According to the results of its latest poll, Florida Atlantic University’s Business and Economic Polling Initiative, just under 50% of Floridians are "seriously considering" moving due to the rising cost of living. Housing affordability is the major concernwith 80% of respondents.

And there is probably no place in Florida worse than the Florida Keys for housing for working families and people on fixed income, as we transition from a great place to raise kids to a great place for wealthy homeowners looking for luxury vacation homes, and for vacationing families to rent homes once occupied by full time residents.

Have we become a tax shelter for the wealthy? According to the Property Appraiser’s website, 55 properties in Islamorada have been sold in the last 12 months for $2 million or more; 30 over $3 million.

While many longtime residents may be moving from the Keys, Islamorada continues to gain new residents and wealth at a remarkable pace.

Will we always have available workers? Is this a sustainable trend?

Last Stand is an organization that promotes quality of life in the Keys by opposing overdevelopment that stresses the environment, impacts residents’ daily lives, and strains the critical infrastructure upon which we all rely.

Our own Councilman, Steve Friedman, will be a featured speaker at their annual meeting Feb 3. A great Keys wide organization - Click here to join.

Freebee service came to Islamorada via the 2018-2019 budget approval of $80,000, with no competitive bidding.. and the service has continually expanded along with the cost and the grant funding without competitive bidding.

The Council voted this month to approve the 3rd (and final) round of funding for the current FDOT grant. This grant has been paying 50% ($276,700) of the $553,400 annual Freebee cost, while Islamorada taxpayers foot the rest of the bill. The service is available to riders free of charge. In November 2024, the council decided to “implement a charge to riders in the near term.” A minimal $2 charge per ride as proposed has not happened.  

Several years ago, an RFP was issued. A selection committee ranked Circuit Transit Inc ahead of Freebee.  However, Interim Manager, Kimberly Matthews, on loan from  Monroe County, declared the selection process fatally flawed, without explanation, minutes before the Council meeting at which the selection of Circuit was expected. She promised the RFP would be reissued immediately.  It never was.

 

And still 8 years since the initial Freebee approval in 2018, Vice Mayor Sharon Mahoney has once more asked when the rideshare service will be put out for competitive bid. Nothing yet. Eight years and several million dollars in payments to Freebee with no competitive bidding. No rider fee. An important rideshare service for  those who use it… with many questions left unanswered.

There will be a Rummage Sale and Maker's Market on Sunday February 8th at the Green Turtle Hammock Nature Preserve. 81224 Overseas Highway, Islamorada. 10am to 2pm. Family friendly, food truck, snow cones, raffles and kid-friendly activities!  Explore this hidden local gem, walk the trails, and help keep gently used items out of the landfill. Also support local creators!!

Loving all the new trees along the highway from MM75 - MM81.  Thank you FDOT!

I was recently advised that the Village of Islamorada owns 128 properties in the Keys!

We own 105 within village limits (why do we keep property outside the Village?)

Congratulations taxpayers - you are amongst the largest land barons in Monroe County!  Total value estimate - a several hundred million dollars!

 

A PLAN?

Is there a plan for these valuable pieces of property? I have to ask - who manages our holdings? What is our long/short term plan?

 

Take a look at some of our Village owned properties:

 

Island Silver and Spice: The Village bought the property in the heart of the business district, for $2,750,000 in 12/2021. We then demolished the retail store (assessed at almost $1 million).  That was four years ago. What is the plan for that property?

Is it for sale or rent?

 

The old Island Community Church:

Purchased 8/12/24 for $3,995,000 and then leased it back to the church for 1 year, at no charge. Church services continued for the next six months, every Sunday.

We are told that engineers have safety issues with the building. I have also been told that one of the ideas for purchasing the church was to have a Village library. Libraries are a County function, not a municipal function. Buying a library site was not well thought out.

So here we are. A 4-million-dollar building, that may need repairs and has no functional use. How in the name of Ponce De Leon did this happen? Did we know it needed major repairs before we bought it?

Is anybody home? The $3,995,000 purchase of the 16,618 sq ft church structure -  sitting vacant, waiting for a plan.

Machado Property: four single family lots on the highway at MM88.5, purchased 6/16/2021, for a combined total of $1.8 million, and expected to be used for affordable housing. No decision as to whether the housing will be Village owned, leased, or sold.

That encompasses three different Village Councils that have not made a decision on this potential affordable housing. During the campaign for office last year every sitting councilperson had affordable housing as their first priority. And a year has passed.

Somebody remind them. Can you say strategic plan?

 

Green Turtle Hammock: The Village acquired the property with the Rosenthal bay front home/pool, historic Russell Cottage, and a smaller office/storage building. The money came from a conservation grant of $4.7 million in 2006. The pool was demolished in 2011. Demolitions of the residence followed in 2020. Now the council has approved demolishing the smaller building, most recently used as a classroom. Through long term neglect it is now, infested with mold and has become unsafe. 

Only the historic Russell Cottage, will remain. Along with the $1.8 million open air pavilion.

 

An avoidable shame? Did any of the demolitions occur due to improper long term maintenance? Who is responsible for these buildings and their care?

  

Founders Park: The treasured centerpiece of our community!  Unfortunately, we still tolerate the unsightly Public Works equipment scattered around. The Village has listed an offsite public works facility as #1 priority for over ten years – I believe it is in our LAST strategic plan in 2017. Look it up.

 

Affordable Housing properties: The Village has acquired properties for affordable housing and provided long term leases to Habitat for Humanity and Gorman and Company, a builder based in Wisconsin.

The homes are deed restricted and required to be rented/sold to qualified tenants. 

Annual audits were to be conducted to assure the occupants still qualify as to income. To my knowledge this hasn’t been done in a decade. These homes are for affordable housing, not long-term rent control.

Get to work!

 

The aforementioned properties are just a snapshot of our holdings. Shouldn’t Property Management for 128 properties owned by the residents be a top Village priority? They belong to us.

The Village needs to do a better analysis and have an end game for future property acquisition. The public comment and eventually a vote of no less than 4 council persons should be the rule for property acquisition. Three votes on Council should not rule on issues that cost over $1 million.

 

 If the Village wants to buy or sell million-dollar properties, a public presentation with explanations as to why it is a benefit and what our plan is to dispose of the property if it should be required.

 

Residents want to know who manages our multimillion dollar real estate portfolio. The village needs to explain, in great detail, these multimillion-dollar real estate transactions. Now and in the future. IT'S OUR MONEY!

Tom Raffanello

It was refreshing to see the Council and the public in full agreement about the importance of taking a stand by telling the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to prioritize the protection of coastal economies and ecosystems by excluding new offshore oil and gas leases off the Florida coast. The resolution passed opposing the offshore oil drilling with a unanimous 5-0 vote!

after being missing for the last 8 months! It provides a comprehensive list of projects the Council directed the staff to do with dates and current status. This report kept the Council and the residents informed about ongoing projects, improving transparency.  Thank you for bringing it back.

Finally Council approved a Baseball License Agreement for the Founders Park field!  The School Board has already signed one that is slightly different than the Village version, but hopefully they will accept our version.  

Click here to read the agreement - redline version showing Village changes.