Old Marco: Voicing Concerns

For many of the residents of Marco Island who reside within the “Old Marco” area, the meeting held on Thursday, February 29, provided them with a glimmer of hope in their long battle seeking redress for many of their concerns. Parking, lighting, stormwater issues, overcrowded streets, lack of enforcement of codes and safety violations were all front and center when residents met Jared Beck and Josh Philpott of Stantec Corporation. Stantec is the company that has the contract to meet with residents, business owners and city staff members as they all work together to address some of those issues affecting Old Marco, its residents and businesses.

Jared Beck, who will serve as the lead team member on the project explained to the packed council chambers that this would be the first of many meetings that will find the entire team listening to the concerns of all the stakeholders. 

Time and time again, concerned residents rose to voice their worries regarding overcrowded streets and the safety concerns inherent with the narrow roadways and poor parking arrangements. 

One of the other issues that arose dealt with maintaining a desire to enhance the “quaint” nature of the Old Marco Area by ensuring density and intensity issues are taken into account rather than seeing a sprawl of asphalt and concrete. That would also include taking special consideration of the use of landscaping as a softening effect in plans.

Police Chief Tracey Frazzano’s ears must have been ringing as residents bemoaned a lack of physical presence by officers in the area to deal with some of the traffic issues, especially during the height of season. One resident questioned why the officers couldn’t get out of their patrol vehicles and walk the area.

Some also argued the validity of the traffic studies done two years ago during non-peak times of the day. Jason Beck assured residents that more traffic numbers would be acquired as time went on.

Residents continue to worry about the fact that the Old Marco Inn is reviewing plans to redevelop that property, Marek’s Restaurant is undergoing a major renovation, the Old Marco Pub is preparing to reopen and the property adjacent to the Snook Inn may be seeking to resubmit their proposal to build another restaurant on their site adjacent to the Snook Inn’s entrance, all of which may seriously affect the traffic flow issues in that area. Couple that with the initial plans being created to redevelop the old trailer park adjacent to the Snook Inn that may see 14 “cottages” on that property you understand why the city can no longer afford to ignore the infrastructure improvements in the Old Marco area. 

As they prepared to close the first of what may be a number of public hearings for residents to provide input, City Manager Michael McNees reinforced Beck’s opening comments that this meeting was the “beginning of the process,” and they would be listening very hard as to what residents and businesses had to say. Empowering residents to have a say in the process is key to ensuring the project's success and improving the quality of life and the environment they live in.