Monroe County Administrator Christine Hurley joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the county.
The contract for the long-discussed Sugarloaf Fire Station has been finalized following an unsolicited proposal for the project.
“The Sugarloaf Fire Station, which has been talked about forever, Kevin Wilson and his project managers — they got the contract finalized with the person who made an unsolicited bid,” Hurley said.
The project is fully permitted, with demolition expected to begin soon.
“That is going to start. It’s fully permitted, and we expect demolition to start soon,” Hurley said.
There will be a period of site preparation following the demolition before construction can begin. Hurley said the project is expected to take about a year and a half.
Fire personnel and equipment currently operating out of other stations will eventually move into the new facility.
“We hope, I think it’s about a year and a half schedule until the guys that are currently operating out of Cudjoe and Big Coppitt stations move that staff with their apparatus for now, and they will get to move into a nice new station, well deserved for them,” Hurley said. “Sugarloaf is very past its life, so exciting news for that community.”
Hurley also discussed plans involving Girl Scout Island, which sustained significant damage from Hurricane Irma.
The property was originally owned by Monroe County before being deeded to the Girl Scouts with a provision allowing the county to reclaim the property if it was no longer being used for Girl Scout purposes.
The Girl Scouts have struggled to raise enough money to rebuild the facility, and the county has been working with the organization for about a year to determine how the property could be redeveloped.
“What we’re thinking and planning, and this is going to take several months to come forward, is an agreement where they deed the land back to us,” Hurley said.
The county would demolish the existing structures, which a report has determined cannot be saved, and then pursue grants and Tourism Development Council funding for redevelopment.
“We do not want to put any tax money into it,” Hurley said.
Possible future uses include camping and RV spaces, dormitory rooms, showers, wedding facilities and public recreational opportunities such as beach access and snorkeling.
Hurley said the county is looking at a variety of possible uses for the property.
“Thinking of it as like a camp, RV spaces might be added, and a dormitory room, showers, a place where you might even hold weddings, but also a location that the community members could use for everyday beaching and everyday snorkeling and things like that,” she said.
Hurley said the project remains in the planning stages and could take several months before coming before the Board of County Commissioners.
Another project under consideration would create a new community campus on Big Pine Key near the existing fire station.
Hurley said the county has been paying about $150,000 a year in ad valorem tax money to rent space in a shopping center for services that were relocated following Hurricane Irma.
The county is now exploring the possibility of constructing a smaller campus that could include a community center and other county services.
“We’re now looking at how can we rebuild a small-scale, keeping with the character of Big Pine, little campus around that fire station, and maybe a community center,” Hurley said.
The county is also communicating with the tax collector about potentially relocating services to the new campus.
“We do have a permitting office. We’ve been communicating with the tax collector. He’s very willing to relocate if we build a new campus out of the shopping center,” Hurley said.
Hurley said the county could use infrastructure sales tax revenue to construct the buildings rather than relying on ad valorem tax dollars.
“When we build the buildings, we typically use infrastructure sales tax money, which comes from sales tax, and we prefer to use that as a revenue source because 60% of that comes from visitors,” she said.
Hurley said the approach could benefit both county taxpayers and residents of Big Pine.
“This would not only make a really nice facility for the people in Big Pine, but it would help us on our ad valorem tax side of the budget,” she said.
The county is also considering purchasing an adjacent piece of property formerly occupied by the state forestry service.
Hurley said the state is expected to sell the property soon, which could provide additional space for the proposed campus.
The Tourism Development Council is also providing funding for community projects.
She specifically highlighted Bay Point Park near Baby’s Coffee as a project being considered in the unincorporated Lower Keys.
“A lot of funding we think will go into that park. It has some flooding issues, and we the land authority purchased a couple waterfront pieces to connect it to the water,” Hurley said. “There are a lot of cool ideas circling out there for that, and that would come from TDC funding.”
Hurley also addressed the upcoming November referendum on Amendment Three and its potential impact on county finances.
Monroe County is scheduled to hold a special meeting on October 20 at 5:30 p.m. in Marathon to discuss the amendment. The meeting will also be available through Zoom.
Hurley said county officials will explain how the proposed amendment could affect individual property tax bills as well as the county budget.
“We’re going to be presenting the benefits of it, kind of show what it will do to someone’s tax bill, and then show what it does to the county budget,” Hurley said.
She said Monroe County is in a different position than some other local governments because of its property tax base, but the amendment could affect the growth in assessed values that typically helps fund increasing government expenses.
“We have to really look at what it will mean to our budget, and that’s what we’ll do on October 20,” Hurley said.
The county recently finalized its budget while maintaining the same countywide millage rate as fiscal year 2025-26.
Hurley said public safety remains a priority, particularly because of retention challenges in fire and police departments.
“This year, we took very good care of our public safety employees because they have very serious retention problems in those departments, fire and police,” she said.
Hurley said county staff and department heads are now working on several additional projects and ideas.
“I’m very proud of our leadership team. They are just working hard and getting all these ideas brought forward,” Hurley said.