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.

The plans approved by the school district include artificial turf, an 800 sq ft concession stand with four restrooms and public address facility, new bleachers, and dugouts.  No native trees are to be impacted.  A new 2200 sq ft building was eliminated.

The restrooms and locker rooms down the first base line near the park entrance will be rehabilitated by the school district prior to the upcoming 2026 baseball season.