City Hall.
In Marathon, a pivot by the city council on the design of the Quay property to add a second boat ramp saw healthy debate and plenty of community feedback, and the council scaled back provisions allowing for large-scale redevelopment of hotel and motel rooms.
March
The month began on a dark note, as former First Baptist Marathon pastor Monte Chitty was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl after serving her alcohol. Chitty skipped his arraignment and fled the county, but was found four days later after approaching a church group in Texas.
A new Florida bill banning homeless camping thrust Marathon’s 20th Street encampment into the spotlight as leaders grappled with a permanent solution for the city. And over in Key Colony Beach, commissioner Doug Colonell was appointed to replace Ramsay-Vickrey, eventually securing re-election in November.
April
Health care in the Middle Keys took a leap forward with the unveiling of Baptist Health’s new Walsh Family Medical Arts Building on April 4. The Keys’ most beloved tree, Fred, became a Hollywood star in Amazon Prime’s “Road House” remake, and a redesigned skate park at Marathon Community Park, a years-long lightning rod of debate, took center stage at the Marathon City Council’s monthly workshop.
After telling the Keys Weekly they “hope (we’re) using the word allegedly, because (they’re) innocent until proven guilty” when they were released from jail in late 2023, a Boot Key Harbor liveaboard couple who took part in the January 6 U.S. Capitol riots both pled guilty to their charges on April 30. Bryan Bishop, who faced felony charges after spraying a chemical irritant in the face of a capitol police officer, was later sentenced to 45 months in prison.
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May
Celebrations closed the end of the school year as Marathon bid farewell to the Class of 2024, including 64 Take Stock in Children scholars who earned a combined $1.6 million in Florida Prepaid scholarships. Valedictorian Marquisha Abraham and salutatorian Cami Wrinn ended the year at the top of their class.
On the mainland, the Marathon unified soccer team scored gold in the Special Olympics Summer Games at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. The team has been a game-changer for special education players, whose classmates at Marathon High have fully embraced and celebrated their accomplishments.
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June
As scrutiny around the Florida Keys Resort intensified, so did flooding concerns on the neighboring Sombrero Boulevard. (Even though the city will NOT, as suggested by the Weekly’s annual April Fool’s article, be converting the road into a community lagoon.) A multimillion-dollar active pumping and drainage system is scheduled for installation in 2025.
A milestone settlement brought years of legal proceedings to a close in Marathon’s infamous “Boatworks” case, and over in KCB, the Key Colony Beach Police Department became the final municipal force in the Florida Keys to unionize.
July
As the subject of future plans for the Florida Keys Resort became a major political talking point around the city, owner Peter Rosasco pulled back the curtains on plans for his upcoming development, including a completed golf course, aquatic driving range, restaurant, pool and more alongside a hotel and waterfront villas.
A controversial right of way abandonment that some locals said was not properly described led to a push for the city council to install a new kayak launch and preserve waterfront access for residents on 109th Street.
Over in Key Colony, following months of dual service by Mayor Joey Raspe as the city’s interim City Administrator, the commission installed former Marathon councilman John Bartus in the reworked staff post to replace former administrator Dave Turner, who was fired in December 2023.
August
Though a series of hats were thrown in, and ultimately withdrawn from, the ring, five candidates qualified in August to run for Marathon City Council: Jody “Lynny” Del Gaizo, incumbent Kenny Matlock, Dustin Huff, Mark Senmartin and Ray Wood. Though he ended the campaign with the largest war chest, Huff later withdrew from the race in October citing family health concerns.
A tragic personal watercraft accident claimed the lives of Jose Dominguez and his son Daniel after the pair slammed into a Boot Key Harbor canal’s seawall on Aug. 14. And with additions to a growing list of indictments in the county’s Trauma Star drug theft case, former fire rescue captain Andrea Thompson received an outcry of support from Marathon locals with a slogan “Stand with Andrea.” Thompson was eventually terminated in late September.
September
A city-wide visit from the FBI on Sept. 5 rocked Marathon as the agency unsealed an indictment charging 27 defendants, including Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority employees, commercial charter boat operators and a former City of Marathon employee, with federal drug and firearm offenses in and around the Florida Keys and Miami-Dade County.
The city council renewed its debate over the city’s 20th Street encampment after community members petitioned the board to provide greater aid for the street’s residents. And when it came time to sharpen pencils for Marathon’s annual budget, raises for city staff were once again the hot topic of the month’s budget hearings. Council members stressed the need for consistent evaluation procedures for staff moving forward, along with a basic structure to be adjusted with annual data for future years’ raises, and managed not to raise property taxes for 2024-25.
Held for the first time ever at Hawks Cay resort, the Weekly’s annual Best of Marathon Awards brought the community together for a night of celebration, laughs and roasts aplenty.
And in just under two years of construction, Monroe County completed its brand new Emergency Operations Center, holding a grand opening on Sept. 23.
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October
At its October session, the Marathon City Council greenlit a number of new developments, including a highly-scrutinized 20-home development with a food truck ring and tiki bar between 61st and 62nd Street Gulf, along with a healthy debate over a transfer mechanism for affordable housing allocations from other Keys governments.
Candidates in local races squared off in the Weekly and Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce’s candidate forum on Oct. 7, with harder-hitting questions addressing controversial aspects of city council candidates’ campaigns.
November
Matlock and Del Gaizo saw their campaign efforts rewarded with wins by convincing margins on Nov. 5 and were sworn in one week later. Though originally scheduled to decide Marathon’s request for building rights at its regular November session, the Marathon City Council postponed the decision until December, electing to hold a special workshop that filled the room to gauge resident input.
Over at Marathon High School, Special Olympics weightlifters Cindy Augustin and Alex Chavala returned to their classmates as champions on Nov. 12, fresh off gold medal performances at Special Olympics Florida’s state meet. Both Augustin and Chavala will be considered for competition in the June 2026 Special Olympics national meet at the University of Minnesota as representatives for Florida.
December
Following a Dec. 3 workshop, the Marathon City Council unanimously elected to move forward with a request to state officials for changes in hurricane evacuation times that could increase the number of building rights throughout the Florida Keys – a change from 24 to 26 hours, along with a new building right per vacant buildable lot in the city.
Amid a flurry of holiday events, two first-time happenings on the same day look to have cemented their places as annual highlights of the holiday season with an overwhelming community response to Pigeon Key’s Holiday Spectacular and the 7 Mile SantaCon.
