By Jim McCarthy and Frank Derfler
School district and Islamorada village officials are still running around the bases over an agreement to improve the baseball field at Founders Park.
Attorneys from the school board and the village spent past weeks renegotiating the baseball license agreement. The hope was that the school board would pass the revised agreement presented by the attorneys and then send the agreement to the village council for final approval. The agreement they considered reduced the scope of the project to artificial turf, dugouts, a perimeter fence and a low wall at a total cost of $3.8 million.
The revised draft agreement does not address bleachers, a scoreboard or other buildings. Pat Lefere, executive director of operations for the school district, acknowledged the smaller project would be completed by the end of January 2027. But that’s if the sides come to a consensus on the license agreement.
When the revised agreement came up for discussion, school board chairman John Dick expressed fear that the village could oust the school district from the facility. He said during the June 23 meeting at Coral Shores High School that he wanted an agreement that’s good for at least 10 years, the lifespan of the artificial turf surface that would be at the field. It was later learned that the initial term of the agreement is 20 years with the option to renew 20 more years.
Board member Sue Woltanski said the relationship went from the school board and village being partners to a perceived renter-landlord situation where the renters — the school district — should “just agree.”
Board member Mindy Conn said the initial discussions talked about a 40-year term, but the draft document had five-year terms that would never have allowed the school board to amortize its investment in Founders Park.
“There are no provisions for Islamorada to take care of the field,” Conn said. “There is nothing in here to protect the district’s investment. They could throw us out two minutes after the work is done.”
Throughout the discussion, members of the village council and the village manager sat within several feet of the school board members who criticized the latest proposed agreement and made several changes. The school board, led by Conn, reviewed each paragraph of the draft agreement and made changes and amendments they felt were necessary, including a five-year advance notice from the village if they intend to not renew the agreement.
Other proposed changes generally reduced the authority and increased the responsibility of the village. School board members approved those proposed changes, as well as a guaranteed maximum price from Keystar Inc. of $3.8 million.
Before the vote, Conn sought to postpone making changes to a lengthy, multipage agreement.
“I just don’t feel comfortable from a legal perspective deciding on something that quickly,” she said. “There’s so much in here that I find problematic and I don’t see how no one else thinks that’s a problem.”
The motion to postpone was voted down and the board proceeded to make changes paragraph by paragraph.
Conn also called for a public face-to-face meeting between school board members and village council members. Informally, councilwoman Anna Richards and Vice Mayor Sharon Mahoney expressed willingness to participate.
The proposed changes approved by the school board will go before council members for review.
