We have noticed a “procedure” being utilized at Village meetings that needs to be exposed and explained.

The “thumbs up” signal given by Council members on an issue is not a procedure that is covered in any Village rules or procedures.

The Village Charter includes provisions that uphold the rights of our citizens.

We are currently going through a Village Charter review process. It is a process that demonstrates the significance of Charter provisions.

It explains why charter provisions cannot be changed without approval by voters on the November ballot.

The use of the “thumbs up” by Council members and the Village Manager circumvents the ability of the public to comment and for the issue on the table to be discussed as part of our decision making process.

The facts:

Section 5. Village Council. (8) ( c ) states: All actions of the village council shall be by ordinance, resolution, or motion.

All three of the vote mechanisms for action give residents the right to public comment before a “final” vote. It appears the “Thumbs Up”, a pseudo voting mechanism, is used regularly by this council to avoid public comment requirements.

We know that Julius Caesar used the “thumbs up” (and down) with great success at the Roman Colosseum but the Village rules did not apply there.

This “vote” often provides controversial direction, and the start of often expensive and unpopular projects that never get to the final approval stage.

This needs to stop.

 

The prior church property now owned by the Village got a “thumbs up” for a “for sale by owner” sign on the property: Bought for $4M on Aug 12, 2024 in spite of a grim report on the condition of the structure… and no real plan for future use. 

Tuesday night, the agenda had a discussion item, “Village Owned Properties” —-  the former Silver and Spice, Machado property and the former church. No tabs, no staff reports, no explanation in advance.

All three properties are in need of a plan.

For almost two years, the $4 million church property has been sitting unused except for some public works equipment stored in the parking lot. 

With a “thumbs up” the Council decided to direct staff to put a “For Sale by Owner” sign on the property. No public workshop, no public discussion, no price/value analysis, and not even public comment at the meeting… just a claim the council had agreed to sell the property a year ago and never followed up.

 

The Village is continuing to make poor decisions at taxpayer expense.

The only people benefiting from our mistakes may be the real estate agents. Do we have a designated “Village real estate agent?” If we do, do they work at a deeply reduced commission rate?

 

Sun Community RV Park at MM87.4:  The 55 stilt homes on the Sun Community property are registered as mobile homes, though they are not mobile homes and not mobile!The property is an RV park with homes on stilts. No mobile homes.

The homes pay a vehicle registration fee of less than $100/yr and no property taxes.

Dwellings within MOBILE HOME PARKS in Florida can be treated as “mobile homes” and registered as vehicles, even if they are not mobile homes. This is an effort to ensure some affordability throughout the state where so many mobile home parks provide the area’s most affordable place to live.

The Sun Community Islamorada Park is not what the legislators had in mind when this statute was enacted.

Mayor Don Horton has given up on the legislature amending the statute. Why?

All Legislation is made to be changed. We just need a carve out in the statute to exclude homes like these. Perhaps make short term rentals in mobile home parks illegal if using this “Vehicle Registration” angle.

I was told several years ago, that the TDC legislature’s funding requirements were not going to be revised. That has proven to be wrong. TDC funds have recently been used to cover more that direct tourism expenses.

Engage our lobbyists (if they don’t also work for Sun Communities) to seek change to these MM87.4 homes.

Engage our legislators. If they can’t fix this, have them explain why… at a public meeting.

These homes are selling for $600,000 to $900,000.  And most all of them are short term rentals.

I challenge anyone to take a look at the site and tell me it is “affordable.”

Those 55 stilt homes selling for $600,000 to $9800,000 should be taxed as real property.

Horton and Village Attorney, John Quick, have a plan to create a special taxing district for the property.  The Village would charge the 55 stilt homes an annual assessment to cover their share of our fire protection cost.  

The Village would have to hire a consultant to determine what portion of the Village cost, for fire protection only, should be the responsibility of each of the 55 homes.

Another consultant?

A simple “thumbs up” from council gave the staff direction to start the process. No real public discussion, no price/value analysis and not even public comment at the meeting.

So what would the Village get if we do the special taxing district, which could only cover fire protection costs, not emergency medical services, not Public Works, Parks and Rec, or any other Village departments that provide local services?

If taxed as real property, a Sun Community stilt home with taxable value of $500,000 would pay about $4,500 per year in property taxes.

Of that, at 2.65 mills, the Village would get about $1,350/home.  At best the special assessment would provide about $340 per home; less than $20,000 total for all 55 homes. That is far less than the increase in pay the council members will receive if we pass the charter amendment in November increasing their pay to $1500/month.

     

The Islamorada Community Alliance believes there is a better way – a way that would require the 55 stilt homes to be recognized as real property.

The Florida law treats all dwellings in mobile home parks as if they are mobile homes and eligible for $88/yr vehicle registration instead of property tax. 

Why is Sun Community Islamorada considered a mobile home park? There isn’t a single mobile home on the site.

Currently the 55 homes are all non-conforming uses!

Shouldn’t we change the zoning so they are not zoned Mobile Home Park? They are not a mobile home park. They are an upscale ocean front RV Park and housing project.

Council, do the hard work we elected you to do. Seek changes to the law.

We do not subscribe to taking the path of least resistance for a token return.

Fight for the right thing for the taxpayers! 

Tom

The drive between Key Largo and Key West on Sunday, was a highly patriotic display of red, white and blue in celebration of National Flag Day. Fire stations, public agencies, community organizations and private businesses joined in to make Flag Day 2026 an appropriate lead up to America’s 250th birthday with huge flags on display.

When the state budget was approved this month, the Florida Legislature put no new money into its premier land conservation initiative, Florida Forever. 

Instead of buying land for public ownership, the Legislature swept $425 million into a program to buy development rights on private farms and ranches, to protect agricultural lands from housing or commercial development, but won’t preserve them for public use.

In the past, for many years, there has been a Florida Forever set aside of $5 million annually for the purchase of environmentally sensitive properties in the Florida Keys, including Islamorada.

In last week’s newsletter we thanked the Village for extending the public comment deadline for the new Comprehensive Plan to March 13!  Wish March 13 was correct, but actually it is July 13. We still have almost a month for comments.  We wish the Village would explain how the comments will be used. Is July 13 the last time they want to hear from residents about the Comp Plan?

News Around Town: We hear that Cheeca has been sold  - buyer: Johnny Morris.

The Shrimp Shack was sold, too, but didn’t miss a beat as they are still opened for business.

The Horse Pens change in zoning effort on Upper Matecumbe was not approved by Florida Commerce. Click here.

Road Elevation Study and Plan was presented at the beginning of the meeting to provide an overview of Sea Level Rise and roads vulnerability in the Village. Consultants from HDR proposed an approach for the final plan for council to approve.

The consultants suggested a total cost of $719,300,000 to elevate 32 miles of Village maintained roads.  Yes, $719 million for a town with a population of 7000!

Other Council Meeting decisions: Rideshare - delayed until Thursday as a result of an email from Freebee objecting to our comments in last week’s newsletter, describing the comments as “misleading.”  We stand by our comments and thank Freebee for actually confirming the numbers we reported. Grant Writer Contract - Langston selected by Council to assist our staff grant writer at a cost not to exceed $48,000. Solid Waste Assessment: Increased to $550/year from current $510. Fire Department Analysis - to assess current capabilities against the Village’s risk and service expectations, added to consultants existing contract; $48,000 instead of a competitive bid process. Five ordinances for changes recommended by Charter Review Committee passed on First Readings: Vacancy in council office, 3-year term instead of current 2-year term, Council compensation increased from $1000/month to $1500/month plus future cost of living increases.   What? No After Action Status Report in the agenda? Although it was discussed, we couldn’t find it! But got it via public record request. The Council has asked for improvements to the format.  Click here.

This allows the manager to approve budgeted expenditures up to $50,000 without council approval. And suggests we do not need to competitively bid for goods and services unless the cumulative amount per year from the entity in question reaches the $50,000 threshold.

We questioned whether the ordinance was properly drafted. And if $50,000 competitive bid threshold exceeds state limits we must follow. According to state procurement requirements (F.S. 287) for goods and services contracted by an agency in excess of $35,000, most goods or services must be competitively bid. The Village Attorney explained to the Council, before the final vote, that municipalities are specifically excluded by this Florida Statute so we can exceed their $35,000.   We continue to question that, as F.S. 287 includes the definition “Agency” as the state, a state agency, a municipality, a political subdivision, a school district, or a school board.

With just a couple members of the public in attendance, several interesting issues were decided.

Administrative relief request for 183 E. Ridge Road was unusual. The property owned by former councilman, Mark Gregg, until recently, has been on the BPAS list since 2022. Mayor Horton questioned the buildability of the property - a narrow jetty listed on the plat map as a park.  

Instead of providing one of the 5 remaining administrative relief allocations, Council voted to get an appraisal of the property, for the possible purchase by the Village to return the “park” to public use. The County Property appraiser lists market value as less than $100,000.

Also on Tuesday, the Council voted to continue using Freebee as the rideshare provider for the next two years. When the new two year contract is negotiated, it is to include a $2 per ride cost to help reduce the cost to taxpayers.    

The proposed contract price with Freebee is expected to go up over $100,000 per year but with the credits for the $2 ride fees and a $60,000 advertising credit to the Village, the cost to taxpayers is expected to decrease by between $25,000 and $50,000 annually for the first year of the two-year contract. The Village anticipates 50% of the net cost will be covered by a grant from FDOT.  The second year’s grant funding is uncertain.

The Village Clerk is holding an Orientation Session on Saturday, June 27 from 10 am - noon at the Community Center, Founders Park.

Topics include:

• Getting started

• Statutory deadlines

• Options for Qualifying

• Petition requirements

• Campaign finance reporting

• Political signage

• Resources

Little angels with whiskers, straight from Founders Park! All spayed, neutered, and shots completed - ready to find a new home!  Call Sharon at 305-304-5262.