Baseball: Where’s the transparency? Who can we trust? Years ago the Village and School Board agreed to a license and use agreement, a contract where the property owner (Islamorada) granted a user (School District) permission to use their real property at Founders Park for specific purposes, times, and other requirements.

Yes - Baseball again!

The original agreement, to provide a field for the Coral Shores baseball team has terminated and needs to be renegotiated. And now the field is in need of improvements.  The School District has allocated funds for improvements similar to the improvements at the other county schools. The School District owns the other baseball fields. The school needs Founders Park space! And the Village provides the  space at no cost.  

The first step should be to approve a new license agreement to spell out specifics.

The Village Council approved an agreement by a 5-0 vote at the January 8, 2026 council meeting. They later confirmed they were sticking with that agreement. The school board seems to want total control. They have their own version of the agreement. And they haven’t wanted to have a joint meeting requested by Council.    

Unauthorized negotiations. Last week we learned that Village Manager Saunders and Mayor Horton have been negotiating with school personnel on behalf of the village without the knowledge and consensus of the Village Council and public.

It should be a simple process to provide a ballfield for kids that put their hearts and talents into the game. The School Board and the Village should meet together in public to work out a solution.  Surely both groups have very similar goals - a quality field, finally with ADA compliance, proper insurance, with maintenance and replacement responsibilities determined and shared dates and times clarified.  

It seems like some School District and Village officials have forgotten the concept of the Sunshine Law … the statutes designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and public participation in government operations.

Bypassing the public process can result in lack of trust.