Tasked with tackling a wildly varied agenda, the Marathon City Council moved through items at its Aug. 8 meeting ranging from dogs at Sombrero Beach and a lighted bicycle parade to dissolution of the city’s code board and approval of two significant residential developments.
Jury Still Out on Harbor Drive Boat Ramp Solution
A hotter topic in recent months, the council revisited ongoing congestion at the Harbor Drive public boat ramp, closed for a short period when it was overwhelmed with mini-season traffic late last month. The council was split in its opinions; while councilman Jeff Smith advocated for increased fees at that location used to incentivize use of other ramps, Mayor Luis Gonzalez expressed concern that increased traffic at Marathon’s Quay and 33rd Street ramps would create safety risks along the city’s single highway. He said though the newly-established loop traffic pattern through the neighborhood frequently brought additional lines of boats past his own house, it “was working.”
“Here I’m going to go again – I think we might be missing the bigger picture that we need more boat ramps,” said councilman Lynn Landry. “We’re trying to put a band-aid on something. … How we’re going to get there, I don’t know, but we need to start talking a little bit more in depth about it.”
Landry asked about the possibility of working with private ramp owners to drive traffic to these properties around town, but councilman Kenny Matlock said that his prior calls to several private ramps found owners unwilling to accept increased risk and traffic.
City Attorney Steve Williams cautioned the council that as Marathon accepted Florida Boating Improvement Program (FBIP) funds from FWC for use at the Harbor Drive ramp, it is subject to FWC oversight, and the agency would likely take issue with a significant full-time fee increase. However, he said the council could work with city staff to identify high-stress periods at the ramp and increase fees only at these times to partially alleviate the issue.
Changes In Store for Winn Dixie Bus Stop
The council held an extensive conversation with Sheriff Rick Ramsay on the fate of Marathon’s Winn Dixie/K-Mart plaza bus stop, a subject of scrutiny increased in recent months when the stop was the site of a stabbing and publicized drug deal as well as a resting place for several homeless Marathon residents. Likening the area to another problematic stop removed from its location near the Brass Monkey Lounge when the Sheriff’s Office received 875 calls for service to the stop in one year, Ramsay offered a number of possible solutions, including furnishings and a modified design of the stop to make it less conducive to long-term occupancy or sleeping, modified hours of operation, or complete removal of the structure.
Williams cautioned the council that any additional ordinances to address operational hours, loitering and more may only be directed at remedying the safety concerns recently raised at the stop, not the presence of homeless residents there. As Marathon lacks a homeless shelter, he said the city is “handcuffed” in its efforts to address the situation.
City Manager George Garrett said that new benches are on order for the stop, and that future measures would be considered if they did not help to address the issue.
City Code Board Headed for Dissolution
Citing difficulty in maintaining a quorum at seldom-used hearings with Marathon’s Code Board – currently staffed by six volunteer residents from the city, with one vacant position – the council voted unanimously to dissolve the board in favor of referring all cases to a special magistrate. The council instructed Williams to move forward without the board as early as the city’s Aug. 17 code hearings, with an ordinance to be formally approved in September. The city will retain the ability to reinstate a code board by resolution if needed.
Two New Developments Get Green Light
The space between 106th and 107th Street Ocean in Marathon will soon be home to a new climate-controlled storage facility along U.S. 1 with 16 single-family homes behind it, according to a conditional use permit approved by the council in a 4-1 vote (Matlock was the lone “no” vote). The council discussed ingress and egress concerns from the development as well as a desire to see a landscape buffer and visually appealing storage facility constructed first to prevent an eyesore along Overseas Highway. As stated by the applicant, while the landscape buffer is slated for construction first, the storage facility is currently planned as the final phase of the project.
In another conditional use approval, the site of the former Island Christian School between Yellowtail Street and 125th Street Gulf is to be redeveloped as an ADA-minded group home and recovery center for wheelchair-bound military veterans, including employee housing, a dining hall, fitness center, storage, commercial kitchen and pool. The development was unanimously approved.
In Other News
- Following a presentation by Marathon resident Tim Reams, the city will work to pursue a lighted bicycle parade in December for the first time since 2019. With permission from Monroe County, the owner of the airport property, the parade will likely begin near the Marathon fire station, progressing around the Marathon airport and neighborhoods to the north.
- As requested by councilman Smith and unanimously approved, Marathon will make a $10,000 contribution to assist the efforts of Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe (FIRM) in challenging exorbitant insurance rates for all Keys residents.
- Vice Mayor Robyn Still led a discussion about unleashed dogs on Sombrero Beach in violation of Marathon’s leash law, an issue Smith said was also the case at Coco Plum Beach. Parks and Recreation Director Paul Davis said increased staff presence at the beach in the near future should help with enforcement efforts, but without the authority to issue citations, his staff is limited in their capabilities to promote compliance. Landry asked that staff be given the authority to issue these citations or trespass violators from the property.
- At Smith’s urging, the council voiced their support for altering the location of Marathon’s 45-to-35 mph speed limit change, currently taking place in front of Marathon Community Park. Smith suggested moving the lower speed zone’s eastern edge to begin in front of Marathon’s American Legion, thereby encompassing both Community Park and Jesse Hobbs Park while providing a lower-speed area in front of Marathon’s new RaceTrac gas station and convenience store, all attractions for local children. The decision to alter the zone will ultimately rest with the Florida Department of Transportation.
- Smith also reiterated his request for the city to clearly define and publicize upcoming discussion topics for workshop meetings. Following a short discussion, and confirmed to the Weekly by Garrett the following day, August’s council workshop will include discussions of vacation rentals, resolution of the Harbor Drive boat ramp issue, an update on 25th Street parking issues, updates on progress in the Quay and Seven Mile Marina projects, and budget discussions. September’s first scheduled council meeting will see discussions of the city’s legislative priorities as well as a budget workshop.
- Ordinance 2023-12, unanimously approved, provides additional language guiding the transfer of building rights within the city. Per the new ordinance, if a Transferable Building Right (TBR) is moved from one location to another, the right to use the TBR “extend(s) only for the period in which the owner of the receiving site must complete the conditions of the development.” In doing so, transferred building rights not used as originally intended may be approved for an additional transfer in order to provide for “thoughtful and managed development elsewhere in town.”
