City Council

City of Marco Island Florida 51 Bald Eagle Drive Marco Island, Florida cityofmarcoisland.com Meeting Minutes - Final Wednesday, April 29, 2020 9:00 AM Special-Called Meeting Community Meeting Room City Council Chair: Erik Brechnitz Vice-Chair: Jared Grifoni City Council: Larry Honig, Howard Reed, Victor Rios and Charlette Roman City Manager: Mike McNees City Attorney: Alan L. Gabriel City Clerk: Laura Litzan City Council Meeting Minutes - Final April 29, 2020 1. Call to Order Chair Brechnitz called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.M. 2. Roll Call Present: 6- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Rios and Councilor Roman (Note: Councilor Roman attended and participated telephonically as per the Council's action at its 3/31/20 meeting to temporarily suspend the rules of in-person attendance during the COVID-19 declared State of Emergency) Also Present Michael McNees, City Manager Laura Litzan, City Clerk Tracy Frazzano, Chief of Police Mike Murphy, Fire Chief Alan L. Gabriel, City Attorney (via telephone) Daniel J. Smith, Community Affairs Director Jose Duran, Information Technology Manager 3. Invocation Offered by Councilor Reed. 4. Pledge of Allegiance Led by Chair Brechnitz. 5. Business a. ID 20-820 Update from Collier County Public Health Department Ms. Stephanie Vick, Administrator of the Florida Department of Health for Collier County provided a detailed data review of Collier County's COVID-19 statistics in the context of the recommended Federal government criteria for progressing toward a normalization of public activity within the County. She was accompanied by Mr. Muhammad Abbasi, the Department's Director of Communicable Disease & Prevention, who also offered insight and perspective. Following the presentation of the information, Ms. Vick received and responded to questions raised by the Council. b. ID 20-821 Update on Local Conditions Police Chief Tracy Frazzano shared updated statistics regarding daily vehicle counts onto the Island, observed beach attendance numbers and the status of the Island's parks, hotels, grocery stores, houses of worship and the YMCA. c. ID 20-824 Report from Marco Island Area Chamber of Commerce Marco Island Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dianna Dohm shared the Island's business community's support of a safe, gradual, coordinated re-opening of business activity consistent with Federal, State and CDC guidelines, and she stressed the business community's interest in getting people back to work. City of Marco Island Florida Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final April 29, 2020 d. ID 20-823 Review Current Status and Recommended Adjustments of Public Facility, Business and Activity Closures City Manager McNees initiated the review and discussion of this topic by noting that the prepared matrix of recommendations was drafted consistent with the framework and criteria issued by the Federal government and the State of Florida. He further noted that both higher governmental authorities continue to allow the decisions regarding local parks and beaches to be left in the hands of local governmental bodies, and he indicated that beach parking and pedestrian access in Lee County, Collier County and for Marco Island Residents Beach are scheduled to be reopened on April 30th. After City Manager McNees received and addressed questions from the Council, in-person public comments were offered by the following citizens: Ms. Susan Parcells Mr. Steve Purcell Dr. Rich Blonna Ms. Laurie Harris Mr. Lucky Lang Ms. Dixie Huey E-mailed comments from the following individuals were then read aloud by City Manager McNees: (Listed alphabetically by first name, if known) Mr. Anthony Mastroangelo Mr. Arne Sandberg Ms. Catherine Cook Ms. Christy Bastian Ms. Connie McCormack Mr. Dale Primeaux Mr. & Mrs. Frank Mulligan Mr. Garrett Smith Ms. Kathy Sullivan Mr. Kenneth Honecker Ms. Marcy Marinelli Mr. Patrick Huey Mr. Randy Montgomery Ms. Rebecca (last name unknown) Ms. Regina Dayton Mr. Rick Popoff Mr. Rob Brehm Mr. Ron Hagerman Mr. Roy Kaplan Mr. Tim Clune Mr. William Greichen MOTION by Vice-Chair Grifoni, seconded by Councilor Rios, that the City Manager be authorized to re-open Marco Island beach pedestrian access per normal conditions and to continue to direct City Staff enforcement of applicable social distancing and crowd gathering guidelines, be Approved. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 6- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Rios and Councilor Roman City of Marco Island Florida Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final April 29, 2020 MOTION by Councilor Rios, seconded by Vice-Chair Grifoni, that the City Manager's recommendation to open City Hall to all employees who deem it safe to return to work, be Approved. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 6- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Rios and Councilor Roman MOTION by Vice-Chair Grifoni, seconded by Councilor Rios, that the City Manager be authorized to reopen the City's parks, including hard surfaces, consistent with Collier County's actions and with the expiration of the Safer At Home Order on April 30, 2020, and for the City Manager to return to Council with recommendations on how to safely reopen the Mackle Park Splash Pad and Playground at a future date, be Approved. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 6- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Rios and Councilor Roman e. ID 20-822 Discussion - Resolution 15-78 Prohibiting Electronic Participation in City Meetings Councilor Honig provided background on the circumstances leading to the passing of Resolution 15-78 by a previous City Council on which he served, and City Attorney Alan Gabriel provided clarity on the requirements for establishing a quorum in the City Charter, as well as the distinction between periods of declared emergency versus 'normal' times. Public Comment: Dr. Rich Blonna provided comment for the Council's consideration. MOTION by Councilor Honig, seconded by Chair Brechnitz, that the repeal of Resolution 15-78 in its entirety, be Approved. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 5- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed and Councilor Roman No: 1- Councilor Rios MOTION by Chair Brechnitz, seconded by Vice-Chair Grifoni, that the City Manager be authorized to include the City Committees and Boards in the City's plans for re-opening its operations, consistent with social distancing guidelines and the application of other personnel safety measures, be Approved. MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: Yes: 6- Chair Brechnitz, Vice-Chair Grifoni, Councilor Honig, Councilor Reed, Councilor Rios and Councilor Roman 6. Public Comment City Manager McNees read the one email that was received for this portion of the agenda from Mr. Ed Issler. There were no public comments offered by members of the community who were present at the meeting. 7. Adjournment There being no further business coming before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 11:48 A.M. City of Marco Island Florida Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final April 29, 2020 __________________________________ Erik Brechnitz, Council Chair ATTEST: __________________________________ Laura Litzan, City Clerk __________________________________ Jim Kornas, Recording Specialist City of Marco Island Florida Page 4