CLEWISTON — At the regular meeting of the Hendry County Board of Commissioners Public Works Director Shane Parker brought a proposal before the board to amend the commercial lease agreement with Short Cakes, LLC, that will allow time for staff to complete the procurement process for a new commercial lease agreement for restaurant space at LaBelle Airport.

This would extend the current lease term by an additional 107 days resulting in a new lease expiration date of Dec. 31, 2026.

Ashley Slovinski, owner of Short Cakes Sweet Shop and Eatery in LaBelle, was notified on June 22, 2026 that the county would not be renewing her lease for another two-year term, and that the lease would expire on Sept. 15, 2026.

At the last county commission meeting on Tuesday, July 28, Ashely went before the board to ask why her lease would not be renewed. She explained that she had taken the situation very seriously and felt that she had corrected every issue that had been identified in the default.

Ashley’s husband Wayne Short also spoke at the previous meeting. He expressed concern that his wife would be put out of business. He felt that they were not given adequate time to relocate.

Bidding on the restaurant space has already begun. In addition to notifying Short Cakes that their lease would not be renewed on June 22, county staff also issued an RFP (Request for Proposals) for lease of restaurant space at the LaBelle Airport. Short Cakes was informed of the RFP and encouraged to submit a proposal as well.

When the amendment to extend Ashley’s lease was brought before the board this week, Board Chair Ramon Iglesias brought up “busy season.” Ashley was again present and he asked her when her “busy season” was. She explained that the busy season for Short Cakes is about to begin and will not taper off until around the end of May or early June.

“If the busy season is until May or June,” Commissioner Michael Atkinson stated. “To end it right in the middle, is kind of a hard time to transition. And in my opinion, if we do end up going with someone else, we’ve got to give time for transition.”

Atkinson then made a motion to extend Short Cakes current lease term to June 1, 2027.

Commissioner Howard seconded the motion but wanted to make it clear that the extension would not stop the RFP process.

“No, the RFP process would still continue,” Atkinson explained. “We would just extend their contract to give them stability during the busy season.”

The board voted and unanimously approved the extension of Short Cakes’ lease to June 1, 2027. RFPs are still due Aug. 26, 2026.