Ron Saunders, village manager for the Village of Islamorada, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the village.
Saunders has been in the position for four weeks.
He said, “We had one council meeting already, and then a land use council meeting. So we’re getting to know the staff, or the issues. But because I’m from here, I kind of hit the ground running on having some background and knowledge. A couple issues were ongoing. We were looking at, for example, a list of all the property owned by the village of Islamorada within the village. We also have properties, for example, in Big Pine Key and Little Torch Key and Key Largo, which was outside the village of Islamorada. So we’re looking at those properties. We’re looking at the potential uses of existing properties we own. We bought the Island Community Church. We bought the old Island Silver and Spice property. So we have some properties we want to look at potential uses of, which I’ll be bringing up in next month’s council meetings. We’re getting more boat ramps. We have a lot of fishing guides in the Upper Keys that are having a hard time finding a place to launch their boats. Some of them have commercial spaces that maybe are not going to be used in the future. We want to take care of the economy. We want to take care of the residents and make sure that we keep Islamorada a great place to live and work.”
Islamorada has been known as the fishing capital of the world.
Saunders said, “So we want to make sure, obviously, that we have access to the fishing. There’s some existing boat ramps we’re looking at maybe improving. They’ve gotten grown over, or they need to be improved as far as be able to get access to them. We’re looking at the second one of Founders Park. We are looking at that one, there could be some significant environmental concerns that and getting permitting. So that’s why we’re looking at more than one site, because it is important to have access to the water. We have a lot of fishing guides here in the community that are not able to launch from within the village, and we think that’s a problem. So it’s certainly something our staff’s working on. We’re looking at different possibilities, but we want to make sure that our fishing guides, who are important part of our economy up here in the Upper Keys, do have access to the water.”
Could the delay in the state legislative session cause a disruption locally?
Saunders said, “The budget hasn’t been resolved, so we don’t know for sure what’s going to happen, but we anticipate there will be some cuts coming, not just the state level, but federal level. We get some grant money from the federal government as well as the state, so we’re monitoring that closely, but we’re already anticipating having to make some budget cuts based on projections, and so we’re looking to try and tighten our belt here in Islamorada. We’re looking to tighten up on overtime, for example, and travel costs, things that we have some discretion over at the county level. We’ve already been notified that the county is looking at making cuts. We’re looking for discussing the Freebee transportation grant, which is from the Florida Department transportation. The county is looking at giving some of that grant back, and we’re having to consider what that impact will be on the village of Islamorada. We want to make sure we have good transit, basically different ways of moving up down the highway, but we have to look at where we can cut or where we have to cut back, and certainly looking at grants we have, either on our own or in conjunction with the county, are things we have to consider. Some of these grants are great. I’m all about getting grants, but if they’re matching grants, you have to have the ability to come up the money to provide your share, and you have to look at is that the best use of taxpayer funds? If you have unlimited, funds, that’s one thing, but if you have to prioritize, you have to look at what’s best for the residents, the taxpayers of Islamorada and perhaps a free transportation service that is also used by tourists, for example, may be an issue. So it’s up to the council what to do. We’re going to be working on these issues, but we do anticipate a tough budget year because of the state and federal government’s cutting back, and we have to look at the impact on our village of Islamorada fiscal year. So these are things we’re trying to get ahead of the curve on. We don’t want to react. We want to be proactive.”
An update on the fills was on the agenda for the last council meeting.
Saunders said, “We’re looking at trying to make the area more attractive. Those orange cones as people traveling down the highway are not very attractive. The properties are owned for the most part by the Department of Transportation. We’ve had some joint use or management agreements with them. Apparently, they’re no longer in effect, so we’re still monitoring them, but we want to make sure that whatever goes there fits in with the environment, that we also don’t create any traffic issues, because there were some issues in the past of people pulling on or off the highway on US 1 and creating backups or potentially having accidents there. So we’re trying to work with the county. We’re trying to work with DOT to see how we can best manage those areas. That’s a narrow area there in the Upper Keys, and we want to make sure that it’s done properly. That’s maybe put landscaping in there instead of cones, things like that. So we’re working pretty closely with DOT on that, and we’re going to do monthly updates in council meetings on the fields until the issue is resolved.”
Fixing the water pipeline has also been an issue for traffic.
Saunders said, “We consider the aqueduct authority to be our partner. We’ve had some issues with traffic up here, but it’s a necessary thing you have to do to replace that pipeline. So last meeting, we had someone from the aqueduct authority come and give a presentation and I’ve asked that every meeting from now on, every month for the aqueduct to give a presentation. They’ve already agreed to appear before us at the June 10 council meeting, and even if it’s not anything to report on, but there always is. They’re making good progress, according to the aqueduct authority, and we want to make sure that the public hears their progress update at our village council meeting. But they seem to be progressing. They’ve had construction going right here in front of village hall in Islamorada and seems like they’re making some good progress. It’s a necessary thing you have to do. We’ve had breaks before, etc. They’re aging pipeline, and you have to replace it. But I think the aqueduct authority is doing a good job. I think the sheriff’s department has been working in conjunction with the aqueduct to manage the traffic. It doesn’t seem to be quite as bad as it was a few months ago and even a few weeks ago. So once again, I think the sheriff, the aqueduct authority, the village of Islamorada, our partners, we’re on the same side, want to work together. And so far so good. I encourage people to go on our website, go on our Facebook page. We do a weekly newsletter, so I encourage anyone who is interested in what’s going on in the village, to stay in touch with us. We appreciate their input.”