Residents spoke out about Key Colony Beach Commission Activity:
Here are last Month's coments.
City Hall Update
Vice-Mayor Colonell gave a city hall construction update.
August 20 was day 257 of what had been a 308 day construction schedule but was announced at the meeting as 322 days to finish the entire job by10/13/26except the change orders will "extend the schedule by ... another 19 days. So the contractor has somewhere around 80 days left" until about 11/8/2026.
Confused yet?"The roof trusses have become the critical path issue. They were due on site over a month ago. We've roughed in a lot of the plumbing. Electrical is a little bit slower because we don't have a watertight condition... We've completed all the structural tie beams, and a lot of the concrete work on the project is pretty much completed... The windows are in on the second floor, including the glass. Stucco is underway... The water service is completed to the inside of the building [and] a lot of electrical work inside Marble Hall, where we've eliminated fire hazards from old, abandoned wiring... Interior framing will begin in the administrative area on Monday."
There is one pending change order for plan revisions that involves the raised sidewalk. They will add two dedicated receptacles at the bandstand and a quad receptacle out on the patio and the wiring for the pergola.
What did the KCB City Commission do on August 20?
The city commission held a regular monthly meeting on the back patio at the Key Colony Inn and on Zoom on Thursday morning, August 20. Read the entire transcript here.
Committee and Department Reports: Marathon Fire Department received a grant for a fire boat which should arrive around the end of October to assist in rescue and to extinguish fires as well.
Commissioner Diehl was really impressed with the "code officer's 74 citations last month. That's compared to the last 12 months, only $1,200 generated, that's 80-some hundred dollars."
City Administrator Bartus reported a possible grant for the fishing derby and several TDC capital project and other grants, managed bids, reaching the Interlocal Agreement for the Stewardship funds, and worked on floodplain ordinance changes.
Rec Committee Chair Cindy Catto reiterated that the committee looked at and didn't select other options for the basketball court because they required taking down trees or using more green space. There are also other concerns about safety at the retention pond. There are landscaping plans and plantings to mitigate any safety hazards with the basketball court located where it's supposed to be. So after a very thorough discussion the Recreation Committee reaffirmed that April 2025 decision.Action Items:
Commissioner DiFransico questioned the scope and the confidentiality requirements in the membrane replacement contract. This is the last of the cassettes to be replaced. The commission approved the contract for $383,220 pending a review by city attorney Hicks.The commission approved the bid for storm drain cleaning services.
Erin Deady discussed resiliency and flooding and described the grant to create the Watershed Master Plan which will assist with the Community Rating System. KCB started participating in CRS in 1992. As of 2023, KCB has a Class 6 ranking with a 20% discount in flood insurance premiums. Watershed master plans have to be updated every 5 years to remain in the CRS program. This is the first and the grant deliverables have been completed.
She recommended three key projects: (1) elevating five structures (2) install additional pump-assisted stormwater injection wells and (3) elevate roadways that 2040 sea level rise is projected to inundate. They also made policy recommendations including tidal flooding in the stormwater plan.
The watershed master plan creates a foundation to pursue grants for stormwater master plans, capital projects, for instance, the road elevation along Sadowski. Commissioner DiFransico asked for a look at Clara and Coral Lanes, particularly as we plan to elevate Sadowski. Ms. Deady reported the data might already be there.
The commission approved the plan.The commission dealt with a 1-year permit extension request for 880 Shelter Bay Drive. Building official Loreno said the permit does not qualify for tolling. Commissioner Harding wanted "to make sure they realize this is 10% fee per month."
People Are (still) Asking for city officials to explain what legal authority supports their claim that the Florida statutory tolling requirements do not apply. Even without the hardships created by the city and the detention of the shell contractor, this permit is automatically extended by statute.
States of emergency such as those declared for Hurricane Milton automatically extend building permits at no additional cost; the current declaration remains in effect through at least September 18. Permit holders may also claim two additional years to work under their building permits beyond that initial period, also at no additional cost. That two years would keep all current KCB building permits open until September 18, 2028, although the builders can close a permit whenever they finish the job.
The commission approved the $7,500,000 Florida Keys Stewardship distribution agreement to be divided into $1,500,000 annual distributions in FY26-27 through FY30-31. The amount of funding is dependent on the amount actually received from the state.
The commission approved a $250,000 Phase 1 Funding Request to the FDEP that Mayor Foster described as "a placekeeper for us to move forward with, with the wave study" by a single source (no RFP required) to develop data on shoreline loss and science with the expectation of adding wave attenuation devices along the shoreline. "I'm looking for approval on this, so we can go ahead and put this as a placekeeper," The city will pursue additional funding for that construction and monitoring in the future. The grant will require a $125,000 (50%) match of city funding for which Commissioner Harding wants private contributions from the private landowners along West Ocean.
Moving the dumpster at the Sadowski Marina got kudos and the elevator boat lift in a slip sailed through. They approved a $9,600, one-year subscription to Komline's Operational Intelligence for the water treatment plant.
The commission approved Pedro Falcon's six change orders that totaled $218,773 or more: the contractor will replace the old, musty fiberboard ductwork in Marble Hall for $26,889 with a seven day extension; spray foam the new part of the building plus batt insulation in the trusses for $28,119 with a 5 day contract time extension; reroute the lines and replace the west air handling unit for $20,965 with a seven day contract time extension; and add the "F&I" pergola for $142,800. The time needed for the pergola "would be outside of our contract." Other change orders covered two additional data conduits and sleeves under the parking lot required by the public utilities and replacement of the east AHU.
Ordinances and Resolutions:
The commission approved an ordinance for Certification and Recertification of Multi-Story Structures.By state law, milestone inspection reports must be arranged by a condominium or cooperative association and any owner of any portion of the building which is not subject to the condominium or cooperative form of ownership. This section does not apply to a single-family, two-family, three-family, or four-family dwelling with three or fewer habitable stories above ground. The KCB building department shall provide milestone inspection reports to the state on or before December 31, 2025, and on or before each December 31 thereafter.The commission approved the first reading of an ordinance to raise monthly sewer rates $10 (13.5%) from $74/month ($222/quarter) to $84/month ($252/quarter). The second reading of 2026-515 will be September 17. They adopted the 2026 County Watershed Management Plan. And they resolved to apply for the DEP grant for the shoreline project and committed the required 50% local matching funds.
Secretary-Treasurer’s Report
Commissioner Harding reported on the 10th month of FY2026 with a negative balance in the general fund. Revenue coming in now is business tax licenses. Total revenue and total expenses are "actually very close to budget." The Building fund is at $64,000. The city hall hardening grant has been fully utilized and the full reimbursement received. Thank you. The Pickleball shades are paid for and TDC reimbursement requested.
Wastewater expenses are over budget driven by sludge hauling and plant maintenance. The commission approved a new motion to do a business case analysis not to exceed $15,000 for processing sludge in-house.City Attorneys' Report
Attorney Hicks reported that the pin piles and slab issue in the admin area drove three change orders put estimated economic damages at $300,000. The commission approved a new motion to instruct the city attorney to enter negotiations with King's Enterprises to recover those costs.Commissioners' Reports
Commissioner Harding reported that COVID-19 is increasing throughout the country. "I was shocked at the number for the 28th of July, which is right around mid-season. It was the highest number we have ever, ever seen."
They discussed painting the wastewater tanks, the 16-17 page Sherman Williams paint specification, and the 10-year warranty. There are two steel tanks and two cement tanks in the plant.
Commissioner Diehl gave a KCB Day update from the 70th Birthday Committee. They will have a calendar in October or November. Thursday is a pretty packed day with bocce ball, cornhole, Mahjong, a happy hour, and Texas hold-em tournament. Friday has a snapper derby and an awards ceremony. Saturday will be hot dogs in the park along with a band and beer. And Sunday will be the KCBCA plus a commissioner's breakfast and the parade.
Vice-Mayor Colonell apologized to the Rec Committee, "because I probably led them astray and distracted them from really what I felt was a core issue on the basketball court." The retention pond appears very shallow but is 8 feet deep. A 4-foot picket fence around the pond was eliminated. He wants to make sure there is no safety hazard.
He also gave an update on the sailfish. CPH has agreed to do the structural engineering for its foundation. The diamond is in fabrication. Beauts likes the idea of a fountain. Donations are coming in including one from Beauts.
Mayor Foster noted getting over $16 million in grants with "several million dollars out there for additional grants we're looking for." He reported a need to put some time and money in the sewer plant.People Are (Still) Asking exactly what each grant covers and the total cost to the city for expenses not covered by the grants, for example engineering not covered, grant administration (and procurement), and more? Is there a breakdown of staff time and public works time and legal time and grant writer time used to apply for and to implement each grant?