marconews.com Accounts

Wow. I got censored, guess there's a first time for everything. Apparently Klab's alter ego is more thin-skinned than I thought. OBTW: Sorry I offended you, if that helps.

Last year it was $20 Million for Veteran's Park, now it's another $6 Million for Mackle Park. Me thinks its time for Brian Milk to join Rony Joel in the unemployment line. Paging Dr. Riviere...

Maybe it was Klaberyapper's ride. This is about the only story he/she hasn't weighed-in on yet, and anyone who reads his/her postings can only suppose he/she's never far from that next drink.

Whoopee! Sorry, I can't afford it. Maybe the $250K+ crowd will see fit to "trickle down" some of their ongoing tax savings to those of us in the working class. Despite the best efforts of Moss(gone), Minozzi(dead), and Joel(on his way out) there are still a few "have some"s left on Marco. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

I sure hope the City Manager isn't looking to contract-out utility operations. The only southwest Florida utility with rates higher than ours is Golden Gate City, owned by the Florida Governmental Utilities Authority, who contracts out to Severn-Trent Services. It would be a real shame to see us jump out of the frying pan into the fire after shutting down the Electric Municipalization (undergrounding) and Town Center CRA projects (2 of Rony "the construction industry's shill"'s most recent schemes).

Marco Island Utilities gets caught trying to rip-off people who aren't even their customers. Apparently, Mr. Joel has no shame. He may not have been directly responsible, but it happened on his watch. This is embarrassing and deserves a personal apology at the least.

What's not to like about an amendment opposed by bureaucrats and realtors? Tell me the Chamber of Commerce is also against it and I'll KNOW it's a winner.

Never voted for Cornelius McGillicuddy IV, probably never will until he can put more than "pedigreed carpetbagger" on his resume.

I thought the UAB's purpose was to keep utility rates as low as possible. Instead, it has been hoodwinked into providing ever increasing revenues to a utility that refuses to live within its means. We should turn an eye toward conservation, which would reduce utility operating costs, since less water would have to be treated. Rain sensors for sprinkler systems are one way of doing this. (How often do you see a lawn being watered less than a day after it was rained on?) Many utilities give them away to customers to reduce demand on their plant and equipment. Not MIU though, make no mistake, they make money SELLING water, not SAVING it. They've got plenty of Capital Projects lined-up to increase production capacity, and it will be the UAB's responsibility to concoct a convoluted scheme to get you and I to pay for them.

I happen to believe there is a way to vote for "none of the above". Go to the polls on election day and sign-in to vote. Make no selections from the ballot, or vote only for people or issues you care about. Push the button to register your vote, then leave. If enough people bother to show up, then leave without making a choice, the parties will surely sit up and take notice. You better believe voter turnout figures in to their campaigning. Please don't sit the next one out.

So... you think the condos are "getting over" with their master meters for potable water consumption and re-use water irrigation. Do single family homeowners pay for fire protection (hydrant) service? Condos do. The condo association where my investment property is located pays $424 per month for 2 8" lines whether used or not. If you really want to level the playing field, try charging single family residences a "hydrant fee". After all, you're already charging master-metered condos a per-unit base rate.

Marco Island Cemetery? Every time my taxes and utility bills increase I'll be sure to go there and "pay my respects".

Last I heard, Rony Joel is no longer Marco Island's Public Works Director, that job went to Tim Pinter. The PowerPoint presentation at "In The Round" however, was classic Rony Joel. Apparently he knows which side his bread is buttered on since John Arceri no longer controls the majority on City Council.

As long as we're whoring-out to the beachfront hotels, (Collier Blvd. rebuild and Smokehouse Bay designer bridge) maybe they'd be interested in naming rights. For a modest fee we could let them call this "Marriott Island".

The Eagle tried to put a nice spin on it, but look at the facts: In most circles, a move from Manager to Director is a promotion, and the opposite is generally considered a demotion. 86 people to operate 2 water treatment and 2 wastewater plants is major over-staffing by most any utility's standard, especially in light of all the money we've poured into these plants for upgrades and automation in recent years.

Sit back and watch how many lucrative contracts (low bid plus change orders) Rony Joel awards to QE to help them out of this mess.

Do you honestly think the citizens of Marco would recieve the lowest electric rates from Rony Joel & Co. (as they tried to hoodwink us into a year-and-a-half ago)? Let's compare MIU water & sewer rates to BSU. MIU water base= $27.90, water usage= $3.48/1000 gal. MIU sewer base= $22.75, sewer usage= $4.50/1000 gal. Then they tack on the 14% STRP surcharge. BSU water base= $11.88, water usage= $3.57/1000 gal. BSU sewer base= 27.81, sewer usage= $3.61. No STRP surcharge. I honestly think the citizens of Marco Island can do better. Jim

Does anyone remember when Collier County owned the Marco Island Water Treatment Plant? Thinking back about 20 years I recall Florida Water Services and Southern States Utilities, but not Collier County. Perhaps I'm mistaken, or Edgar's off his meds again. By the way, it was under Florida Water Services, a subsidiary of investor-owned Minnesota Power that expenditures were deferred, allowing the plant to deteriate to the point where the only sensible course of action was to unload it on an easy mark like the City Council and their "utility expert", the man who put the "con" in Con Edison.

Bill's contributions to our community bring to mind the good work of another son of Scotland who gave back to the people of the town he cared so much for. The next time you're in Pittsburgh, visit the Carnegie Museum, or any of the 18 branches of the Carnegie Library. We'll never know if Bill had Andrew Carnegie in mind when he made his endowments, but I for one will always be grateful.

Pinhole leaks are not and never have been a problem in the City of Naples where the majority of homes are older (copper plumbed) than here on Marco. Their water treatment plant adds phosphate at 1 part per million which forms a protective film in the piping and makes for a very effective corrosion control method. This is common industry practice. Also, Shadow is correct. The utility is a huge cash cow. They now chip-in for the City Attorney, Finance Department, Public Works (STRP repaving), and the Fire Department (hydrant repair/replacement). Rony Joel has worn out his welcome and needs to go. Maybe Bill Moss can take him in, there's an open Public Works Director's job in Naples last I heard.

Follow the money trail if you want to know what to expect from Larry Magel. In the campaign finance reports filed with the City last month, Larry out-raised and out-spent the other three candidates combined. This is fiscal conservatism? It looks more like "the best government money can buy" to me.

Mr. Issler: If you think a simple majority of elected City councilors can do the job of a utility regulatory board or commission, you're mistaken. That's why they created the Ad-Hoc Utilities Committee. Unfortunately, their good intentions were hijacked by City staff and a consulting firm hired by the City to preserve the utility's revenue generating ability. Look around, we have the highest utility rates in Southwest Florida. Perhaps our investment is not being managed in our best interest. If "some users will have to move...there will be others to take their place." I doubt it. John Arceri himself says: "There has been a significant decline in customer growth and average water use per customer these past two years." I don't suppose you'd be interested in a Utility Rate Hike Cap to go along with our City Spending Cap, would you?

The only 3 I've seen running as a team are Arceri, Issler, and Granda. If their annointed one, Larry Magel falls short, it could be a very long next 2 years for Trotter, Gibson, & Waldack.

What's the matter, Ed? Trying to blow off a little steam after you and Joe Granda got caught using the same word-for-word talking point ("At a time when citizens...etc") on yesterday's editorial page? Maybe you and he are long lost twins, separated at birth. Christmas is a magical season you know.

Hey Ed, as I recall, you were in favor of the City takeover of the electric system and undergrounding of power cables. Talk about out of touch with the majority, you're only batting .500 pal. The latest utility rate increase hurt everybody, including the coveted condo dwellers. The maintenance fee on my investment property condo went up chiefly for that reason. Try not to act too surprised when hte syndicate gets caught up in their own lies and deceit.