Special Edition: Agenda Review for Thursday Aug 20 Council Meeting Would you like to see a review like this before every Council Meeting? Let us know. Send us an email at ICA.in.Keys@gmail.com.

A TRIM notice is Florida’s “Truth in Millage” notice of proposed property taxes, mailed each August.  It will show your property’s current taxable value, proposed tax rates and budget hearing dates.

Correction from August 17 newsletter: TRIM notices will reflect a 2.8mills rate (not 3.0 as previously stated) for the Village (over 13% increase in tax revenue for the coming year). However, the council directed the staff to prepare a budget for the Sep 10 first budget hearing at a slightly lower rate of 2.7231 (still a 10% increase over the current year).

Final Islamorada Budget Hearings: Sep 10 and Sep 17 at 5:30 PM. Voice your thoughts!

Some Council members and the public have asked repeatedly to have a more complete and usable status report - like what used to be in each month’s agenda. No success yet. Click here to see the August 1026 Action Report Click here to see a prior Action Report for comparison

Tab 25 - 26: Change the Future Land Use Map and the Zoning for the Village owned church property, former Island Community Church, purchased by Village for $4 Million, currently used for storage.  Change in FLUM and

Zoning from public service use to Mixed Use Neighborhood Commercial to make it more marketable, if sold.

Tab 27:Administrative Appeal of a Dwelling Unit Determination for 86751 Old Highway owned by former member of Council Mark Gregg. Small home on the Old Highway across from Founders Park, purchased in 2015.  Listed by property appraiser as single family home with 3 bedrooms, 1 bath. According to the taxes, only one annual assessment has ever been paid for the property for stormwater, solid waste and wastewater. Mark is appealing the Planning Department’s Determination for the second time (first effort in 2017). The planning department ruled that the structure is a single-family home, while Mark contends it is a duplex.  The council previously agreed with the Planning Department, with two councilmen, including Deb Gillis, agreeing with Gregg in 2017, that it should be classified as a duplex.

Tab 10: Canal restoration project approval for canal 45, Lower Matecumbe, between Cortez and Columbus.  Grant Funded. Expected to take 50 days to complete.

Tab 11:FDOT lease to the Village of the Caboose property at MM82.6 Bayside. And what will happen with the Matecumbe Historical Trust’s Caboose and historical plaques once the Village has the lease?

Tabs 12 - 16: Non Ad Valorum assessments for wastewater for the coming up property tax bills.  Same amount each year.  Not the same amount for each area. Not thesame ending year! Amounts listed are for a single EDU. Discount typically for over 10 EDUs

12: North Plantation Key: $447.51/EDU, year 21 of 30

13: North Plantation Key Supplemental: Max of $132/EDU, year 17 of 26

14: Woods Corner: $351.50/property, year 19 of 30

15: Remaining Service Area I: $512/EDU, year 16 of 25

16: Remaining Service Area II: $512/EDU, year 14 of 25  

Tab 17: Stormwater annual assessment, $62/year up from $32

Tab 18: Solid Waste annual assessment, $550 up from $510

Tab 19: Increase in cost that Island Disposal charges Village for residential trash pick-up; $47.52/month up from $45.61/month; similar increase of about 3.4% for commercial users.  Commercial increase will result in approximate increase in franchise fee revenue to Village: About $86,160/year. Franchise fee is intended to reimburse Village for wear and tear on Village streets.  

Tab 20: Adding $70,000 in expenses for Page Excavating Work Authorization for wastewater for current fiscal year - now up to $1,235,000 for the current year.  While Page was qualified via a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in 2023, he was the only applicant, no competition for the $1.2 million in projects this year.

Tab 21-22: Contracts for debris monitoring and debris management in case of hurricane. Same companies used for Hurricane Irma .  

Minor price increases for debris monitoring.  

Significant increases for collection, reduction and disposal of debris, often 3 times the current rates or more.

Tab 23: Fire Apparatus Repair contract - up 3%.

Tab 24: Purchases from Bound Tree Medical: medical supplies for the fire department.  Increased by $10,000 in June.  Need another $15,000 to cover through the end of September.

Consent Agenda: (Public Comment just once for entire consent agenda, TABS 2 - 9) Tab 2:Minutes from July 7, July 9, School Board/Council workshop July 21, Special Call Council meeting July 27 Tab 3:Approval of expenditures to fix air curtains on two canals ($8,534) Tab 4: Purchase of Surveillance Equipment for generator building (103 Key Heights) $15,735.  Question - Contractor needed additional $258,000 over contract price to finish this generator building; drop dead date of 12/31/2025 approved by council.  Missed deadline? Building completed 7/10/26, 7 months later than date set by council. ($1,719,162 plus $258,000) Or did we miss something? Tab 5: Updates to Personnel Manual. From staff report - Following recent employee engagement surveys, Village employees “expressed strong interest in additional benefits, including floating holidays and professional development incentives….  employees consistently identified expanded holiday options and greater flexibility in time-off policies as priorities that would better support work-life balance, improve morale, and help align organizational practices with employees’ personal and professional needs.” Is there a morale problem that needs to be dealt with in other ways besides more time off? Tab 6: RFP for Council Chamber Broadcast equipment upgrades. $85,481 Tab 7: Approval of future countywide distribution of Stewardship Funding from the state, typically $20 million/year total for county.  Islamorada’s share would be $2.5 Million of a $20 Million total.  Funding is for water quality - improvements the Village has used for wastewater and canal restoration. Tab 8: Increase in EMS fees for patient transports by the Village. The increase would average approximately $45 to $100 more per transport and would bring about $50,000 additional revenue into the General Fund annually. It is estimated that 60% of transports are for non-residents of the Village. Tab 9: Safety Action Plan project to improve highway safety. Grant funded with a 20% local match - which would be $80,000 of the $400,000 cost. End of Consent Agenda - All items approved in bulk with a single vote, no council discussion. One chance for the public to comment before the vote to approve.

• Nearshore Water

• Land Acquisition

• Committee Appointments (Tab 1)

General Public Comment: (for concerns/items not on agenda)

We are always anxious to know what comes next.  We believe that the pipeline under Channel Two is next area for the installation of the new water pipe, after the completion of Plantation Key work, and then from Channel Two north on Lower Matecumbe, up to Tea Table Fill. This will be the first section of the pipeline where U.S. One is just two lanes with no turning lane in the middle.  The pipeline is expected to be installed below the southbound lane of the highway - requiring closing the lane to dig a trench.  Required: a temporary travel lane and staging area next to the two-lane highway  - at a location where FDOT just completed a $2 million landscaping project.

Planning and design of reef arches and wave attenuation devices off Sea Oats Beach for shore stabilization are in the works - a huge innovative process that will cost more millions of $$$ than we can even imagine. Protecting U.S. One at Sea Oats beach is huge as the ocean comes right up to nearly the edge of U.S. One now, often cutting off access to points south after a storm. The project is expected to be funded through grants.  

We wonder why the state or Federal government isn’t more involved in this project to protect a state and Federal highway?