From Boats to Bocce - Council Tackles Agenda

The Marco Island City Council meeting lasted until almost 10:00 PM on Monday, April 10th. Council passed consent agenda items dealing with issuing a purchase order to One Source Construction, Inc., to replace an existing stormwater pipe at 252 Edgewater Court in the amount of $83,600. They also approved another purchase order to Manhattan Road and Bridge Company to replace a structural tension tendon for the concrete support slabs of the West Winterberry Bridge in the Amount of $59,000.

Several employees were due to receive service awards, however, some of those set to receive those awards were not present, having been called out to deal with service issues due to the rainstorm which hit the island around 5:30 PM. Those awards would be delayed until later.

In the early portion of the meeting, Councilor Darrin Palumbo introduced Luigi Carvelli of the Carvelli Restaurant Group, who presented the city with a check for $40,000 to assist with the rebuilding of the city’s Bocce Courts located at Mackle Park. Mr. Carvelli talked about the special significance of bocce to generations of his family who grew up in Italy.

Upon the request of Councilor Palumbo, Peter Pareene of the Charles J. Pineno Marco Island Bocce League sought funds of $46,800 to refurbish the courts. Mr. Pareene was not personally in attendance but did send his heartfelt thanks to the Carvelli family for their assistance in making the repairs possible. The additional monies will come from a donation from the estate of Charlie Pineno, who began the Bocce League and the Italian American Society of Marco Island.

The big event of the evening received little debate as Council approved the purchase of a new Fire/Rescue Boat for the Marco Island Fire Department in the amount of $1,140,539.49 from Metal-Shark Marine. 

The city’s 11-year-old fire/rescue boat manufactured by MetalCraft has experienced some issues with the engines on the vessel, and the cost to re-engineer the boat to accept new engines would be extremely costly, according to city staff. The original engines are no longer available and parts to rebuild would be difficult to source. Upon the request of the City Council in April of 2022, Chief Byrne was instructed to evaluate the replacement of the present craft rather than do costly upgrades to refit with new engines. 

The original boat cost approximately $400,000 when purchased, and the new company, Metal-Shark, is offering $70,000 as a trade-in value on the city’s present boat. The city will enter into a lease/purchase at a 4.97% fixed rate for 12 years for the new vessel, which includes delivery and training in addition to equipment. The new vessel will be equipped with dual jet drives and powered by dual Cummins 6,7L Diesel Engines at 550hp each. This vessel will be fully manufactured in Louisiana. 

The crew cabin and patient area will be fully enclosed to protect personnel and patients. It will be similarly equipped as the present vessel with state-of-the-art navigation and night-vision provisions to provide safe transit during nighttime operations.

Councilors Brechnitz and Rola opposed the purchase because it was not originally planned or budgeted for, but it passed despite their objections with a 5-2 vote.