TRANQUILITY BAY BEACH

Discover the luxury of on-site resort management, income producing nightly rental capability, and amenities galore. One of few ADA compliant residences with extra square footage and exterior wheelchair lift, Unit 25 uniquely features three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, one half bath and 1,100 square feet inside with larger handicap accessible kitchen, granite topped counters, newer stainless steel appliances, open concept living area, plus two open air porches to enjoy the peek-a-boo Gulf views. A rarity, this unit presents two master suites with one conveniently located on the first level (with ADA compliant shower) and additional master suite on the second level. Tranquility Bay Beach Resort's grounds are like none other, every inch is photo worthy. Stay and play, or relax and kick back at the award winning restaurant, Butterfly Cafe, three pools, gorgeous white sand beach, swimming lagoon, TJ's Tiki Bar, putting green, fitness center, and even water sports.

MARATHON | $775,000 | Listing ID: 603837

9709 Overseas Hwy. Marathon, FL 33050 Office: 305.743.0844 www.keysweekly.com

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As many as 100 million brackets are filled out each year during the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments. As far as having a perfect bracket, good luck with that. The odds are very slim, 1 in 9.2 quintillion.

MARATHON COUNCIL RENEWS BAPTIST TAXING DISTRICT, DEMANDS COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Extinct church dissolution, E-bikes and marina fees tabled for next month

ALEX RICKERT alex@keysweekly.com

Anarrow 3-2 vote to renew the controversial Middle Keys Health Care Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) in support of Baptist Health and Fishermen’s Community Hospital came with sharp criticisms and a request for more consistent community involvement from Baptist at the Marathon City Council’s March 14 meeting.

Initially billed as a special taxing district in support of brick-and-mortar construction for the hospital destroyed by Hurricane Irma shortly after Baptist’s purchase of the facility, the MSTU eventually pivoted to subsidize the cost of uninsured and underinsured “indigent care” in a move that drew the ire of many Marathon residents.

With the district encompassing Marathon, Key Colony Beach and Duck Key, a non-homesteaded property assessed at $500,000 in value pays roughly $250 per year in additional taxes, with the majority of homesteaded properties paying a lower rate.

According to numbers provided by Baptist at Tuesday’s meeting, the hospital has received roughly $7.5 million of an intended $10 million from the taxing district since 2018 as of the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, plus an additional $16.2 million in philanthropy.

The hospital’s financials showed significant losses in fiscal years 2017 through 2020 with expectedly high costs of hospital construction, with Baptist still showing a net investment loss of $56.4 million since purchasing the hospital.

However, open doors at Fishermen’s brought significant immediate profits. In fiscal year 2021, benefits from the taxing district turned a $1.2 million loss into an $872,000 operating gain. In fiscal year 2022, the hospital showed an operating gain of nearly $17.5 million, with just over $2.3 million derived from the county tax benefit. Through the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, the hospital shows an operating gain of more than $4.9 million.

Baptist officials gathered at the meeting – including hospital CEO Drew Grossman, board of trustees chair Jay Hershoff and Fishermen’s board chair Peter Chapman – extolled Baptist’s commitment to the Marathon community as it opened and expanded a rural hospital’s offerings while hundreds of similar facilities across the country face closure.

“We have been financially sound and doing well,” said Grossman. “You will see that, but it’s us paying back the bills of all this investment that we are bringing into these commitments.”

“Baptist has made a commitment to us. They saved us, and they’ve delivered health care,” said Chapman. “Marathon made a commitment to Baptist as a partner … and when we look at the partnership for health care in our community, we have to be together, and we have to look far down the road.”

Councilman Jeff Smith said he found the tax “a small price to pay” to preserve a partnership with a large healthcare system capable of providing high-quality services in a community with unique healthcare needs.

“I think we honor our commitments,” he said. “On my tax bill, the dollar amount is less than I pay for health insurance on a monthly basis.

Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. A Key Colony Beach parade will lead the festivities this Friday. See page 39.

75% of this is actually covered by nonhomesteaded properties.”

Marathon Mayor Luis Gonzalez, who voted to continue the taxing district at its 2022 review, said he found it difficult to continue charging Marathon’s taxpayers with Baptist showing such strong profits over the last two years.

“I’m caught between a rock and a hard spot,” he said. “Yes, there was a commitment, but the commitment was to renew this on a yearly basis. … You received $17 million in profit this year, and I would assume that the profit would continue.”

Both Gonzalez and Vice Mayor Robyn Still criticized a lack of community engagement from Baptist beyond scheduled speaking engagements, asking that the hospital’s medical pledge be matched by a commitment to be more involved with local events and organizations.

“The business community wants to see you,” said Gonzalez. “No matter how this vote turns out tonight, if you want to be a part of this community, you’ve got to be involved in these organizations.”

“This vote for me is about a commitment. … I’m not going to vote just because I don’t like what you’re not doing in our community,” said Still, who noted the hospital’s absence at the Marathon Seafood Festival and Marathon High School health fair. “I want to choose to improve this relationship instead of trying to prove a point. I just want you to be a good neighbor.”

“You’ve heard me say commitments made are commitments kept. I’m making a commitment tonight: You’re going to see Fishermen’s Hospital more involved in the community,” responded Hershoff. “Because it’s the right thing to do, and we need to be better neighbors.”

The council voted 3-2 to renew the taxing district for another year, with Gonzalez and councilman Kenny Matlock as the no votes.

Verdict on “extinct” church will wait another month

An expectedly contentious decision to pursue dissolution of the “extinct” New Mt. Zion Baptist Church on 42nd Street will wait until at least April as staff and council members gather more information about their options