JOHN BARTUS: HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY, MARATHON!

This past Saturday marked a special anniversary for the Middle Keys. Before we get there, let’s turn the clocks back a bit. 

It was November 1997. People throughout the Keys watched as residents of Islamorada voted to form their own municipal government – and the Village of Islamorada became real.

Early the following year, a group of residents met with Islamorada founder Ron Levy at the Stuffed Pig restaurant in Marathon. For years, many in Marathon thought they were getting short shrift from Monroe County. Islamorada had shown them the path to local control — could the same thing happen in Marathon?

Among the people attending this first meeting and subsequently getting involved were Stuffed Pig owners Mike Cinque and Karen Dennis, Alan Fletcher, Bob Miller, Bill and Karen Farley Wilkinson, Dick Ramsay, Dick Schultz, Glenn Robinson and yours truly. The group Citizens Incorporate Marathon was born, and the struggle to become our own city had begun.

There were a number of issues driving incorporation, including the following:

• Infrastructure tax spending inequity: In the first 10 years of the infrastructure sales tax, less than 10% of the taxes collected in the Middle Keys went to Middle Keys projects. 

• Home rule: The one-size-fits-all ordinances and regulations enacted by the county commission often did not fit all areas of the Keys the same. Each island community is different, and what works in Key Largo might not work in Big Pine.

• Parks and recreation: Having lost the Marine Bank field to the new Publix in the late 1990s, the town needed an events field and recreation space. While the county did find funds for Community Park Phase I – largely in response to the incorporation movement – that money came from Florida Forever grants, which would prohibit just about any event except for passive recreation. The lack of an events field was addressed upon the completion of Community Park Phase II, a multi-use athletic field and amphitheater facility complete with a modern skate park, all of which merged seamlessly with Phase I of the park. Sombrero Beach improvements made our beautiful beach park one of the Middle Keys’ most used attractions. Since then, Rotary Park and Jessie Hobbs Park have been developed and improved, and Marathon’s parks host awesome programs and events for all ages.

• Wastewater and the 2010 mandate: When confronted with the potential controversy, the county commission punted all wastewater responsibility to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority in 1998. Marathon felt it necessary to control the utility decisions to be made for our community. The city took over, redesigned the system and got both wastewater and stormwater done by the original 2010 deadline.

After numerous public meetings, and with the help of State Rep. Ken Sorenson, the Florida Legislature voted to authorize Marathon’s incorporation referendum to be held Nov. 2, 1999. When the votes were counted, the referendum passed by nearly 70%.

The first city council election was held in February 2000, and the original five council members were Bob Miller, John Bartus, Randy Mearns, Frank Greenman and Jon Johnson. Ken Sorenson swore in the original council, and Miller was chosen Marathon’s first mayor. (I was chosen as the first vice mayor, and served as the town’s second mayor.)

The history of Marathon continues to be written. Two new city council members will be sworn in on Nov. 12, and let’s all hope that the future will bring prosperity and happiness to the residents of our Middle Keys community. Happy 25th birthday, Marathon! Here’s to many, many more! 

– Catch John live Thursdays at Sparky’s Landing, Fridays at Isla Bella, and Sunday afternoons at Skipjack Tiki. Find his music anywhere you download or stream your music. www.johnbartus.com • johnbartus.hearnow.com