City Hits Snag Disposing of Surplus Property

The Marco Island City Council convened its January 24, 2022 meeting sharply at 5:30 PM in Council Chambers. Although the agenda was relatively light, the second meeting of the new year consumed approximately three hours of their time.

One of the disappointing items they would deal with came when Assistant City Manager Casey Lucius reported that the windfall expected from the sale of surplus property on Mainsail Drive at Hammock Bay would not materialize.

The property that the city had acquired during the purchase of Florida Water Services assets shortly after incorporation held no residential density credits. The fact that it had been previously utilized and zoned for “utility usage,” discounted availability of the valuable density credits, and hence the assumed increased values. 

Late last year that flaw was discovered when bids were received on the properties listed as 1825 and 1955 Mainsail Drive. The market value conclusion in the June 2021 appraisal was based on an alternative “highest and best use” for residential multi-family development, with a density of 25 dwelling units for 1825 Mainsail Drive and 47 dwelling units for 1955 Mainsail Drive. The appraised values were shown as $750,000 and $1,410,000, respectively.

When the bids were received in June 2021, the flaw was pointed out, and the bid conditioned upon receiving zoning adjustments and density based upon the “highest and best use” for the property.

Since then, the city has had the property reappraised, without providing the property’s “highest and best use,” but instead basing it on current zoning and legal use. That appraisal shows a value of $261,000 for the 1.41 acres at 1825 Mainsail Drive and $487,000 for the 2.63 acres at 1955 Mainsail Drive. Those numbers total $748,000 as the property stands now, versus the $2,160,000 the city initially was hoping for.

After considerable discussion, council unanimously voted to reject the earlier bid in July and move forward to re-advertise the bid for the properties based upon the new “as is” appraised value.

Council Moves Into Digital Age For Citizen Input

At that same meeting, council moved forward with an “engagement app,” to be used as another tool to stay engaged with citizens. The app will allow citizens to chime in on city issues. Councilor Becky Irwin felt it would become an ongoing location for citizens to report on problems they encounter. Council voted to enter into a contract with Go-Gov to obtain that service at $17,544. The vote was 6-1, with Councilor Joe Rola objecting.

Council also contracted with MDI for a one-time digital survey of the island’s residents to allow councilors to get a better pulse of the community. Some of the details about the survey:

• The survey will take 10-15 minutes per participant. 
• The survey is mobile, easy to take and focused on current city issues/services. 
• Custom questions can be added. 
• Ability to verify that a resident can only take the survey once. 
• A question can be added to identify Marco Island residents (full time, part time, business owners or work on the island, etc.). 
• One-time cost of $7,990.

Former councilor Howard Reed came forward and stated his opinion that a survey will only tell us what we already know, and that he felt it was a waste of money.

Marco Island City Council approved the one-time survey by a vote of 4-3, with Councilors Greg Folley, Claire Babrowski, Joe Rola and Becky Irwin voting in favor, and Councilors Rich Blonna, Jared Grifoni and Erik Brechnitz in opposition.