Ask the City Manager

The general manager of Rose Marina wants Marco Island to assume responsibility to dredge Tigertail backfill from Marco Pass. This will be funded by taxpayers to benefit Rose Marina. Do you think this is a conflict of interest? 

This question is a little bit misleading and confusing because the presentation to City Council on February 17 was not from Rose Marina, but from the Waterways Advisory Committee, making a recommendation to the Council to amend the Tigertail Lagoon/Sand Dollar Island permit to allow for future dredging of the Big Marco Pass/Capri Pass. I encourage residents to watch the video of this presentation and judge for themselves the merit of the proposal. Ultimately, the Council directed the Waterways Advisory Committee to do more research on the permit, dredging costs, and responsibility for the channel and channel markers (currently the responsibility of the US Coast Guard). The Waterways Advisory Committee will return to City Council in three to four months with additional information. From my perspective, future discussions on this topic should include both the US Coast Guard and Collier County. 

Who on staff is responsible for monitoring the submerged land leases on Marco Island, which used to be the purview of the environmentalist we don't have on staff? 

Submerged land leases are issued and enforced by the FL Department of Environmental Protection.