School board approves conceptual Founders Park design and advances Rex Weech upgrades; mediation authorized for Tommy Roberts project

The Monroe County School Board voted June 18 to approve a conceptual design for Founders Park in Islamorada and to advance final design and contractor steps for Rex Weech Field improvements at Coral Shores High School. The meeting included public comment both for and against the Founders Park concept and questions from board members about ownership, budget and community review.

Design and public comment

Architects and sports-planning consultants presented a conceptual site plan for Founders Park that would shift the backstop, add two elevated ADA-accessible grandstands, a two-story press box and a covered concession/press area behind home plate, two dugouts with storage, and a roughly 1,700-square-foot multiuse building with player and coach lockers and restrooms. Tyler Kirsch of MSA Sports described a 22-foot clearance behind home plate to allow the concession/press building to sit behind the backstop without removing existing trees. The design shows a full synthetic-turf playing surface and covered grandstands; the consultants said the backstop change "will significantly improve the foul-ball issue" that at present sends balls toward the highway.

Public commenters were split. Supporters including Tony Hammond, Joe Semanski and Jason Richards urged turf and facility upgrades, citing maintenance burdens on volunteers and player safety. Opponents and concerned residents, including Jamie Engle, asked the district to pause concept approval until the Village of Islamorada has finalized or publicly reviewed interlocal, licensing and use agreements; Engle noted the interlocal agreement between the village and district was recorded only the previous Friday and said the village council and residents have not had full opportunity to consider the plan. Richie Russell, who identified himself as vice chair of the park and recreation committee, disputed claims about tree removal and other alleged misrepresentations and urged the board to move ahead.

Board discussion and budget questions

Board members repeatedly said the vote before them was conceptual: approving a design to allow the village to review it and inform subsequent schematic design. Several trustees stressed they wanted to avoid committing additional district funds beyond planning and to seek village cost-sharing before construction decisions. District staff said the $5 million in the five-year plan had been a planning placeholder and that the architecture-construction estimate based on the conceptual design was about $6.2 million; staff added more precise guaranteed maximum prices would come after schematic design and bidding.

Rex Weech and construction contract

On the Rex Weech Field renovation at Coral Shores High School, the board approved final design and construction documents and authorized a pre-construction/construction-manager engagement with Keystar. Architects described a covered, 5,500-square-foot training center, a separate 1,800-square-foot weight/training building, a concession building housing a small baseball museum room, and reconfigured pedestrian plazas and circulation. The architect's current construction estimate for Rex Weech was presented as about $4.88 million (architect noted that figure includes soft costs and contingencies; the contractor estimate under the district annual contract was cited in discussion at about $4.2 million for hard costs).

Mediation for Tommy Roberts

The board authorized staff to conduct mediation with Ajax Building Company LLC and to provide required notices in a dispute over the Tommy Roberts Stadium project; the board recorded no public details of the litigation during the meeting and legal counsel advised members to refer inquiries to the district's attorney.

Votes at a glance

- Conceptual design approval, Founders Park: motion by Dr. Wolczynski, second by Mr. Horan; "Any no votes? Hearing none, the motion passes." (approved) - Final design and construction documents, Rex Weech Field: motion by Mr. Horan, second by Dr. Wolczynski; "Any no votes? Hearing none, the motion passes." (approved) - Construction management contract for Rex Weech (Keystar): motion by Mr. Horan, second by Mrs. Talbot; "Any no votes? Hearing none, the motion passes." (approved) - Mediation with Ajax Building Company (Tommy Roberts): motion by Mr. Horan, second by Mrs. Talbot; "Any no votes? Hearing none, the motion passes." (approved)

Ending

Staff said conceptual approval for Founders Park would be delivered to Village of Islamorada staff so the village could take the design through its parks-and-rec and council processes; schematic design, bidding and a guaranteed maximum price would return to the board for final commitment. Board members asked for continued transparency and copies of design-team meeting minutes; staff said they would attend village meetings and seek village input and cost-sharing before construction commitments.