We continue to work diligently to educate the public regarding local issues that impact quality of life, our fragile environment and our limited infrastructure.

We continue to make rational suggestions. Is anyone in Village Hall listening?

While running for office last year, all of the candidates for Village Council pledged to protect our environment, our quiet enjoyment of life, and our limited infrastructure.

All seemed opposed to those who want to keep building, and to the unfettered establishment of businesses and tourism.

It is no secret the Village is deeply divided on these issues. I believe that the majority of residents want to preserve our lifestyle and environment. And all the candidates last fall seemed to support that philosophy.

Once in office did things change? I always judge people on what they do, not what they pledged in order to get elected.

At the very first Village Council meeting last November, the newly elected Council waived their Meeting Rules in order to reconsider the number of additional BPAS building allocations Islamorada would request from the state of Florida.  The limit has always been based on assuring all residents can be evacuated within 24 hours in case of a major hurricane.  But perhaps adding a half hour, 24 1/2 hours, would be safe.

Our prior council, after months of workshops, studies and input from residents, requested 104 additional BPAS units. Council Member Steve Friedman expressed concerns about overdevelopment and the environment and noted his displeasure at the effort to overthrow the past council’s decision of adding another 104 homes.

In a 3-2 vote, with Friedman and Sharon Mahoney dissenting, the newly elected council nearly doubled the prior request for 104 permits. They voted to ask for 199.

Why?  Who demanded this? The prior number of 104 was derived by ceding middle ground, a staple of good governance. The revised number of 199 was strictly a display of power by the new council and their intention to use it.

Middle ground be damned! Our politicians focus on defeating their political enemies, not governance for all.

Too many residents refuse to speak up no matter how strongly they feel. By not calling attention to themselves, residents don’t face the contempt from those who wield political and commercial power. And these are real fears.

Those council members who support middle ground are voted down. Residents who disagree with the elected officials in power are considered political enemies, not simply citizens of Islamorada with a different point of view.

I think that the mark of a leader is one who encourages the public, listens to their concerns and reaches middle ground.

We have seen what demonizing one’s opponents can do. It creates deeper divides.

Of great concern to all is the effort to silence those who disagree, instead of reaching compromise and uniting a fractured village.

Another indication of eliminating minority opinion: the Council changed the selection process for Village citizen committees.

In the past, each member of council could select someone from the community to serve on the committees. Now committee selection is by majority vote of Council. Three votes rule. No minority opinions allowed!

That means that those in the majority on Council control everything, including the voices of some residents who’d like to serve on a committee, but have differing philosophies from the majority on Council.  This further weakens our village government processes.

Polarization isn’t just an obstacle to tackling serious problems, it’s preventing our community members from seeing their partisan rivals as friends and equals.

We pledge, at the ICA, to educate voters on the issues and call out those who do not perform and try to hoodwink voters.

You can count on us.

Elections have consequences.

Tom Raffanello

“Emily is a new beam of light in our Village” according to local artist Beth Kamenstein.  

One of Emily’s initial projects is showing art from local artists on temporary display at Village Hall and Founders Park.

Emily’s goal as the Village’s new Cultural Arts Coordinator, in her own words, is to “enhance the richness and accessibility of Islamorada’s culture. The Art in Public Buildings program is a perfect example: supporting our local artists with the opportunity to sell their artwork and also making our public spaces more creative.” The exhibition will be on display from November 2025 through March 2026 in Village buildings. Click here for more details. Emily is also working with the Florida Keys Council of the Arts to bring an interactive sculpture, “Hourglass,” to Southwinds Park as part of the county Sculpture Trail.

Sat Oct 18 - another leak. This time the force main at MM90.4 Old Hwy, used to get raw sewage to the treatment plant in Key Largo.

During repairs the effluent was transported to Key Largo by truck. Too many pipeline problems for a system so new.

Up until now, all of the numerous pipeline leaks since 2019, have been in the vicinity of MM92 in Tavernier.  The Village engineer and the Key Largo engineers have disagreed as to what needs to be done to fix this major concern. And so, nothing has been done.  In the October 7 Village Council agenda, a letter from the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District (KLWTD) engineer recommended a $4.5 million temporary fix for the MM92 leaks.

In addition to the temporary fix, the KLWTD engineers also recommended the replacement of all the 18” PVC pipe from Islamorada to the Key Largo treatment plant at MM100 with HDPE(High-Density Polyethylene)pipe at a cost of $2,223,234/mile.

An EDU is an “Equivalent Dwelling Unit”assigning wastewater system usage based on the water consumption of properties compared to a typical single-family home. (157 gal/day = 1 EDU)

Last week we questioned why the Sun Community development at MM87.5 (55 stilt homes, 90 RV spaces and a huge community center) pays an annual wastewater assessment for just 50 EDUs, $7,523.48, while the tiny 1947 Trailer Park at MM82.9 pays $4,405.76 for 17.21 EDUs.  Where is the fairness? We got no answer.   Are small properties and single family dwellings subsidizing wastewater for the big guys?

This week we noticed an oddity in the EDU numbers for local breweries:

• The two breweries on Upper Matecumbe are listed as having 1 EDU each, though one even has a vacation rental on the second floor.

• The MM90 Brewpub/Restaurant/Distillery has a maximum seating for 160 customers and has 7 apartments on the second floor. They have 7 EDUs (1 for each apartment), none for a 160-seat Brewpub/Restaurant/Distillery facility?  

Bars and restaurants typically have multiple EDUs as they use so much more water than a single-family home. Islamorada needs to fix this EDU issue.  

Islamorada should review all EDU counts immediately. Huge wastewater deficits year after year should not continue.  Wastewater is required to be self-supporting.

The group met October 20 to discuss the revised design plans approved by the School District Oct 7, the use and license agreements that spell out when the field will be available to the school and who will be responsible for costs, maintenance and replacement of capital portions of the field.

Presentations were made to educate the task force and public about the pros and cons of artificial turf and real grass. One presentation was made by a representative of AstroTurf, a company that will be bidding to provide their company’s artificial turf at the park.  Via Zoom, a research analyst from the University of Florida detailed the benefits of real grass. With four members of the Task Force present, that group, appointed by Manager Ron Saunders, made it clear that a majority felt strongly that a survey of Islamorada residents and taxpayers should be done before the final decisions are made regarding the design plans, surface of the field, and the shared use of the high school baseball field at Founders Park. The task force members and those members of the public in attendance should be congratulated on the time spent and the extensive research they did. If an informal vote of those in attendance had occurred after the presentations, it seemed clear that real grass would have won easily. A video of the meeting can be viewed from the Village website.

At the old Lions Lair building south of the Wendys on Upper Matecumbe, Patti and Brian Lindback, Jr. will be opening a new business next month…. Ocean Drive Indoor Golf!  Both Lindbacks were high school and college athletes and wanted to find a business that they loved.  And so the creative couple came up with a fascinating business plan. Customers will swing real golf clubs and hit real golf balls into challenging golf courses on huge electronic screens that reproduce true-to-life golf simulation.  A great way to learn golf or improve your skills or just for a social opportunity to spend fun time with friends. The business will have three large screens where up to 18 customers at a time can hone their golfing skills. They have even hired golf pro, Dillon Fay, to provide golf lessons!   The Lindbacks expect to open in November. Golf simulation technology is now being used by championship golfers around the globe to improve their game. You can too!

Bernie was employed by the Village from Jan 2000 until he retired in Jan 2006.  The last few years of employment, he was the Village Manager. Bernie has often been described as the only manager in Village history who was not either fired or pressured to resign.  Bernie retired! Bernie, still retired, is back in the Keys!  He was greeted with much love and admiration when he attended the Oct Council meeting.

Coral Shores senior, Layne Smith (to the right of Mayor Mahoney) receives an award at last Village Council meeting for her first-place finish in the grueling annual 8-mile Alligator Lighthouse Swim.  Congratulations Layne!

Residents in a large part of the Village were treated to a spectacular double rainbow over the ocean last week, many hoping there was a pot of gold at the end that could help bail out the wastewater deficit!

Did you notice the order of the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet) are in reverse order on the top dimmer rainbow.  And we hear there is no pot of gold at the end of the second rainbow.