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Collier County Commissioners Frank Halas and Jim Colletta discuss the benefits for Island businesses and county officials that come from having the Marco Island Marriott host the Florida Association of Counties annual conference, which hosts officials, their families and staff from Florida's 67 counties from June 22 through Friday.

MARCO ISLAND — Though one county commissioner is protesting the choice, many other politicians and officials from Florida’s 67 counties say they are pleased the Florida Association of Counties is holding their annual conference on Marco Island.

“A lot of people chose to come this year because it was here on Marco,” said Brian Armstrong, who attended the conference Wednesday evening as consultant of the firm Nabors, Giblin and Nickerson, P.A., — working with Okeechobee County administrator Lyndon Bonner as counsel on government fees such as franchise fees.

Collier County Commissioner Frank Halas, who is up for reappointment by his peers to his third, two-year term as an FAC board member representing Collier and Lee Counties, said the conference is a great way to bring money and attention to Marco Island and Southwest Florida.

Cragin Mosteller, spokeswoman for the FAC, said this is the third year in the last nine years the event was held at the Marco Island Marriott Resort. Next year the conference is to be held in Orlando.

“Florida is a paradise. It doesn’t matter where you go. It’s going to be a paradise,” Mosteller said.

“The organization’s goal is to represent the counties in the State Legislature and protect home rule because local politicians are able to better serve the needs of their specific communities than state level officials,” she added.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson is leading a one-man economic protest against the Florida Association of Counties because he wants the conference held in his county, the Sun Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Aaronson supports the organization, but he has a problem because the conference hasn’t been held in Palm Beach County and he has attended about 14 association events held in other counties, the East Coast newspaper reported.

Aaronson did not attend for the second year in the hopes that the group would come to Palm Beach County to help fill hotels and restaurants there.

The Palm Beach Post also reported concerns about the tax dollar expenses of commissioners traveling, which Palm Beach County Administrator Bob Weisman had estimated would cost taxpayers $10,000.

Wednesday the conference included a workshop on eradicating homelessness, Thursday commissioners will have the opportunity to share tips on negotiating and managing growth. Friday, the focus is to be on effectively lobbying in Tallahassee.

The FAC offers certification to commissioners and includes education on Sunshine Laws, ethics and government procedures. Three out of Collier’s seven commissioners, Halas, Jim Colletta and Donna Fiala, who introduced the state’s county commissioners to the conference Wednesday, are certified through the association.

“You can see the benefits of bringing 67 counties’ commissioners, the county attorneys, managers and families. We’re given the opportunity to keep Collier County green. They go to local merchants and spend the green stuff, money,” Halas said.

He added that commissioners were taken on a tour of Collier County, mainly to the Emergency Operations Center in Naples, which serves as a model for the state.

Colletta said the greatest opportunity offered by the conference is the exchange of ideas.

“(Attendees) often ask ‘how did you get your impact fees structured that way?’ We explain residents made it a goal that growth pays for growth,” Halas said.

He said another question often asked by visitors from the other counties is how the peaceful, beautiful landscaping is maintained and attributes it to specifics in Collier’s land development code.

The most talked about this year, said Doug Smith, a commissioner from Martin County, which is northeast of Collier, is “understanding this year’s legislature, how it affects us and how to deal with it collectively.”

The conference began Monday with golfing, tours of Island restaurants and county facilities and kicked off officially with Fiala introducing hundreds of attendees Wednesday with educational portions continuing through Friday.

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