On September 29, 2026, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council approved all six capital project applications Key Colony Beach submitted for fiscal 2027, a total of $494,550. The money comes from Monroe County's tourist development tax, which is meant for tourism-related facilities and capital improvements. In practice, that means visitors paying the county's tourist tax are helping pay for restrooms near the pickleball courts and a new gazebo at Sunset Park.
The money is largely settled. The open questions are where the basketball court goes, who manages the golf course after 2027, and which park gets the next grant. Those are being decided at a small table, by a commission and a few volunteer committees, in meetings any resident can attend.
Where the $494,550 lands, street by street
The city's announcement lists six line items. Matched to the places they will change, they look like this.
8th Street: pickleball, golf and the restroom gap
In 2024 the city was planning to convert the 8th Street tennis courts to pickleball, according to Keys Weekly. By the December 18, 2025 commission meeting the new pickleball courts were open, with a big turnout and steady use for play, exercise and socializing. The courts have drawn crowds, but restrooms have lagged behind. The TDC award includes $80,500 for pickleball restroom improvements. At its August 13 meeting, the Recreation Committee said its grant request covered bathrooms at 8th and 7th Streets. That leaves the East Park restroom on 1st Street as the one still unfunded.
7th Street Park: bocce, shuffleboard and the Clam Bake lawn
According to the city's recreation page, 7th Street has a playground plus bocce and shuffleboard near a restroom. That restroom gets its own $80,500 in improvements. The city's leftover recreation funds from July went to the final payment on the bocce court improvements. This is also where the city held its Clam Bake last February. That lawn comes up again in the basketball debate below.
West Ocean Drive and 12th Street: Sunset Park
Sunset Park got a lot of work last season. In January 2026, Keys Weekly described a refreshed event lawn, shade sails, an ADA walkway and new landscaping, with fishing pier upgrades still in progress. The new grant adds a $69,000 gazebo. The park's biggest regular crowd comes for the free Sunday concerts. The Key Colony Beach Community Association lists the 2026–27 series from January 24 to March 21, 4 to 6 p.m.
The fitness trail
At $104,300, fitness trail improvements are the largest single item. The city already marks walking and jogging routes of 0.4, 0.5 and 0.8 miles along the Sadowski Causeway and East and West Ocean Drives. The Recreation Committee has said exercise stations were part of the grant request. The public documents so far don't show which route gets the stations, so that's worth asking about at the next Recreation Committee meeting.
The last two items
The remaining money covers $85,250 for basketball court improvements and $75,000 for an electronic sign at City Hall. The sign will go on a building that is still under construction. At the August 20 commission meeting, City Hall was at day 254 of a 322-day contract, with stucco underway and interior framing about to start. The September 17 commission meeting was still held at the Inn. If you followed how the city got to this building, our piece on the City Hall fight tells that story.
Approved doesn't mean under construction yet
Don't expect crews this month. The city says the six projects still have to go through the remaining funding and agreement steps, and the project agreements go to the County for final approval before any work begins. The one project with a real deadline is the basketball court. It is also the one whose location is in dispute.
The basketball court that keeps getting reconsidered
Key Colony Beach used to have basketball courts on 7th Street. Under the 2024 plans reported by Keys Weekly, those courts were slated to become tennis courts while the 8th Street tennis courts went to pickleball.
On April 17, 2025, the commission voted unanimously for a stand-alone court northwest of the new tennis court, pending confirmation of construction clearance and funding. The Recreation Committee had recommended a spot on the north side of Shelter Bay. The same discussion covered a retention pond that was being turned into a wet pond for stormwater, along with access, trees and placement.
In August 2026, Vice-Mayor Doug Colonell asked the commission to take another look. According to the Recreation Committee's August 13 minutes, his letter raised fencing, use of the space for the Clam Bake, and further loss of green space. Committee members said they had already measured and vetted the recommended site. They also pointed out that the alternative could cost trees, and that they wanted the court finished with grant money by the end of the year. Mayor Freddie Foster told the committee he supported the location as designed, did not support moving or delaying it, and had promised to get it built. City Administrator Bartus said he didn't think a change in location would affect the grant decision.
At the August 20 commission meeting, Recreation Chair Cindy Catto said the committee stood by its recommendation, including its review of safety near the pond. Mayor Foster said the commission may not have been sensitive enough to children's safety concerns. He suggested keeping the court in the same general area and using added landscaping to address them. As of October 12, the September 17 minutes have not been posted, and the October 8 Recreation Committee agenda listed basketball only as a member report. No public record yet shows a final site.
The golf course has a 2027 clock
The 9-hole, par-3 course at 8th Street is open 7:30 a.m. to dusk. Nine holes cost $15, another nine cost $8, and clubs and pull carts rent for $5 each. Daryl Rice is the manager. In January, the Keys Citizen reported that the commission approved keeping Rice, who has run the course for 17 years. He pays $39,500 a year in rent plus sales tax. The city handles major repairs, Rice handles minor repairs and clubhouse upkeep, and the two split water and electricity. The city expected him to stay through 2027, with an option for a one-year agreement after that.
The question behind that arrangement goes back to 2025. Back then the commission weighed private management against running the course itself. The City Attorney said competitive bidding was required outside the original contract term, and staff were told to prepare an interim agreement and draft a request for proposals. On August 20, Catto described the management transition deadline as a little more than a year away. She asked permission to hold workshops and take public comment later this fall. Meanwhile, the course keeps getting small upgrades. In August the Recreation Committee approved an $8,669.45 fishtail palm planting by 8th Street, meant to eventually reduce the need for the safety nets. The committee also reported that people like the new porch furniture.
The next round is already being drafted
The city is already lining up more park grants. On September 28 it held public input meetings on Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program applications for 1st Street Park and 7th Street Park. The October 8 Recreation Committee agenda put the requests at $50,000 for 1st Street Park and $112,500 for 7th Street Park, both for 2027–28 and neither awarded yet.
Dates already posted:
- October 13, 2026: The Beautification Committee takes up a BrightView proposal for $5,800.40 in landscaping by the city entrance.
- Later this fall: Golf course management workshops, if the commission approves them.
- January 24 to March 21, 2027: Sunday concerts at Sunset Park, 4 to 6 p.m.
- February 27, 2027: Hot Dog in the Hut, on the Recreation Committee's October 8 agenda for support.
Agendas and minutes for all of these meetings are posted on keycolonybeach.net, which is where the basketball site and the golf decision will show up first.
At Jen Davis, we follow these committee meetings because they shape the parks our Key Colony Beach neighbors use every day. If you'd like to talk about how the 8th Street and Sunset Park projects fit into life on the island, or anything else on your mind about Key Colony Beach, schedule a free consultation and we'll walk through it together.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
