Citizens Hear From City Council Candidates

Some who came to the Thursday evening candidate forum that showcased the five candidates for the 2022 City Council Election may have been deeply disappointed by the lack of fireworks. While others may have been pleased to see five soft spoken candidates who all indicated their respect for those they sat beside one another offer respectful responses to questions asked.

The forum was sponsored by the Marco Island Chamber of Commerce, MICA and the Marco Island Board of Realtors. The event was held at the Marco Island City Council Chambers to enable it to be aired over both Comcast and the Summit networks courtesy of the link with the City of Marco Island. It was moderated by local attorney William Morris.

Council Chambers had every seat occupied by residents as well as the reception area which provided additional seating for the overflow crowd which provided a large screen and audio to enable those in that area to listen to the questioning, as well as the candidates’ answers for the series of questions which were developed by the committee as well as handwritten questions from the audience.

Questions would deal with a wide range of subjects, from what a candidate would choose to tackle in their first 90 days, a discussion on the recently approved citizen-initiated referendum on Short Term Rentals, a candidate’s support of continuing the support for maintaining “roll-back rate” regarding taxes in the budget process, to what infrastructure improvements they might push for in light of the recent hurricane even. 

Another interesting question dealt with complaints from non-residents who own property on the island and complain they are not allowed to vote. It would be Greg Folley who would first field that question. “It’s simple, you vote where you live. This is settled law,” said Folley. Erik Brechnitz would later explain in the simplest of terms. “You have a say, but not a vote,” said Brechnitz.

All in all the candidates more often than not agreed with each other during the two-hour event amongst those responses came unity in the following.

• One of the first questions asked by the moderator dealt with what policies candidates would bright forth to better protect the environment. The moderator pointed out that there is dissatisfaction amongst residents as to whether ordinances were being enforced. Candidate Christine Dowell would be the first to field that question and responded with her dissatisfaction with the enforcement of the City Fertilizer Ordinance. “It is not being enforced, we have no idea what is going on or what is being brought onto the island,” said Dowell. 

• In regard to the possible purchase of the North Marco Utility franchise they were all in agreement that it makes sense but urged that the city needed to proceed with caution regarding the financial aspects of the purchase, with some indicating that purchase price of the Florida Water Services may have been elevated beyond what was reasonable, given the fact that the system required more work than originally represented, which many have questioned since that acquisition.

• When questioned as to what they would do on environmental issues all agreed that would be a top priority. Erik Brechnitz would point to the conflicting reports received by council from both the Harper and Jacobs Groups. “It is important that we continue to identify sources rather than expending large capital chasing the wrong solution.” Nanette Rivera however would point to the large amounts of phosphorus found in the city’s “re-use water.” Removing those materials was a top priority on her list.

• Questions regarding “workforce housing” would find all candidates agreeing that it needs to be addressed but cautioned that issue needs to be addressed on a county wide basis. Candidates agreed that the cost of property on Marco would prohibit it being built on the island due to economic reasons. Candidate Darrin Palumbo would float the idea of providing owners of property being utilized as “short term rentals” with some type of economic incentives such as tax incentives to utilize those homes for long term workforce or low-income housing as an inducement for that use. 

• Dealing with the issue of non-residents voting in city elections drew a unanimous response from the candidates. “You vote where you live. That is settled law,” said candidate Folley and the other four would agree. All candidates would point out that ownership of property but not residing here doesn’t preclude citizens from discussing matters with elected officials, even though they may reside elsewhere.

• One question which came directly from the audience would deal with what many refer to as a lack of performance with Code Enforcement across the island. Councilors unanimously agreed that it wasn’t providing the service level that residents or councilors felt was appropriate. That same subject has been raised year after year during budget sessions, while several suggestions which were brought forward by Chief Frazzano found little or any support from the dais. 

Although this would be the only public forum allowing citizens to hear from the candidates, prior to the election on November 8 the Coastal Breeze News will be doing interviews with each of those same candidates.