Thursday, November 12, 2026
Marco Island City Council has another chance to break the gridlock that has prevented them from reaching their complete seven members during a Special City Council Meeting scheduled 2:00 PM on Tuesday, January 21.
If Council breaks what has been a gridlock since the November election, then a seventh member can be sworn in at the regularly scheduled meeting to follow at 5:30 PM, Tuesday, January 21.
Staff did not recommend any other new changes in procedure on how to select the seventh member other than to suggest a Special Meeting to do so and still allow more time to complete regular City business, said Assistant City Manager Casey Lucius.
“I think it's up to each individual Council member to find areas where they can compromise,” Lucius said.
Council regularly meets on Mondays, but the meeting was moved in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day to Tuesday.
Items on the agenda for the Special Called Meeting include a discussion of a Special Election to put the selection of the seventh member back to Marco Island voters, as suggested by City Councilman Stephen Gray.
Also for consideration is a review of the 24 applicants for the City Council seat, with all of their resumes attached to the agenda, Lucius said. Council had 26 applicants to review initially, but two had dropped out, she said.
The Council narrowed those applicants down to four finalists in December and then narrowed those down to two top-vote getters at their first regular meeting of the year on January 6. However, none of the four finalists could garner the majority vote needed to secure the seventh seat on Council.
Assistant City Attorney David Tolces had advised against a Special Election, stating that it is not the process outlined in the City Charter for the filling of a vacant seat. The seat was left vacant midterm by Greg Folley. Instead, the Charter states that Council is responsible for selecting the seventh member by majority vote of the Council, Tolces advised. Council was to have done this by January 6, City Clerk Joan Taylor had said. The stalemate has continued since the elections.
Councilman Erik Brechnitz has been serving as the acting chairman due to being elected vice chair by the former Council. A seventh member could assist this newly formed Council in selecting their chair and vice chair, which is again on the agenda at the 5:30 PM meeting later on Tuesday, as it has been since the election.
Other meetings on the Regular Meeting agenda, beginning 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, include:
Consent agenda items with appointments to several boards and committees; purchase of a boom truck nearing a cost of $300,000 and a new walking path at the dog park for a cost nearing $20,000.
A presentation on accessibility to the dog park by Cathy Clausen of Marco Connection, Inc., a community organization with a mission to safeguard Marco Island as a family-friendly vacation destination that welcomes the next generation of homeowners.
Second reading of an amendment to the ordinance regulating management of the Police Pension Fund to expand portfolio fund options.
Reports by Council members, including preventing further trolley consideration in the near future outlined by Gray and advocation of police body cams by Councilwoman Tamara Goehler.
A report from the City Attorney provides several updates, including the closing of four short-term rental cases; status of Marco Club’s allegation that the city’s denial of offsite parking was unfair or unreasonable; an appeal by former Marco Island Police Officer Tige Thomspon; the City attorney’s bill of approximately $24,000 for the month of November 2024 and other matters.
Both meetings will be held in the Community Room, 51 Bald Eagle Drive.
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