What is Arceri doing attending meetings with Trotter and Joel. Is he on the payroll? Remember he is the reason we bought a decrepit water company.

As I recall, one of these Councilman admitted during the campaign that he spent his life as a bartender/eurobum and the other ended his career as a bankrupt real estate investor/ appliance salesman. These two were hand picked and promoted by John Arceri to do his bidding on the City Council. Now Arceri's puppets have somehow come to believe they know how to run a utility? This is incredible considering that only one of them has an education. Although he embellished that accomplishment by telling eveyone he earned a degree from an institution that does not even offer such degrees. How stupid can the rich people of Marco Island be?

Someone help me with this story please. Who commissioned the Howey-in-the-Hills consultant report? Had not the prior city council already decided to utilize the franchise fee to place power lines underground in our neighborhoods? Now because "the city’s decision to use the funds from the franchise fee — $1.4 million last fiscal year — to pay for street light improvements" and I suppose the State's action to cut revenues we are now looking for a new revenue source? We are considering the purchase of a power utility? Why? With what money? Taxes or another assessment? We haven't even completed the last two big purchases we made, the sewer and water plant upgrades/replacement or Veteran's park. Are we just going to keep picking our citizens pockets until every resident sells his/her home and is replaced by a rich person? Someone has to stop this spending or this island is not going to be affordable to anyone, except the super rich. Glad to hear some other folks paid attention at the campaign open forum meetings. What candidates said about themselves will be remembered by those who were there. Funny how these things keep coming up. I voted for these people and don't care, but I do expect them to have common sense.

This City richly deserves this council

Of course they want to buy the electricity rights for Marco Island -- it's like a cartoon all you see in their eyes are $$$.

I think we have all experienced what it is like to have the City of Marco Island owning a utility. Same service -- double the price. Every time something doesn't go their way to fund a project, they turn to raising the water rates.

I currently pay $200/month -- and that's after I completely stopped running my sprinklers! (Before it was about $600/mo.) Expect the same exorbitant rate increases if the city takes over the electric!

You people are amazing. You post with no knowledge of the subject for which you are attempting to speak. I, myself, have not made up an opinion on this issue yet. But I do know that all of us on Marco Island are subsidizing LCEC for the customers they have in the farmlands of Florida. As a cooperative, LCEC's goal was to deliver power to remote, small users. Marco is their jewel and we are paying more for power due to the way LCEC is structured. Just what is wrong with looking at alternatives. Can we get cheaper power ?? Mr. Arceri is a Licensed, Professional Engineer in Florida. Why not listen to what he has to say to get some idea as to what the City's options are ??
Ed Issler

Mr. Issler, did you say "Mr. Arceri is a Licensed, Professional Engineer in Florida"? According to the FDPR Mr. Arceri is not a "Licensed, Professional Engineer in Florida", nor are you sir. I think the better question is who authorized Mr. Arceri to meet with LCEC on behalf of the city.

Mr. Issler,

It is you who is amazing. No one on this island has spread more misinformation than you with the possible exception of John Arceri himself. If John Arceri is a "Licensed Professional Engineer in Florida" as you say, why does his name not appear in the official listing of Florida Professional Engineers? My understanding is that Mr. Arceri was a personnel manager at Con Ed although I have not been able to verify that. He certainly is not a Florida P.E. so cut the crap and check the facts.

John Arceri duped the people into buying a decrepit worn-out water/wastewater utility without adequate technical inspection, overpaid for it, and saddled us with a massive expense. You want to let him do it to us again through his hand-picked proxies: an uneducated golf-bum bartender and a bankrupt refrigerator salesman who claims a degree from a college that doesn't offer courses in that discipline. Shame on you!

Ed Foster

When considering the "sunshine law" does discussions between John Arceri and members of the City Council that he supported and promoted in the recent election constitute a conflict of interest? Does Arceri,s past experience at Con Ed qualify him for running a City owned Electric Utility?When and who authorised Trotter, Joel and Arceri to meet with LCEC representatives? Is there a danger of this 4 by 6 mile local government growing to hundreds of City employees with Millions of dollars worth of equipment and maintenace costs? Having seen the Benefit Package of our new City Manager, I wonder what additional cost will be incurred by Marco residents.This article indicates that a City Electric Utility would bring in another $5 million from our residents for the City to spend. Let us not forget we are paying off the $85.3 million purchase of the water and sewer utility plus interest. We also have obligations towards the planned additional sewer construction upgrading our sewer plant and sewer lines and water lines plus our bridges, park and road construction. Just how much are all of these going to cost us? We should learn all of this with the start of the City Budget sessions in MAY.Did I Forget anything?

To all you PRO sewer supporters, What goes around,comes around.Last week Waldack wanted to plant acorns, this week he is intrigued with municipal power. How proud are you knowing you all elected him?

I can just see it now. A half dozen cherry-picker trucks complete with drivers and trained electrical workers sitting idle 95% of the time because they might be needed when a tropical storm blows through. Rony Joel rushing generators from lift station to lift station to keep the poop flowing (hopefully underground). Storm surge threatening to inundate the sewer plant. Get real people; Marco Island doesn't have the population to support its own electric company. We'd have to farm everything out and we all know that Marco Island does NOT farm out work. City Hall is devoted to empire building. Buying out LCEC's investment in Marco is the most absurd idea ever floated on this island.

Ed Foster

You have got to be kidding!!! They can't be serious. What hairbrained scheme will these people come up with next? Will someone with common sense please step in and stop this runaway train!!!
Do you forget what a wonderful job LCEC did after the hurricane? They have responsibly supplied electricity to our island for years. LCEC has been on Marco longer than many of you relative newcomers. Stop trying to change/control everything. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Alot of us did try to stop this runaway train, but all of you refused to listen. Shame on all of you.

WE ALL GET THE GOVERNMENT WE DESERVE ! I JUST KNEW IT WOULD'ENT TAKE LONG FOR THE NEXT NIGHTMARE TO BEGIN. TWO MORE YEARS AND THE PROPERTY VALUES WILL BE PRE1995.NICE JOB !

"LCEC officials, who hadn’t heard anything from Marco Island leaders about taking over the utility...." Feel blindsided? These back room deals are obviously still going on. Who is acting as the conduit? This idea did not evolve, without prior discussion. Problem is - that discussion did not occur in an open public meeting. Is this what the new Council meant when they said they would be more open with the public? Unlike the majority of our electorate, I voted for change. Don't blame me for what they are about to do to YOU.

dc5799, it wasn't that we weren't listening, you just had nothing intelligent to say. Like now, without hearing any of the facts you, Foster and bbyrone46 and the rest of the city naysayers jump to a conclusion and scream the sky is falling.

At first look I would not favor this idea but I would like to first hear all about the plan before I decide. Making wild, unfounded and negative accusations is one of the reasons why all of your candidates were buried in a landslide defeat last election.

Verdicus,

I rather doubt that the candidates for change were defeated because they had "nothing intelligent to say." They were the only ones with ANYTHING to say!

It seems apparent to me that the pro-change candidates were defeated because more than twice as many people voted in this election than in past elections. For the most part, I believe these were probably condo dwellers who did not live year-round on the island, had not followed what was going on, and were misled into believing that central sewers were safer for the environment than on-site wastewater treatment. They were also misled into believing that they would be hit with an horrendous bill if the STRP were stopped.

This effort to mislead obviously cost a lot of money and entailed considerable pressure on the press. Do you not find it passing strange that the editor and the lead reporter on the Marco Island Eagle were summarily dismissed just before the election and that the Eagle did not hold a public forum before this election as they had traditionally done in the past? Here we had the most important election ever to be held on Marco (other than the one for cityhood) and the paper of record does not hold a debate, the only councilor running for re-election refused to attend more than half the debates that were held, and "Mr. Sewer" organized a concerted effort to "blitz" the condo owners with scare tactics.

The tactic was successful and you got the council you deserve ... including an uneducated golf-bum bartender and a bankrupt refrigerator salesman who claims a degree from a college that does not offer a program leading to that degree.

You elected them. Good luck with them!

Ed Foster

Foster, you still around; again you say nothing intelligent, “the pro-change candidates were defeated because more than twice as many people voted in this election than in past elections” brilliant deduction. The pro-city candidates were elected because they got more votes, they call that democracy you imbecile. An IQ of 170, I seriously doubt it.

You talk about those voters that don’t live here full time, you mean folks like you and Mr. Byron Erickson and let us not forget your two star candidates, three month resident Butch Neylon and sometime resident Roger Hall and I’m sure if you cared to check the POP petitions along with the first recall petitions the county has, you will find many more.

No Mr. Foster, the people of Marco Island said enough of the law suites, enough of POP enough of the recall and enough of the negative BS and when they voted they sent a very clear message that even you should understand. It is apparent that from this brouhaha that’s been created by Mr. Dillon that you and your CAVE dwellers have learned little or nothing from this last embarrassing election defeat. As I said, I will make my decision when all the facts are presented.

Foster, get over it, you are a proven loser your guys got there butts royally kicked and all of your name calling and crybaby BS won’t change it. Besides you don’t even live here anymore.

Veridicus
But I do and the question still is. Who authorized Arceri to sit in on a meeting with Trotter& Joel. No answer seem's to be coming forth from any of you vile, evil spewing people. Just remember you elected them not me. Imagine Waldack compared to Butch Neylon

Verodicus, I'm still here and I still care about this community. dc5799 I would also like to know who the conduit is. Someone initiated this idea and facilitated the conversation. We now know that at least three Councilmembers have given lip service to it, so they must have been approached by someone. Who is driving the bus? Let's be accountable, we have an attorney serving on the Council, we have a City attorney, surely one of them remains ethical enough to let us know how close we are to again violating sunshine laws. C'mon, lets be grown up and fess up.

Verdicus,

Are you purposely dense or is that your natural intelligence showing? The question is not who won and who lost the election; the question is WHY those who won won. To respond that they won because they got more votes is to say that they won because they won. That's a tautology, not an explanation.

Byron, you know as well as I who most likely initiated the idea of buying the electric company: Mr. Sewer, John Arceri. Why else did he attend the secret meetings between LCEC and the council chairman? Say "utility" and up pops John. Terri DiSciullo told me once: "John was our utility guy. He had worked for Con Ed. When it came to anything to do with utilities, the council believed him and went along. We trusted his judgment." I've been led to believe he was a personnel manager at Con Ed and had nothing to do with technical matters. If that's true, he might as well have been personnel manager for Burger King for all he knows about operating a utility.

Ed Foster

Mr. Foster, You have a very profound propensity to always live in the past. At this point who cares why they won, they won so get over it. Do you honestly believe that if the election was re-held today the outcome would be any different? If you do then you’re dumber then I thought. The problem was with your not so honest candidate’s and their only platform, “stop the STRP” your candidates and their advisors made a huge miscalculation regarding the voters of Marco Island.

My understanding of the meeting that Mr. Arceri attended was in regards to putting the electric lines underground. As a matter of fact LCEC officials have acknowledged that they have not heard from the city about taking over the utility. So just what secret meetings are you referring to? Do you have information you are not sharing or is this just another figment of your sinister imagination?

Should John Arceri be representing the city in this matter as an advisor? Why not? Advice is often solicited from responsiable citizens by all councilors. Maybe just not from you.

I guess I was mistaken and Mr. Arceri is registered in New York. The funny thing is that it does not change a thing. We are paying high utility rates to subsidize rural power customers of LCEC. There is nothing wrong with looking into what it would cost and how much it would save for us to own our own Electric Utility. Other cities have done this. Nobody has committed Marco to anything at this point. Not one of the posters above can state whether we would save money or whether it would cost money to own our own utility. And Ed Foster, there are a lot of adjectives and opinions in your postings, none of which sound very objective or supportive of our City or elected Council. Have you sold you home yet ??
Ed Issler

Mr Arceri does not represent me. I would like to have seen that proposed at a meeting,not secretly with Trotter behind close doors.
Arceri lied about his qualification's,let everyone believe he was listed in Fl. New York doesn"t mean anything here. How about Butch Neylon running the water dept. as an advisor?

Secret or not, meetings between Council members should be in public. I think that is the law in Florida. I too want to know who asked for this report. You know, the one that said it would be a "win, win for all" deal. Does staff normally go out on their own and spend taxpayer money for consultants? Reports that offer conclusions and/or propose actions not previously discussed in public? Makes me wonder who is in charge of our city. I support our City Council, but only if they are open about our business. Keep the shady guys hiding in the shadows out of City Hall. Learning about the existence of this report for the first time, should not be by a reporter several months after the fact. The fact that LCEC was unaware of it reflects it's bias and compromises it's creditability. It also shows intolerable limits in it's scope. Someone had a closed meeting or at least it was a meeting only a few people knew about and this report was commisioned only to support the decisions made at that meeting. This council or the the last, someone was operating in the shade.

Neylon advised Chuck and we all know where that went. He tried to advise all the voters and other councilors without success. He advised CARES, POP, the Recall and he's still trying to give advise to anyone who will listen and as I hear it he has had no takers, but then there's always Foster and dc5799.

Cyber are you really Montel? He could not spell either.

Why is it that those that supported the new Council refuse to hold them to the sunshine law that requires public discussions on important matters like buying an Electric Utility. If they want to use Arceri, then appoint him to a study committee like the rental committee people were....in the open ...at a public meeting. It does not look good when at least two members of Council expressed public opinions on something not even authorized by the new Council in a public meeting. Where did the reporter get all the information on the $5 million extra the City could spend on expansion? Looks like Arceri is still running things behind the scene.

You people are retarded and know absolutely NOTHING about the Sunshine Laws.

Foster, you are a pitiful has-been, IN FACT YOU ARE A NEVER-BEEN.

Erickson, you are a self-centered know it all liar. You are not here on Marco...you are in West Virginia and your house it for sale. Like Foster, you compound lies and don't even live here!

YOU LOSERS LOST!! LET OUR NEW COUNCIL AT LEAST INVESTIGATE WAYS TO SAVE RESIDENTS MONEY. You have already blasteded them before they started. Let them do their job and investigate. You people have way too much time on your hands. Davies was a bully and a liar whose agenda was only for his benefit but at least he left and stays out of politics. He has more class than the lot of you friggen retards.

Well said phlentyn_gordderch and that about say's it all.

Phlentyn_dorderch, It appears that "you" have no class.
Read your own message and decide.

The comments relating to Florida's sunshine laws ARE relevant. The possible activities discussed here have a significant and demonstrable bearing on the article. This is simply a discussion about a possible intent to subvert the law. If citizens did not question the activities of our politicians, think what could happen. I re-read the foster entries and they sound resonable to me. They ask reasonable questions that were not explored by the article. As for this "erickson" entry you refer to, I can't find it. (not important as the rest of the entries excepting two, contribute to the discussion). On the other hand, the entries by phlentyn and verdicus contribute nothing to this conversation. Marcoite, don't encourage these two, they are obviously irrational and may turn on you. People like these two, actually believe their opinions count for something.

Ah! "Dejavu all over again"! Will it ever end?

Kiester violated and was given the highest possible punishment for breaking the Sunshine Law, why are you not discussing his long overdue resignation? Judge Carr said that "Kiester made a mockery of the Law."

This article has nothing to do with Sunshine violations in any way; any councilor can ask any citizen for assistance on any topic!! If Fortch or Kiester asked Neylon or Foster (self proclaimed experts on everything) to accompany him to LCEC there wouldn't be over 30 blogs here.

What the poster with an unpronounceable name said is very relevant, you turds have way too much time an your hands and not one iota of knowledge or objectivity. Even after losing so many times you just perpetuate and reinforce what losers you really are!

MarcoFacts, like your friend with the unpronoucable name, you call people names when you began to lose an argument? I have to agree with Foster, laws mean nothing if their very intent is subverted. Unlike the other people you mention in this article, John Arceri does work from the shadows. He is not as experienced as you might believe. He talks a good game, but so does a used car salesman.

Definition of a fossil:

A person whose views and opinions are extremely antiquated; one whose sympathies are with a former time rather than with the present.

Could Fossil really be Foster?

Doesn't our island and surrounding area provide anything better to do than sit on the computer and throw stakes at each other? This isn't saying much for anyone on this island!

What about Kiester?? Stick to the facts; he is the only councilor in the history of Marco to be charged with a Sunshine violation and be sentenced to the highest penalty allowable by law. He is the ONLY councilor in the state of Florida to have intentionally deleted public records on his computer. According to Judge Carr, "Kiester made a mockery of the law!" Seriously, let's talk about his resignation, where are Foster and his groupies of self-proclaimed watchdogs when one of their own crosses the line. Men of real integrity stand up for what is right and just no matter who the wrong doer is. Leave Arceri out of the equation; he is just a citien who was apparently asked to join Mr. Trotter on a fact finding mission. This is not a Sunshine violation you twits!!

MarcoFacts,

You're simply trying to divert attention from Arceri to Kiester. And, you're wrong that Kiester was "sentenced to the highest penalty allowable by law." Quite the contrary. He was not charged with any criminal action whatsoever (and Sunshine Law violations can be criminal). He was not even charged with a Sunshine Law violation ... merely charged with deleting e-mails from his personal computer which is not against the Sunshine Law but the Public Records statute. It is only the attorney general's OPINION that e-mails on a councilor's personal computer are public records and deleting them constitutes the destruction of "public records." Mr. Kiester defended himself rather than plead "guilty" to violating the OPINION of the Attorney General because he did nothing wrong. A county judged ruled that he had no right to delete ANYTHING from his PERSONAL computer and imposed the MINIMUM fine possible.

The most unfortunately thing about the whole case is that it was brought by one vindictive citizen supported by the two arch-villains of the island, John Arceri and Monte Lazarus, to embarrass a councilor before an election. Nothing more, nothing less, and Sal Sciarrino admits it. The aftermath is that a county judge has now set a precedent that a councilor has no control over his private communications simply because he/she is a councilor. That violates MY right to private communication with my councilor and I submit that is a violation of MY constitutional right to privacy.

If you wish to call yourself "MarcoFacts," get your facts straight.

Ed Foster

P.S. The sheriff was able to reconstruct many of the e-mails Kiester deleted and, guess what, they had no sinister implications at all.

Cyber, your self invented definition of my name looks a lot like one of the stakes Nancy is talking about. Why don't you utilize your brain and add something to this conversation. Kiester and Asceri stepped into the public arena on their own. They knew what they were getting into when they decided they would spend their time working for us. How they chose to do that and what their motivations are is what we are talking about. Don't waste your time defending either of them. They know exactly what they did. We are discussing what they are doing now and how they may be doing it. By the way, I am not Foster, I am Fossil.