Water Concerns Garner City Council Attention

Marco Island City Council heard and addressed several water quality and environmental issues at their meeting on Monday. 

Education and enforcement of fertilizer usage is necessary for water quality to improve, said Elliott Mascoop, chairman of the Marco Island Waterways Advisory Committee. 

Contractors using fertilizer should be checked so we know what they’re using, said Mascoop. Marco Island is just coming off the nitrate impairment list, he noted.

Marco Island was placed on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) water impairment list in 2019 due to high nitrogen levels in Marco Island canals. High nitrogen is deadly to marine life and correlates with toxic algae. Though Marco Island has tested and shown improvements, getting off the list takes time. Ongoing improvements are necessary, said Mascoop.

“[Fertilizer] really needs to be regulated. We really do have to do that. It’s one personal thing I’d love to talk about. We should educate the population,” he said. 

Marco Island’s current ordinance prohibits fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus during rainy season, from June 1 through September 30. The amount of fertilizer, type, and frequency are all regulated, but education and enforcement is lacking, said Mascoop. 

“We should only buy urea-coated, slow-release nitrogen,” said Mascoop, who is also a turfgrass professional. 

“I think we already have an ordinance here that we need to enforce better,” said City Councilwoman Tamara Goehler. 

“Unless we stop the pollution, we cannot really clean up waters,” Goehler said.

Waterways and water quality have continued to be among Marco Island residents' primary areas of concern, according to surveys and election campaigns.

“I think most everybody here wants clean water, waterways we can be proud of, waterways with fish jumping out of them, waterways that don’t smell bad, without red tide, without blue green algae, without everything that’s going on,” said Mascoop.

“I think that the solution is public education,” he said.

Few chemicals are needed to keep a healthy lawn, said Mascoop.

“Let nature help us, help ourselves,” he said.

In addition to enforcement of the fertilizer ordinance, other waterways topics to consider include creation of an environment department within the city and establishing a storm water utility district, said Mascoop. 

Lack of maintenance since the island was dredged decades ago is a concern, as is pollution following hurricanes, including a relatively small impact from Isles of Capri and Goodland septic tanks, he said. 

Pollution prior to Marco Island’s conversion from septic to sewer was not cleaned up and could be, Mascoop added. 

Improved water quality is going to be expensive, from dredging canals to other necessary improvements, said Martin Winter, the former chairman of the Waterways Advisory Committee.

Unsafe Channel Markers

In addition to water quality, water safety for boaters is of significant concern, several Marco Island officials and residents said.

Joe Oliverio told stories of getting his boat stuck on trips between Marco Island and Naples due to markers being in the wrong places, likely due to shifts and moves over time caused by storms. 

Big Marco Pass and Collier County Coastal Advisory Committee

People in the boating community have called for Big Marco Pass to be declared a federal channel so it can receive federal funds for maintenance. Among the proponents of such an idea is Dan High, general manager of Rose Marina. High is Councilor Darrin Palumbo’s recent nominee to the Collier County Coastal Advisory Committee. 

Councilor Stephen Gray voiced his concern that High would be motivated by personal financial interest, which High later said he would not. Gray had moved High’s recommendation to the Collier County Coastal Advisory Committee off the consent agenda and onto the regular agenda to allow for discussion. 

“If it’s not proper that I’m involved, then I shouldn’t be on the [Marco Island] Waterways Advisory Committee,” said High. “I don’t want to have any inkling, any shadow of concern of credibility,” said High. 

The designation is not a negative for a waterway, said High, explaining that in nearby Naples area, Gordon Pass has been a federal pass since the 1940s. 

Rather, boats, including Key West Express and others, get stuck, and the Big Marco Pass, which separates Marco Island from mainland Florida, needs dredging, High said. A federal designation of the channel could help get the maintenance costs covered using federal versus local funds, he added. 

Marco Island resident Victoria Myers questioned if delegating Big Marco Pass as federal would give up home or local rule, which she would oppose. 

Council approved High’s nomination to the Collier County Coastal Advisory Committee in what would have been a traditional split down the former 3-3 gridlock of Councilors Palumbo, Deb Henry and Bonita Schwan approving him and Gray, Brechnitz and Goehler opposing, but newly selected seventh Councilor Rene Champagne broke the tie approving High for the CAC in a 4-3 vote, following High’s testimony. 

Caxambas Park Boat Ramp and Collier-Marco Agreements

Council approved a resolution for a boat dock extension of three feet beyond the 30-foot limit into the waterway at Caxambas Park to make way for a Collier County Sheriff’s Office boat dock facility located at 909 Collier Court. 

Marco Island Planning Board recommended 5-2 for City Council to approve it. Council approved the resolution 6-0. Palumbo could not vote in the quasi-judicial hearing because he was participating remotely.

The discussions and opposition were related to parking negotiations and commercial operations at Caxambas, not directly related to the resolution. From a city perspective, there is not a code violation, said Marco Island Community Development Director Daniel Smith. 

“The demand for the spaces far, far, far exceeds the supply. We can slice them up or shuffle them around but there is no way to create more spaces there. So, this will be a longtime tug-o-war,” said City Manager Mike McNees.

Then, Council approved unanimously, 7-0, an interlocal agreement between Marco Island and Collier County for a Marco Island police boat dock that would allow Marco Island to have a code enforcement boat at Caxambas Park. Police and code enforcement are a combined department on Marco. 

Collier County owns the Caxambas entry dock at 990 North Barfield, while 807 East Elkcam Circle is city-owned. 

“The dock will allow Marco Island to enforce code and nutrient pollutions from entering the waterway, a theme tonight,” said Police Chief Tracy Frazzano.

The project includes a dock, patrol boat, trailer, and truck. Collier County will manage the bids for the project funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant of $325,000, with the city responsible for 20 percent of the costs, at about $65,000, Frazzano said. The grant process application began in May 2022, she said. 

Environmental permitting is still under review, but the interlocal agreement is a necessary step, she said. Council approved the interlocal agreement unanimously, 7-0.