Marco Advisory Committees to Reorganize 

Marco Island City Council has discussed numerous ways to reorganize, add or consolidate advisory committees and boards. Meanwhile, many of Marco Island’s boards and committees, of which there are eight, including a couple temporary ad hoc committees, are in the process of reviewing their goals and preparing to share status updates with Council.  

Councilman Erik Brechnitz, acting as chairman, acknowledged during the Council meeting on Tuesday, February 18, that he wasn’t a fan of committees overall.  

Councilman Darrin Palumbo had a somewhat similar stance, preferring to limit the number of them. Councilwoman Tamara Goehler proposed creating another committee, a new Citizens Advisory Committee, that would either take on the issues reviewed by all the committees combined or discuss items not yet considered by any of the other committees.  

While Council had yet to hash out the details of the proposed new Citizen Advisory Committee’s role, Council members hesitated to establish it in any case. 

“I’m not a big fan of expanding these committees. I was talking a few meetings back about condensing them. Maybe if we kept Planning Board, Waterways, and condensed all the others into one, that might be the way to go,” said Palumbo. 

He and Brechnitz both expressed concerns over the time required by staff, including appointing a staff liaison to each committee or board, and attending each meeting. 

“I think we have too many,” said Palumbo. “I think there’s a bit of a disconnect. I think they don’t know exactly what we’re doing or we don’t know what they’re doing, and we should work on that first,” he said.  

Councilwoman Bonita Schwan has been active in improving the working relations between committees and Council.  

She visited the Beach and Coastal Resources Advisory Committee on Wednesday morning after a relatively long doubleheader of Council meetings the evening before. She has encouraged each advisory committee to update Council at least every six months to improve communications. 

“The main reason I’m here is I’m spearheading for City Council that we have each of our committees come forward and make a presentation of your goals,” said Schwan to the seven-member Beach and Coastal Resources Advisory Committee on Wednesday, February 19. 

The Committee had just selected their chairman, John Quinlan, and vice chairwoman, Maria Lamb, Wednesday morning and were reviewing their goals and objectives, assigning leaders to each as the Committee has new members to reflect a changing Council following the November election. They reviewed beach cleanup dates and details of a new window cling designed by students to remind people to keep outdoor lights off at night during turtle nesting season, May 1 through Oct. 31.  

Schwan applauded the Committee’s work and noted that Planning Board Chairman Jason Bailey is presenting to Council during the March 3 Council meeting and Waterways Committee Chairman Martin Winter is to present on April 7. 

“I’d also like to put on the agenda the Beach Committee coming forward and presenting your goals because we really want you to become our legislative arm and help us move forward on these initiatives. It’s also great exposure. A lot of people watch our meetings online but also attend the meetings, too,” Schwan said. 

Councilwoman Deb Henry also made an appearance and shared her plans at the Beach and Coastal Resources Advisory Committee on Wednesday, February 19.  

“Attending your meetings makes us better councilors because of the work you do. One conversation I had with our city manager [Mike McNees] is kind of having a round table because there is some overlap between Beautification, Parks and Rec and with what you guys do,” said Henry. 

She is planning a group meeting with a representative of each committee, or with the entirety of each board, to improve communications on overlapping topics.  

Marco Island Boards and Committees reporting to City Council include: 

- Ad Hoc Bike Lanes and Share Paths Committee, which upon advice from Schwan is being considered to become a permanent rather than ad hoc committee to address ongoing issues such as electric bikes and micro-vehicles. City Clerk Joan Taylor is assisting with the change in the format of this Bike Committee that has existed since 2006, making it more of a permanent committee based on its longevity thus far.  

- Ad Hoc Business Development and Redevelopment Advisory Committee, which is scheduled to sunset by April 15.  

- Audit Advisory Committee. 

- Beach and Coastal Resources Advisory Committee. 

- Beautification Advisory Committee. 

- Parks and Recreation Committee. 

- Planning Board. 

- Waterways Committee. 

Three other Committees are listed on the City’s website to retain their documents, but are not active, including: 

- Ad Hoc Hurricane Review Committee.  

- Ad Hoc Parking Solutions Committee. 

- Water-Sewer Options Advisory Committee.