An agreement to build a new artificial-turf field at the home of Coral Shores baseball rounded third and headed toward home at a July 27 meeting of the Islamorada Village Council.
A $3.8 million project led by the school district on village property reached home plate when the school board unanimously approved the same agreement at its July 28 meeting.
Approval of a 20-year agreement to construct improvements and allow the baseball program to play and use the field came following years of meetings and community discussions. The project initially included a two-story facility behind home plate for concessions, bathrooms and a pressbox. Questions and concerns over the building led village and school officials to put that on hold.
Disagreements between the governing bodies over the control, insurance, maintenance and other items persisted for some seven months. The village council and school board member Mindy Conn’s call for a joint meeting finally came to fruition on July 21, when the members convened in Marathon to hash out the differences.
The rare meeting among governing boards ended with both sides reaching consensus on a new baseball license use agreement. The pact details the rights and obligations of the village and school district related to reconstruction and use of the field.
Young athletes and their families erupted in cheers and applause when the village council voted 5-0 to approve the agreement.
“At the end of the day, I think the most important thing is the safety of the kids in getting this field right,” councilwoman Anna Richards said. “I’ve been begging for this to be done for over 10 years now. I mean, my own kids have been hurt on that field. It’s in horrible condition and needs to be fixed.”
Officials say the new artificial turf, as well as new dugouts and fencing, will be ready for the Coral Shores High School baseball’s 2027 season.
Former Coral Shores baseball coach Doug Mientkiewicz said he and the other coaches pushed for a new artificial surface for many years. He noted the difficulty maintaining a grass field in the harsh Keys environment, and how players, including his son, were injured while playing on the surface.
“It’s simple. It’s easy. We lay it down and we don’t have to worry about it,” he said.
Rich Russell, former Coral Shores coach and athletic director, expressed thanks to council members and school board members for getting the agreement to the finish line. He specifically thanked Horton for his leadership to get a joint meeting, Vice Mayor Sharon Mahoney for ensuring the turf on the field would be the safest and environmentally-friendly and Village Manager Ron Saunders for prioritizing the issue going back to his first day in April 2025.
“This project’s more than a baseball field. It’s much more than a playing field. It’s about investing in our children … and strengthening the community that we all love,” he said.
Some village residents had questions over the exact costs associated with maintaining the field. Jamie Engel, who served on the baseball field task force, said it’s been stated that the village’s seven-month maintenance expense will decrease from about $48,000 to $6,000 per year. She said she requested a breakdown of the expense for more than two weeks but received no answer from the village.
“We also need to know whether adding these improvements to the village’s existing insurance program will increase our current premiums,” she said.
Saunders, in his remarks, said there won’t be a great deal of cost to the village with the new artificial surface.
“No water, no pesticides, mowing,” he said. “The school district is the tenant, and they will be picking up the costs of the improvements.”
The construction of the new surface, dugouts and fencing will be led by Keystar Construction.
With the meeting adjourned, school board member Sue Woltanski approached the village council members with a baseball to sign to mark the end to a yearslong endeavor.
