Islamorada Village Council members unanimously approved Don Horton as mayor for the upcoming year during a Dec. 9 meeting at the Founders Park Community Center.
A mayor in a council-manager form of government is the ceremonial head of the municipality. Horton will preside over council meetings and will be head of the village government for ceremonial matters. The mayor serves a one-year term.
Sharon Mahoney, who’s served as mayor the past two years, was chosen vice mayor via 5-0 vote.
Following the selections, the council members took a brief recess to change their seats. Council members proceeded through a hefty agenda, which included approval of a draft baseball license agreement with the Monroe County School District.
Council members ultimately took no action on the agreement, due to a number of corrections and adjustments needed on the 18-page document. The school district is seeking to enhance the Founders Park baseball field, which serves as home to the Coral Shores High School baseball program. The project is currently estimated at $6 million.
The school district and village already approved an agreement related to the infrastructure improvements for the baseball field. The property is owned by the village and has been leased for the past 20 years to the school district for use for Coral Shores’ varsity and jayvee baseball teams. The license agreement outlines the rights and obligations for the reconstruction and use of the baseball field and construction of related improvements.
Per the agreement, the school district is responsible for the improvements, which includes a new multi-use building behind home plate, new dugouts and a new playing surface. The school district is proposing to go with artificial turf. The debate over a playing surface continues in the village, however.
One of the sticking points in the draft baseball licensing agreement is language pertaining to the termination notice. The interlocal agreement and the draft licensing agreement list it as two years, but the school district is seeking to increase that to five years.
“It’s been over 20 years. Let’s be real. They don’t have room at the school for a baseball field,” said councilwoman Anna Richards, who supports the Coral Shores baseball’s program at the Founders Park baseball field.
Mahoney said she didn’t want to approve the license agreement due to “all kinds of mistakes” in the draft document. She sought clarity on use of the field by the school district during weekends.
“What’s a weekend? Saturdays and Sundays? It should say Saturdays only,” she said.
She also took issue with the agreement’s lack of language stating the village has a say in the construction of the field, including the specific kind of turf.
“That’s what we (the council) all agreed to,” she continued.
Horton said he’d like the agreement to include monthly progress reports, similar to what the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority has provided over the last year for the water main installation, on the construction of the field. The work isn’t anticipated to begin until after the 2026 high school baseball season.
In other matters, the council voted 5-0 to approve the local government and utility management consulting firm Rafetlis to conduct a wastewater rate and capacity fee study. The contract won’t exceed $35,000.
The village’s wastewater utility requires an updated rate and fee study to ensure that the rate structure, system development charges and long-term financial planning remain accurate, equitable and aligned with current and projected needs. The study comes as the village and Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District work to resolve issues plaguing the village’s system, which sends effluent to the KLWTD plant at MM 100.3. The village is working through a consent order from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to alleviate issues at the North Plantation Key pump station and breaks in the wastewater line at MM 92 in Tavernier.
Council members also directed staff to accept grants from the Florida Department of Transportation to fund a portion of the Freebee rideshare service in the village. The FDOT funding is $276,665, matched by the village for a total cost of $553,330 for 357 hours of service weekly. Accepting this grant would extend the service until June 30, 2027.
