Council Seeks Second Opinion on STR Lawsuits

The Marco Island City Council June Meeting in June followed precedent by starting with a celebration of city employee service awards: Oscar Castellanos for fifteen years and Jonathan Weber for five years with the Water and Sewer Department; Doug Andrews was awarded his five-year pin for work as a Community Service Officer; Luz Cantor Velez completed his five-year anniversary with the Building Department; Officers Ed Carey and Hans Schmid completed five years with Marco Police; and Christian Holmes completed fifteen years with the Marco Fire/Rescue Department.

The council quickly progressed through much of its agenda as there were no Quasi-Judicial Public Hearings or ordinances to be heard.

The “elephant in the room” at the Monday meeting was a continued debate regarding the Short-Term Rental Registration.

Ongoing opposition to the ordinance, which the council adopted in December of last year, has resulted in several lawsuits against the city and has since continued to dominate council meetings.

The council had met in private sessions with the city’s legal staff to discuss options which recently resulted in a vote by Council to delay implementing and enforcing the ordinance to allow the city’s legal team time to deal with the legal challenges.

At Monday’s meeting, Council Chair Folley presented a proposal based on where the city now stands in an effort to move forward. That proposal by Folley stated the following:

“The City’s Vacation Registration Ordinance is now the focus of four different lawsuits. The plaintiffs readily cite our City Attorney’s concerns regarding this Ordinance. By approving the stay of enforcing the provisions of the Ordinance, it now affords Council with the opportunity to consider whether, in addition to our City Attorney’s opinion, another legal opinion is advisable to determine the defensibility of these lawsuits.”

“If Council decides that another legal opinion is worthwhile, I have compiled a list of attorneys who have represented other Florida cities and who may be able to provide a fresh analysis of our overall defensibility of the current Ordinance.”

Folley laid out two options for Council to consider:

1. Council directs the City Manager to bring the best four to five candidates to the next available Council meeting for a 10 to 15-minute introduction and opportunity to present how they would provide the additional opinion, how long they would need to deliver the opinion, and their financial terms. 

2. Alternatively, the Council consider directing Folley (as Chairman) to work collaboratively with the City Manager to select an attorney and advise Council at the next available meeting, together with a budget, to secure the additional opinion.

After a heated debate, the council approved option number two by a 4-3 vote. Councilors Blonna, Brechnitz, Rola and Folley voted in favor. Councilors Grifoni, Irwin and Palumbo opposed.

The other business discussed was a request for council consideration by the Marco Island Model Yacht Club, specifically for the ability to continue to use the grass parking area adjacent to the covered observation hut at Mackle Park. The club was not looking for capital investment by the city, only permission to use it, something they have been doing during the 20 years model racing has existed.

The size of the vessels and the need to rig them throughout the competition requires the racer’s vehicle, tools and equipment to be close by. The other factor necessitating the need to have those vehicles close by is that the mariners’ average age is 70 to 75 years old.

The Club has made considerable financial and sweat equity investments in conjunction with the city for the establishment of the launching and viewing facilities for their membership and those that attend the events. In March, the 19th Annual Radio-Controlled Laser Regatta saw ten separate club entries with a total of 26 racers participating in two separate fields of competition. The event has grown to be the longest-running RC Laser Regatta in the country.

Dan Smith, Director of Community Development, suggested a $20,000 to $25,000 capital improvement for a paved parking area.

No final decision was reached.