Council Hears Schwan’s Account of Ongoing Harassment

Marco Island City Council’s October 5 meeting covered water and sewer charges, oversight of major development projects, finance department staffing, and ongoing concerns about pickleball noise abatement efforts. Meeting under its new 1:30 PM schedule, the Council approved several spending and operational measures unanimously. An emotional discussion about online harassment targeting Councilor Bonita Schwan also prompted calls for stronger enforcement of meeting rules and the exploration of the City’s legal options for addressing the abuse.

Water and Sewer Study to Examine Costs and Fairness

The Council unanimously supported moving forward with a comprehensive water and sewer rate review, which will examine how much revenue the utility needs, how costs should be divided among customer groups, and how charges should be structured.

Water and Sewer General Manager Jeff Poteet explained that while rates have changed, the basic rate structure has remained largely unchanged since 2006. The review would address three distinct questions: whether the utility collects enough to meet its obligations, whether different customer classes pay their proportionate share, and whether the billing structure supports the City’s policy goals.

The discussion highlighted differences among residential, commercial, and condominium accounts, including sewer billing caps and charges for properties served by a single master meter. The study would be funded through unrestricted water and sewer reserves, with staff developing a scope of work and seeking a qualified consultant.

Council members also asked about future water demand and capacity. Poteet said the system is not currently at capacity but that continued growth in demand could eventually require treatment plant improvements and additional permitted water supply.

Who Should Have Final Authority Over Major Development?

Vice Chair Rene Champagne presented a proposal to reconsider Ordinance 21-10, which transferred final approval authority for site development plans to the Planning Board in 2021.

Champagne argued that projects with substantial community impacts should receive final consideration by the elected Council after Planning Board review. His proposed framework would preserve the existing process for routine applications while establishing measurable criteria for larger projects affecting traffic, evacuation, public services, waterfront activity, and neighborhood compatibility.

“The City Council cannot sit here, in my opinion, and dodge the questions from the community who are upset about a project,” Champagne said.

City Manager Dr. Casey Lucius cautioned that developing those criteria would require careful analysis and could not realistically be ready for the already crowded October 19 agenda. She suggested that returning to the pre-2021 process would be a simpler alternative, for under the previous process, all site plans came to Council for approval.

Other options discussed included a limited window during which the Council could bring a Planning Board decision forward for review. Chair Darrin Palumbo supported considering an additional safeguard while emphasizing the Planning Board’s expertise and the need to avoid unnecessary delays for business owners.

Schwan suggested leaving the decision to the incoming Council. No ordinance change was adopted. 

Spending, Infrastructure and a Permanent Fireboat Slip

The Council voted 7-0 to authorize the City manager to approve 47 fiscal 2027 purchase orders anticipated to exceed $50,000 each, totaling approximately $12.55 million. That total is about 10% higher than the previous year’s approved list. Purchasing and Risk Manager Stephen DiSantis said the vendors had qualified through established procurement procedures and funding would come from departmental operating budgets.

The Council also unanimously approved purchasing a permanent fireboat slip at the Marina at Factory Bay. The slip’s purchase price is $90,000, with the agenda authorizing a total expenditure not exceeding $113,048.

Fire Chief Chris Byrne explained that the location provides convenient crew parking and quick access to the river through a short no-wake zone. Council members supported securing the location rather than continuing to depend on future lease arrangements, while acknowledging the City’s responsibility for potential dock repairs.

Finance Department Staff
Funding Approved

The Council unanimously approved funding the finance controller position for the full fiscal year rather than allowing it to end after December. Lucius said Controller Carol McDermott will leave at the end of October and that new state budget and reporting requirements will increase the department’s workload.

Council members praised McDermott’s work helping stabilize the department and supported maintaining adequate staffing under Finance Director Marcia Saulo.

Pickleball Noise and Beach Enforcement

Pickleball noise remained a concern as Lucius reported that players had requested postponing a previously approved center sound panel because existing barriers were making the courts hotter.

Schwan opposed delaying the installation, saying the City should complete the full-season test it had promised nearby residents. Councilor Tamara Goehler agreed, citing continuing noise complaints. Palumbo and Councilor Deb Henry suggested a short delay until temperatures moderated, while Champagne emphasized that requests should follow the established Parks and Recreation review process instead of going directly to City Council.

Schwan also presented beach photographs and enforcement records concerning equipment left on the sand after 9:00 PM, which can affect nesting sea turtles. Champagne requested more complete information about lighting violations on the beach. It was then suggested and confirmed by code enforcement that photographs alone cannot establish whether a particular light complies with turtle protection requirements, as some windows are coated to allow for nighttime illumination during turtle season.

Schwan said she would bring forward a fuller report after the nesting season.

Schwan Describes Months of

Online Abuse

One of the meeting’s most emotional discussions came when Schwan described what she said was six months of harassment associated with John David Boggs, more commonly known as David Boggs, and the Marco Island Sharks Facebook page.

Boggs is a shark fisherman and roofing contractor with a documented history of theft charges and allegations of deceptive business practices. He was arrested on five counts of first-degree theft in Alabama in 2020 and arrested again in Florida in October 2024 after a Kentucky church alleged he accepted nearly $195,000 for roofing work he never began.

Schwan said the Marco Island Sharks Facebook page had published 21 images generated by artificial intelligence targeting her, including a false announcement presenting her as hosting a shark fishing tournament. She also read a number of threatening, degrading, and vulgar comments, including cruel references to her son Elijah, who was killed as a pedestrian at age 22. Some comments, she said, were written by Boggs; others appeared on his page. Examples of the posts have not been included here due to their sensitive nature and language. You can hear Schwan’s recitation by viewing the council meeting video on the City of Marco website at https://cityofmarcoisland.cablecast.tv/show/2129.

Councilors Gray, Henry and Goehler strongly condemned the harassment and expressed support for Schwan. Gray offered, subject to legal guidance, to contribute $10,000 toward a defamation case, while Henry asked the City Attorney what the Council could do collectively to address the situation. Champagne called the behavior “despicable” and urged Boggs, who was not present, to “be a better citizen.”

Schwan requested stronger enforcement of meeting decorum, saying Boggs had repeatedly berated her at the podium without being stopped. Palumbo said he had not understood the full extent of the harassment and acknowledged his leniency. He explained the difficulty of drawing the line between a lack of decorum and protected free speech but promised stronger enforcement within legal limits. 

Public speakers pressed for more than expressions of sympathy. City Council candidate Teri Sommerfeld said that continuing to ignore the behavior could further enable it. Resident Jane Hanson accused Palumbo and Champagne of enabling Boggs through their previous interactions with him at Council meetings, saying, “It felt like you were negotiating a deal with him privately.” Both rejected the accusation that they had empowered Boggs.

City Council candidate Chris Ricci, who identified himself as an attorney but emphasized that he is not licensed in Florida, suggested that the conduct could constitute cyberstalking and that the fabricated images could violate political advertising laws. Resident Christine Dowell called for police action, arguing that Schwan, as a paid City official, should receive protection against threats and what Dowell described as criminal cyberstalking.

City Attorney Alan Gabriel said police had investigated and brought the matter to the state attorney’s office, but no criminal charges had been filed. He committed to meeting with Lucius after the meeting to consider whether the information presented could support renewed review.

No formal legal action was approved during the discussion.