MONROE COUNTY BICENTENNIAL SUNSET CELEBRATION TO TAKE PLACE AT THE OLD 7 MILE BRIDGE MAY 195/9/2023 MARATHON, FL – The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners cordially invites the public to its upcoming bicentennial Sunset Celebration, set to take place on the Old 7 Mile Bridge on May 19 from 6 p.m. to sunset. The event promises to be an unforgettable evening of music, food, and friends as we commemorate the 200th anniversary of our great county.
Henry Flagler’s Old 7 Mile Bridge is an iconic and historic landmark that spans from Marathon to Pigeon Key and is the perfect setting for this momentous occasion. Guests can enjoy a beautiful Florida Keys sunset while listening to live music by the 79th Street Band, dancing on the bridge, and savoring delicious locally inspired appetizers from Marathon High School’s culinary class and beverages from locally grown produce from Grimal Grove. The U.S. Navy will also host a flyover at 7 p.m. across the bridge. The Navy is also celebrating 200 Years in Monroe County this year. Beer and wine will be available for a charge through the Marathon Rotary. As the sun sets at 8:05 p.m., a celebratory toast will be made to honor our past and present County commissioners for their tireless dedication to making Monroe County a great place to live, work, and play. Monroe County was the 6th county admitted into the Florida territory and used to span from Lake Okeechobee to Key West. Today, it encompasses the entire Florida Keys island chain and a mostly uninhabited region of Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve on the mainland. “We are excited to celebrate 200 years of Monroe County with our community through events like this taking place throughout the Florida Keys,” said Monroe County Commissioner Michelle Lincoln. “The sunset celebration will be a wonderful opportunity for residents and visitors to come together and enjoy an evening of fun and festivity in the Middle Keys.” This event is open and free to the public. There will be free parking for the event with Pigeon Key’s trolley available from the City of Marathon 7 Mile Bridge Marina (the old Salty’s) and Monroe County Transit from 33rd Street Stanley Switlik school parking area. There will be no parking available at the bridge. The unofficial afterparty will take place at Overseas Pub and Grill in Marathon following sunset. For more information, please visit www.monroecounty-fl.gov/flkeys200. Other upcoming events to celebrate 200 years of Monroe County include the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce Sea-to-Table event on Saturday, June 10 at 6:30 p.m. (islamoradachamber.com), a free Patriotic Family Picnic taking place at Rowell’s Park on Saturday, June 17 from noon to 3 p.m., culminating in the 200 Year Firework and Laser Light Show in conjunction with Lower Keys Rotary on Monday, July 3 at 5 p.m. at Big Pine Key Community Park, when the county will attempt to regain its rightful title of having the world’s largest Key Lime Pie.
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KEY LARGO, FL – Monroe County Mayor Pro Tem Holly Merrill Raschein visited the first week of the Keys Kids Swim program for Key Largo School kindergarteners provided through collaboration between Jacobs Aquatic Center in Key Largo, Monroe County School District, and Monroe County Parks and Beaches. Monroe County’s Parks and Beaches Director John Allen, Recreation Team Leader Kirrin Peart, and Maintenance Worker John Frank went through American Red Cross training to teach the kindergarteners how to swim. The two other instructors are Kim Musumeci and founder Tana Carson.
“As we speak, every Key Largo School kindergartener is being offered the opportunity to learn how to swim, and I couldn’t be prouder of this effort,” said Merrill Raschein, who has been a proponent of starting the swim classes for years. “This is a culmination of the right people at the right time with a common goal to better our community and make our children safer.” Keys Kids Swim is a water safety and swim lesson program that provides FREE swim lessons to students in kindergarten. For the Key Largo School students, swimming lessons and water safety training is being provided 5 days a week for 45 minutes a day for two weeks, with the first graduation being May 12. “We had 67 students on the first day, and there were quite a few who it was their first time in a pool and many others who will benefit from working on their swimming skills,” said Allen. “Living here in the Florida Keys surrounded by pools, canals, beaches, and open water, this is one of the most important lessons for a child to have.” The development of this pilot program was spearheaded by Florida Keys Kids and is supported by First Horizon Bank, Keys Children’s Foundation, Monroe County Board of County Commissioners, Monroe County School District, Jim “Doc” Bolini and Doc’s Diner, Quiescence Diving Services, Regan Roth Insurance, and Kenny and Stephanie Channels. The program directors hope to add additional Monroe County school kindergarteners to the program in the near future. Swim lessons will also be made available to Key Largo School students in first through eighth grade as needed from June 1 through August 30 at Jacobs Aquatic Center. If your student is in first to eighth grade at Key Largo School and needs swimming lessons this summer, email [email protected] for more information. Water safety tips from the Florida Dept. of Health in Monroe County
BIG PINE KEY, FL – Monroe County Fire Rescue, the Florida Forest Service, and the National Weather Service are co-hosting Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 6 from 10 a.m. to noon at Station 13, 390 Key Deer Blvd., Big Pine Key. Both organizations are partnering with the National Fire Protection Association to promote simple tips to protect your home and community from wildfires.
Preparation tips include planning two ways out of your neighborhood and clearing pine needles, leaves, and other debris from roofs, gutters, and decks. Disposal of lawn cuttings can reduce fuel for wildfire as well as keeping your lawns mowed and hydrated. The event will have free fire prevention materials and snow cones. Children can also tour a fire truck and brush truck and meet firefighters and forest rangers along with Sparky the Fire Dog and Smokey the Bear. “The previous wildfires that impacted our County have shown that prevention is a key factor, especially in more rural areas,” said Monroe County Deputy Chief RL Colina. “The steps taken in preparing yourself, your family, and your homes for potential hazards help create informed citizens and better outcomes for the entire community in emergencies.” ![]() KEY LARGO, FL – The Monroe County Public Library Key Largo branch will temporarily close on Mondays, starting May 8, due to a staffing shortage. The temporary change will last only until new employees are hired and trained. The library, at 101485 Overseas Highway in the Tradewinds Shopping Plaza, will be open: Tuesday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Library books and DVDs are available 24/7 from the lending machine at Monroe County’s Murray Nelson Government Center, 102050 Overseas Highway, Key Largo. There is also a pickup locker outside the library branch, so patrons can request items to be held there and pick them up any time. In addition, eBooks, eAudiobooks, streaming films, and more are available 24/7 via the library website, www.keyslibraries.org. If you have questions, call the Key Largo library at 305-451-2396 or email [email protected]. BIG PINE KEY, FL – The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners and Monroe County Land Authority, who are prioritizing affordable housing development, joined the Monroe County Housing Authority to break ground at one of the 12 two-bedroom, one-bathroom, single-family affordable home sites being rebuilt as rentals on Big Pine Key. The project was a joint partnership between the three entities and will be managed by the Housing Authority. More than $6 million in land acquisition and construction funding came from Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Rent on the homes will range between $300-$1,700 a month for qualified applicants based on income limits.
Monroe County Mayor Craig Cates, Land Authority Executive Director Christine Hurley, and Vice Chairman of the Housing Authority Pat Labrada spoke at the ceremony. Mayor Pro Tem Holly Merrill Raschein and Commissioners Michelle Lincoln and Jim Scholl were also in attendance. The houses will be hurricane rated, elevated above flood risk, and built to Florida Green Standards. “This is a great example of how the Housing Authority and the Board of County Commissioners work together on affordable housing initiatives,” said Labrada. The construction is being done in phases, with the first house expected to be move-in ready by the end of this year and others coming available throughout 2024. “There is a lot of talk about the need for affordable housing, and we are so happy about these homes because they will be for families, and it will give them the future they need to stay here,” said Cates. “This project is making a small but huge dent in affordable housing, and we are much better off than we were years ago.” Hurley explained the impact the Lower Keys area experienced in Hurricane Irma and thanked Merrill Raschein for her commitment to securing funding for housing while she was a State Representative. “Our Board sees affordable housing as a need for our community members and this project sets a new standard for a type of housing that is missing in publically assisted affordable housing. We can continue to partner in projects like this,” she said. Forty more units are on the horizon, similarly funded with the same type of partnership structure. These additional units will be built on Big Pine Key and Conch Key. The Housing Authority has not started taking applications for the homes yet. More information on the Housing Authority can be found at https://www.kwha.org/mcha/. BIG COPPITT KEY, FL – A new four-way stop was installed on Tuesday on Big Coppitt Key at the 4th Street and Avenue F intersection. The intersection was previously a two-way stop in a residential neighborhood with a county park nearby. Monroe County received a request from a resident to evaluate the intersection. The County’s traffic engineering consultant performed a traffic study that indicated the curved geometry of Avenue F and the parked vehicles, vegetation, and utility poles restrict sight distance at the intersection, which warrants a four-way stop at that intersection.
MARATHON, FL – On Tuesday, AJAX celebrated the “topping off” of the new Monroe County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Marathon. The topping off is the completion of the highest point of the building. Monroe County Mayor Pro Tem Holly Merrill Raschein and Commissioners David Rice, Michelle Lincoln, and Jim Scholl toured the building with County Administrator Roman Gastesi, County Attorney Bob Shillinger, and other key staff who will call the new EOC home. Once finished, the category 5 rated EOC will house Monroe County Emergency Management, Monroe County Fire Rescue administration, and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office 9-1-1 call center. The EOC is expected to be completed in spring 2024.
Highlights of the building include:
MONROE COUNTY, FL – Monroe County Mayor Craig Cates and the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners proclaimed April as Fair Housing Month, recognizing that Equal Housing Opportunity is guaranteed to all Americans under Title VIII of the 1968 Civil Rights Law. Monroe County Land Authority Executive Director Christine Hurley accepted the proclamation at Wednesday's regularly scheduled meeting.
"Monroe County is pleased to join in that designation since it provides an opportunity for all Americans to rededicate themselves to the principles of freedom of housing choice and to reacquaint themselves with the rights and responsibilities that are theirs under the law," said Cates in the resolution. "Fair housing is consistent with the principle of equality and justice for all – principles upon which our nation was founded – we all need to share in the fight to ensure fair housing is a reality for all residents." The Monroe County Land Authority supports fair housing by buying land and partnering with affordable housing developers and can contribute funding to affordable housing construction with a federal partner to provide housing opportunities for all community members. The Land Authority also has a program that can buy out hurricane-damaged properties from willing sellers. The Monroe County Housing Authority, a separate entity, provides fair housing education and outreach services in the Florida Keys. MONROE COUNTY, FL – The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners recognized Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Lt. Kathleen McKinney for 40 years of dedicated service at today’s regularly scheduled meeting. She started her career in 1983 and transferred to Monroe County in 2008. McKinney was integral in Hurricane Irma recovery in 2017, is a Leadership Monroe County graduate, and can be seen volunteering in the community for the Special Olympics and Friends of the Parks.
MONROE COUNTY, FL – Two Monroe County Fleet Management employees have been named finalists in the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA) 100 Best Fleets professional awards. Generator Mechanic Lyle Tabb was named a finalist for Technician of the Year with 35 other technicians, and Monroe County Director of Fleet Management Director Daryl Greenlee was named a finalist as Fleet Professional of the Year with 42 other professionals. The awards spotlight the most progressive, dedicated, and talented leaders in the fleet industry.
Nominees were selected from public and commercial fleets throughout the United States and are judged on experience, education, training, and performance, and show teamwork, leadership traits, initiatives, and technical capabilities. The top three winners will be announced on April 17. |
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