Photo by LESLIE WILLIAMS HALE

At left, the parking lot at Marco Medical Associates sits mostly empty just before a City Council meeting March 3 while a parking attendant stands on guard at the entrance. To the right is the Marco Island Police Department building, which was built partially on land donated to the city by Marco Medical physician Andrew Guidry. The city says it struck a gentlemen's agreement with Guidry, a former council candidate, giving the city access to the lot for overflow parking after hours in exchange for the light poles illuminating the lot.

Photo by LESLIE WILLIAMS HALE

Staff

The parking lot at Marco Medical Associates sits mostly empty just before a City Council meeting March 3 while a parking attendant stands on guard at the entrance. The city says it struck a gentlemen's agreement with lot owner Andrew Guidry, former council candidate, giving the city access to the lot for overflow parking after hours in exchange for the light poles illuminating the parking lot.

Photo by LESLIE WILLIAMS HALE

Staff

At left, the parking lot at Marco Medical Associates sits mostly empty just before a City Council meeting March 3 while a parking attendant stands on guard at the entrance. To the right is the Marco Island Police Department building, which was built partially on land donated to the city by Marco Medical physician Andrew Guidry. The city says it struck a gentlemen's agreement with Guidry, a former council candidate, giving the city access to the lot for overflow parking after hours in exchange for the light poles illuminating the lot.

Attendees to City Council meetings in the last month may have noticed something odd in the parking lot next door.

Signs stating “Parking: $20” stand at the entrance, warding away residents who instead choose to hoof it a little further to get to the community room of the Marco Island Police Department building. The parking lot is part of the property at 19 Bald Eagle Drive, the address for Marco Medical Group. It is owned by physician Andrew Guidry, who operates the medical practice with fellow doctor Mitchell Shaw.

Guidry ran an unsuccessful bid for a City Council seat in the last election cycle. He also donated land to the city that allowed the police department to be built sandwiched between Marco Medical and the Marco Island Fire Rescue Department.

At the time that the city was drawing up plans for the site, Public Works Director Rony Joel said he had frequent communications with Guidry about the city’s intentions for the land.

“During the design of his facility and our facility, we provided him with site review recommendations,” Joel said. “He would make comments and we would implement his comments. On one of those occasions he asked if the city would be willing to provide his parking lot with new lights in lieu of his old ones.”

Joel said he agreed that the city would agree to furnish the lights as long as Guidry provided overflow parking in his lot after normal business hours. Council meetings typically begin at 5:30.

“He agreed and we shook hands, and I said, ‘I’ll take care of the lights,’ and he said, ‘Don’t worry about the parking,’ ” Joel said.

However, that agreement was never put into writing. Nor was it a problem until three weeks ago, Joel said — the first time parking attendants were stationed at the parking lot’s two entrances, starting around 5 p.m.

Joel said the city will be sending Guidry a letter to remind him of the spoken agreement, but he has not personally spoken with Guidry about the conflict. Phone calls placed at his office by Joel have not been returned, Joel said.

A call to Guidry’s office yielded no concrete answers for the Eagle.

When a reporter called asking to speak to Guidry, a receptionist handed off the phone to someone who later claimed not to be Guidry. However, that man spent several minutes responding to questions from a reporter about “your parking lot” and “your building.”

“I am unaware of what you’re talking about,” he said when asked about the parking charges.

The reporter pressed further: “How could you not know what is going on in your own parking lot?”

“I’m working. I work long hours,” he said in response.

Pressing further, he was asked, “You are inside your building from 5:30 until 9:30 on Monday nights?”

“I’m here until midnight sometimes,” he said.

When it became clear that the person answering questions would not be more forthcoming, the reporter asked if that was how he wanted to be quoted. The man on the other end of the line then said, “This isn’t Dr. Guidry, this is a nurse. This is nurse Mike.”

Eagle Editor Bill Green had a similar conversation with the man.

Police Chief Roger Reinke said one of his officers had spoken with Guidry on one occasion about it, and on a second occasion an officer told one of the parking attendants that he was in violation of city ordinance. The attendant then put the sign away and came into compliance, Reinke said.

Community Development Director Steve Olmsted said the city requires people within the city to get a permit in order to run a commercial enterprise, such as a paid parking lot. However, Olmsted said, Guidry has claimed to have a county permit to operate the lot as a paid lot.

If that is the case, Olmsted said, he needs to determine whether a county ordinance supersedes the city ordinance.

“I’m just looking at it from a planning and zoning perspective,” Olmsted said.

The issue came up during City Council communications at the end of Monday night’s meeting. When council was briefed on the agreement, Councilor Ted Forcht asked, “What time tomorrow do we take those lights down?”

City Attorney Alan Gabriel said Guidry’s site plan requires lighting, so the city cannot remove the lights without warning. He told council he will look into the city’s options and would come back with his recommendation based on what sort of agreement the city has with Guidry.

However, Forcht was insistent.

“Are we going to be kicked around for the rest of our lives on this thing or are we going to take the lights down?” he asked.

Electric bills for the lights are covered by the city, Joel said, because they provide light for people parking to attend city functions.

“The discussion was those lights are needed during those evening functions, therefore, why would he be responsible for the electricity when we need the parking lot for functions,” Joel said.

Joel said he was not certain how much the city spent on the light poles and their installation.

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