Community groups press Monroe County for infrastructure-capacity study; commissioners ask staff to scope a 10‑year study

Representatives of two dozen community organizations asked the commission to fund an independent infrastructure-capacity study to inform future land‑use and capital decisions. Speakers argued that recent trends — including an 11% increase in daily countywide water demand from 2020 to 2024 cited during testimony — and code changes allowing taller buildings mean existing planning assumptions may understate near‑term needs.

Jordan Vanek Slockner of "Keyes' Last Stand" (one of the petitioning organizations) told commissioners: "Demand is increasing relatively quickly compared to projected growth under ROGO," and asked staff to return with scope, rough cost and timeline for a 20‑year study. Multiple speakers — including representatives of fishing‑guides, conservation and neighborhood associations — highlighted water, wastewater, power and US‑1 evacuation/traffic as priority categories.

Commissioners agreed staff should scope a study and return with options and costs, but they favored using a 10‑year horizon tied to the county's current ROGO allocation for initial planning (rather than a 20‑year projection), and asked staff to include stakeholder input and consider whether portions of the prior 2024 study (TischlerBise) could be refreshed to reduce cost.

Why it matters: County infrastructure is expensive and multi‑jurisdictional; a county-backed independent study would provide data to support grant requests, capital planning, and any future policy changes regarding growth or services.