Council Elects Brechnitz for Top Spot

At the November 1 Marco Island City Council meeting, the first order of business was to elect new leadership for the upcoming year. Vice Chair Greg Folley opened the nominations by recognizing Jared Grifoni’s accomplishments and his leadership of the council over the last year.

Folley then nominated Erik Brechnitz to fill the role of Council Chair for the next twelve months. Vice Chair Folley recognized Brechnitz’s experience dealing with serious water quality issues in Decatur, Illinois, and with management of large cost capital projects, such as those being undertaken with the Veterans Community Park build-out and the rebuilding of Fire Station 50.

Councilor Rich Blonna moved to nominate the present Chair, Jared Grifoni. Grifoni was appreciative of the gesture, but deferred the nomination, citing the arrival of his new child.

Councilor Brechnitz was elected unanimously by council, and for the first time since the establishment of cityhood, a single individual will have held the gavel for three of the four years of his council term.

In a magnanimous gesture, Brechnitz nominated Grifoni to assist him as Vice Chair for the next year. Grifoni thanked the Chair for his confidence, and accepted the role. Folley, who has been serving as Vice Chair, will continue his role working with city staff regarding the current salary and benefit negotiations that are ongoing.

After the meeting, Brechnitz said it was an honor to be chosen, once again, to lead the seven-person board. Although it is a relatively ceremonial position, the Chair does tend to set the tone for how council conducts its business. 

A resident of Marco since 1995, Brechnitz brought with him considerable experience from his home roots in Decatur, Illinois. He sat on that council for 14 years, with 4 of those years as Mayor.

During the 2018 election, Brechnitz made the selection of a new city manager one of his top priorities and delivered on that promise in the summer of 2019. Council chose Michael McNees as City Manager of Marco Island, after the short tenure of the former City Manager, Lee Niblock, who left in disgrace after pleading “No Contest” to First Degree Misdemeanor Battery.

Until that time, the city was in flux following the departure of the former manager, who became Town Manager of Fort Myers Beach. Many in the Marco community saw City Council as the source of the turmoil within City Hall, and for the challenges in finding a suitable replacement.

Brechnitz was re-elected as Chair in November 2019, once again, setting a precedent for that role.

Prior to being elected to the city council in November 2018, Brechnitz was a member of the Marco Island Planning Board. There too, he was elected twice to the position of Board Chairman. 

See a complete recap of the City Council meeting in the November 11 edition of the Coastal Breeze News.