School Board inches forward on vacant Marathon Manor property

Florida Keys leaders this week tried to light a spark beneath plans for the unused Marathon Manor property owned by the Monroe County School District.

Eleven years after the district spent $7.4 million to buy six acres that once held a nursing home, the property adjacent to Marathon High School remains empty without any clear plans for its use.

But this week, leaders at the city of Marathon and the schools said it’s time to take some action on what was once Marathon Manor, 320 Sombrero Beach Road, a property most recently valued at $3.1 million.

“At this point in time, I’d like to reach out to the School Board and say ‘Look, we need to do something with this building and this property,’ ” Marathon Vice Mayor Bill Kelly said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “Something needs to be done.”

“It’s about time,” said Councilman John Bartus.

Kelly proposed a meeting with School District officials to discuss the issue. He added he wasn’t scolding the School Board, just reaching out in search of a solution. Councilwoman Michelle Coldiron said she had spoken to several School Board members about the issue.

“I think everyone knows this property is an eyesore in our community and could be used for something productive,” she said.

Superintendent Mark Porter told the five-man School Board this week that in light of the Aug. 30 nonbinding referendum by Marathon residents to build a community pool, it’s time to take action on what to do with Marathon Manor.

“We keep talking about it and talking about it,” Porter said at Tuesday’s meeting at Coral Shores High School. “We need to look at taking some action.”

The nonbinding referendum passed by a whisker after a recount by the county — by four votes for a total of 865 in favor.

Porter added, “We will continue to cooperate fully with the city of Marathon.”

John Dick, the board’s vice chairman who in 2011 called the Marathon Manor purchase a fiasco that wasted taxpayer money, said they need to first make sure Marathon Middle/High School doesn’t need the space.

No decision was made, but the board’s consensus was to once again take up the real estate issue. Affordable housing for school employees remains on the short list of possible options.

In December 2005, then-superintendent Randy Acevedo had persuaded the board to buy the Marathon property, tossing out ideas like new athletic fields and affordable housing for teachers. Cay Clubs Resorts and Marinas, a developer that would later hit the skids and produce a scandal, sold Marathon Manor to the district.