City Council

City of Marco Island Florida 51 Bald Eagle Drive Marco Island, Florida cityofmarcoisland.com Meeting Minutes - Final Tuesday, March 31, 2020 1:00 PM Special-Called Meeting Community Meeting Room City Council Chair: Erik Brechnitz Vice-Chair: Jared Grifoni City Council: Larry Honig, Howard Reed, Victor Rios, Charlette Roman and Sam Young City Manager: Mike McNees City Attorney: Alan L. Gabriel City Clerk: Laura Litzan City Council Meeting Minutes - Final March 31, 2020 1. Call to Order Chair Brechnitz called the meeting to order at 1:00 P.M. and noted the special circumstances and manner under which two of the seven Councilors joined the meeting. City Attorney Alan Gabriel referenced the City Council Charter requiring a physical presence of at least four Councilors to establish a quorum, and he recommended that the five Council members present in the chamber advance and vote upon a motion regarding the continuing participation and engagement of the two Councilors who joined the meeting by telephone. (Editorial Note: It is intended that the temporary suspension of the rules to allow telephone participation would be applicable to any member of the Council choosing to participate by telephone for the duration of the COVID-19 declared State of Emergency.) MOTION by Councilor Rios, seconded by Vice-Chair Grifoni, to temporarily suspend the rules of the City Charter to allow Councilors Roman and Young to participate and vote telephonically on matters coming before the Council. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 5- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed and Councilor Rios Abstain: 2- Councilor Roman and Councilor Young 2. Roll Call Present: 7- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Rios, Councilor Roman and Councilor Young Also Present Mike McNees, City Manager Casey Lucius, Assistant to the City Manager Alan Gabriel, City Attorney Chris Byrne, Incident Commander COVID-19 Tracy Frazzano, Police Chief Mike Murphy, Fire Chief Jose Duran, Information Technology Manager Jim Kornas, Recording Specialist 3. Invocation Offered by Pastor Scott Kerens of the Marco Presbyterian Church. 4. Pledge of Allegiance Led by Chair Brechnitz 5. Business ID 20-804 Consideration of Policy Options for Protection of the Public Health in the City of Marco Island in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic City Manager McNees opened the discussion by noting the 30 day extension of the Federal directives regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and by reviewing the recent actions undertaken by the City in reducing opportunities for citizens and visitors to congregate, and potentially violate, the social distancing guidelines. He complimented the Island's citizens and businesses for their responsiveness and City of Marco Island Florida Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final March 31, 2020 compliance with the emergency measures already enacted, and he introduced Ms. Kathleen Marr, Community Health Nurse Consultant for Preparedness with the Florida Department of Health, Collier County Health Department, to share recent County-wide statistics on the impact of the virus and actions in place to mitigate it. Ms. Marr followed her presentation and review by addressing questions from the Council. Police Chief Frazzano next reviewed the recent actions undertaken by the Marco Island Police Department in tracking traffic onto the Island and visitor counts at the Island's hotels, as well as the Department's work in engaging with business and property owners to ensure their understanding and compliance with the most recent City and State Emergency Orders. Chief Frazzano also addressed questions from the Council. The Council then reviewed the March 30, 2020 letter from Mr. McNees entitled "Consideration of Policy Options for Protection of the Public Health in the City of Marco Island in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic". After unanimously expressing support with the City Manager's recommendation to continue all existing actions already in place, the Council then addressed each of the specific recommendations outlined in that document under 'Additional Options for Council Consideration'. MOTION by Vice-Chair Grifoni, seconded by Councilor Honig, to maintain the current beach access policy until the April 6, 2020 City Council Meeting whereby the City Staff will provide up-to-date information on incidences of beachgoers congregating in violation of social distancing guidelines. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 5- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed and Councilor Roman No: 2- Councilor Rios and Councilor Young MOTION by Councilor Rios to not ask Collier County to close the Caxambas Boat Ramp. NO SECOND TO THE MOTION. MOTION by Councilor Honig, seconded by Councilor Reed, to support the City Manager's decision to ask Collier County to close the Caxambas Boat Ramp. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 6- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Roman and Councilor Young No: 1- Councilor Rios MOTION by Vice-Chair Grifoni, seconded by Councilor Rios, that public spaces, including parks and dog parks, be kept open. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 7- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Rios, Councilor Roman and Councilor Young MOTION by Councilor Rios, seconded by Councilor Honig, to NOT ADOPT a stay-at-home order using the draft Collier County declaration to consider essential and non-essential businesses. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 7- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Rios, Councilor Roman and Councilor Young MOTION by Councilor Honig, seconded by Councilor Reed, to NOT ADOPT a resolution for closing hotels, motels, inns, resorts and timeshare excluded from Governor's Order #20-87. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: City of Marco Island Florida Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final March 31, 2020 Yes: 7- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Rios, Councilor Roman and Councilor Young MOTION by Councilor Rios, seconded by Councilor Honig, to NOT ADOPT restricting entry to the Island to non-residents and non-essential personnel. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 7- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Rios, Councilor Roman and Councilor Young Given the Council's actions on each recommendation outlined in the March 30, 2020 letter by City Manager McNees, the Council unanimously decided to forego action on the drafted Emergency Order (COVID-19 / Coronavirus Health Emergency) prepared for review at this March 31, 2020 meeting. Public Comments: In-person public comments were offered by Dr. Rich Blonna, San Marco Road, and Ms. Yvette Bennaroch, Rose Court, and Ms. Cindy Love-Abounader, CEO of the Greater Marco YMCA. Emailed Public Comments were received from the following individuals and read at the meeting by City Manager McNees: (Listed alphabetically by first name, if known) Ms. Allyson Richards Ms. Ann D'Onofrio Ms. Barbara Murphy Mr. Bill Carney Mr. Bob Brown Mr. Bryan Hauser Ms. Claire Baumler Ms. Crystal Foster Mr. Dan (last name unknown) Mr. Dan Kulwiec Mr. David Noland Mr. David Sponbart Ms. Debbie Kelly Ms. Debra Baak Ms. Dolores Sydoruk Ms. Donna Cottrell Ms. Elizabeth Czop Mr. Fred Adams Mr. Glenn Walton Ms. Heidi (last name unknown) Ms. Helga Wetzold Mr./Ms. JacPadd (first and last name unknown) Mr./Ms. Jan (last name unknown) Ms. Jean Smith Mr. Jeffrey Hively Mr. Jim Scarpa Dr. John R. Rasmussen Mr. Joseph Swaja Ms. Kathy Weber Mr./Ms. Keely Stiner Ms. Kristin Aiuto City of Marco Island Florida Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final March 31, 2020 Mr./Ms. LG (first and last name unknown) Ms. Margaret Basic Ms. Marianne Mulligan Ms. Mary Ellen George Mr. Matthew Benito Mr. Phil Josberger Ms. Rebecca (last name unknown) Mr. Rich Masterson Mr. Rick Grisoli Mr./Ms. Rysak (first name unknown) Mr. Steve Singer Mr./Ms. V. Palmer Mr. Vic Ordija Ms. Victoria Myers City Manager McNees acknowledged the work by City Staff to keep key City functions and services operating during this emergency, and he thanked the Marco Island Community and the City Council for exhibiting actions and behaviors that demonstrate the spirit of everyone being "... in this, together ...". 6. Adjournment There being no further business before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 3:59 P.M. ________________________________________ Erik Brechnitz, Council Chair ATTEST: ________________________________________ Laura Litzan, City Clerk PREPARED BY: ________________________________________ Jim Kornas, Recording Specialist City of Marco Island Florida Page 4