To City Council Regarding Kayak Proposal

I am extremely disappointed in your treatment of my kayak ramp proposal. 

-You received my detailed White Paper on this proposal. Only Councilor Schwan had the courtesy to respond. 

- I was shocked that a proposal from a former colleague was ignored and that NONE of you had the courtesy to calland suggest I come to a Council meeting and present it in person. 

- I had been contacted by Councilor Henry about her “interest” in a kayak ramp project and her concern about the lack of interest by the paddling community. I reached out to two kayak groups asking them to write to Council expressing interest in the project. Several paddlers wrote to Council yet this was never mentioned at the meeting. 

- Instead of casually bringing the proposal up at the end of an exhausting four-hour meeting,Councilor Henry could have stated she wanted to put a “Kayak Ramp Proposal” on the Future Agenda and contact me for help. 

- I am disappointed with the way the matter was handled by Chair Palumbo. City Manager Lucius stated this should be handled as a Future Agenda item. All Chair Palumbo had to do was say, “Let’s put this on as a Future Agenda item,” and agree to have Councilor Henry develop a new proposal with clear goals for moving the project forward.  

This would have given the Council the full information and time needed to properly handle the matter. 

The only people who handled this with the respect it deserved were Councilor Schwan, City Manager Dr. Lucius, and City Attorney Alan Gabriel, who tried to make the City Council behave in ways consistent with the proper functioning of a group representing the highest level of government on Marco Island.