Election overtones emerge from Galleberg's request on yacht club plan

Galleberg notified the Naples City Council at its Monday workshop meeting that he will ask the City Council to add an item to its Wednesday regular meeting agenda about the Naples Sailing and Yacht Club expansion.

The City Council approved the expansion in December 2002, but Galleberg wants it to decide Wednesday whether proposed changes to the expansion are large enough to require further votes by the council or can be decided by city planners.

Councilman Joe Herms broached the February election, pointing out that Galleberg's sole opponent in the mayor's race so far is former Naples Mayor Bill Barnett, an opponent of the expansion. Galleberg voted in favor of the expansion.

The issue Monday was whether the public would have enough notice if the City Council voted Wednesday to add the club to its agenda.

"I'm very uncomfortable in not giving the public proper notice of the situation and having this thing become a lot of controversy because we all of a sudden throw it on the agenda and we make a quick decision and nobody gets proper notice of it," Herms said.

Galleberg downplayed his request, saying he is not asking the City Council to approve the proposed changes -- only to decide who should review them.

The club's proposed changes would alter the clubhouse, part of the project Galleberg called "non-contentious." The proposed changes do not affect the marina.

If the City Council decides the changes are large enough to warrant council review, the review will be scheduled for a future meeting after the required public notice.

Galleberg dismissed Herms' suggestion that the club's request was an attempt to pull a fast one on expansion opponents.

"That take says a lot more about Mr. Herms on this than I," Galleberg said.

He said he is merely relaying a constituent's request to the rest of City Council.

The club won approval last year to replace its existing clubhouse on Naples Bay with a two-story, 42-foot-tall clubhouse and to lengthen and add 20 slips to the marina.

Royal Harbor residents whose homes overlook the club filed a lawsuit against the plans. They have dropped the lawsuit but plan to fight state and federal permits for the marina, said Ronald Palmer, one of the neighbors who filed the lawsuit.

City Council members said they would not add anything to Wednesday's meeting that deserved more public notice.

Mayor Bonnie MacKenzie, an opponent of the expansion, suggested leaving the public notice question up to City Manager Bob Lee.

Barnett, who was mayor from 1986 to 2000, often disagreed with Herms during their shared tenures on the City Council. Herms is right on this one, Barnett said.

"I think, in this particular case, I think he's making a valid point, I really do," Barnett said.

He said problems at City Hall often stem from the public being unaware of a pending decision that later "gets thrown back in our face."

"I think the fast-track days are over," Barnett said.