marconews.com Accounts

Mr. Waldack, plagiarising again? How sad. My late husband would be so disappointed in you.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports...

I'm all for the horse drawn carriages. How charming! I too believe motorists need to slow down on this island and share the road with bicyclists. The bike lanes are there to provide a specific and safe area for bicyclists to ride. Motorists must learn to respect them.

Mr. Breeze - - No, I am now retired and am not looking for personal gain. My reference to "build" is to build a sense of community where there is ample opportunity to discuss important issues, good and consistent communication from city leaders on challenges and opportunities and good celebration of our life in one of the most beautiful places in America. If such opportunities are consistently offered and community input is embraced, all of Marco prospers.

Simple community engagement which seems to be intentionally avoided by Mr. Riviere, particularly in this case, is all that I seek.

Great story! Thank you.

The flag is breathtaking. Thank you to those who saw the need, raised the money and got it built.

While I give Mr. Riviere credit for facing the crowd on Tuesday, I simply find him to be overbearing and egotistical. His quote in this article proves this.

If it is true that Ms. Litzan has been working on a plan to transfer the responsibilities of the city Building Services to the County for one year, why hasn't there been any public discussion on the matter? Instead, Mr. Riviere compliments himself for holding a public meeting on short notice and getting a full room. It appears he sees that as a success. Instead it is a failure because the room was not filled with people happy to be included in policy dialogue, it was filled with people so angry with his decision that we dropped everything to attend.

Mr. Riviere displays a pattern of releasing news about staff and city changes on Friday afternoons. With the building services, on a Friday before a 3-day weekend. His "Wall St." strategy for releasing what some may consider as bad news late on Fridays so it can be lost or tempered over the weekend break, has failed this time. People are angry. His Monday morning quarterbacking on raising fees to support costs associated with building services expenses is a "Jimmy come lately" approach. He should have held that discussion with island contractors months ago because it is clear his actions have been deliberate and carried out in the shade.

Wtiohut the "Firestorm" his arrogance would prevent any opportunity for reconsideration.

His accusation that inspectors are "buddy, buddy" with contractors is an instult to the many highly competent contractors who work on Marco Island and an insult to dedicated and competent city employees. It makes you wonder how he feels about the rest of the City staff since he so freely makes condescending remarks about the inspectors? The Eagle should investigate who Mr. Riviere is "buddy, buddy" with and perhaps it will explain some of his decisions.

Sadly, I feel it is time for City Council to search for a new City Manager. One who truly practices collaboration, works in the sunshine, appreciates our island community and who respects the authority that comes with their position.

I still believe Marco Island is better because it is a City. I don't feel Mr. Riviere shares this belief. If he did, he would have a higher value for the opinions of residents and the work of his staff.

Someone also had to order and authorize payment for the 30 mph signs and direct the police to enforce the newly posted limits. I'm afraid Dr. Rivière is not being truthful with residents or our City Council.

Perhaps Mr. Grover can provide some facts to support his position:

How many businesses have closed on Marco in the past year?

How many businesses opened?

How many (opened and closed) are or were Chamber members?

How much operating revenue did the Chamber lose last year?

How much money does the City lose in giveaways for non-profits to support their fundraising efforts instead of supporting the fireworks?

Why is this a Planning Board issue?

Can MICA fund fireworks instead of a beach concert?

Mr. Wallace was also arrested a few days ago. The Marco News reports he was arrested for violating a restraining order. http://www.marconews.com/photos/galle...

He should have been arrested after threatening Mr. Moss and held without bail. He also should have been held after violating the restraining order. How many strikes does this man deserve?

Had he been incarcerated, perhaps the innocent people he injured in the Marco Island accident would be ok today. Hopefully, he will be held by authorities so he cannot hurt anyone else and can get the help he needs at a correctional facility.

Dr. Riviere has become such a disappointment. Residents are entitled to professional local administration which conducts a legitimate and open search process for all city positions, especially senior management. While Mr. Hunter may have been the final choice, a comprehensive search should have been conducted with resident participation.

The failure of Ms. Watts and the other founders of this proposed charter high school is two fold. First, they failed to understand the community and the history of the sites they proposed building upon. Second, they failed to develop a strategic plan, that gave careful focus to site opportunities and with an opportunity for public discussion.

I'm sure the organizers will say they did have a plan and do understand Marco Island. If that were true, they would not have sought to build on dedicated park land; would not have pursued Tract K without a carefully developed stategy to engage the neighborhood residents; would have understood the restrictions of building near nesting eagles; would have explored the partnership with the YMCA to understand the opportunities and challenges the partnership faced; and would have understood the neighborhood resistance to past development in th Joy Circle area. And, they would have done this all before making any public announcements, never mind several. Ms. Watts should also know that "botanical garden" only serves to enrage those enflamed. No understanding of community, no comprehensive plan and no sensitivity = failure.

It is unfortunate this project has only generated negative reactions. Even from those like me, who truly support the concept.

Not sure why the Eagle wrote a second article on this subject and eliminated the postings from the first. I think my post to the first article still applies and hope Coucil will stop yet another spending spree that is related to the water/sewer utility. My original post:

"With all due respect (to Mr. Murphy), isn't the entire concept of "mutual aid" intended for one fire department to assist another when there is a need for equipment sharing and fire suppression support? If there was a fire and, three trucks were used to pump water to the fire, doesn't Isle of Capri and E. Naples send equipment over to support Marco should another incident happen? Mutual aid is an intentionally developed system so evuery fire department doesn't have to provide staff and& equipment to support every hypothetical situation considered.

As AJM has noted, for those homes living outside the 1,0000 foot distance, there is home owners insurance one is paying for. (I assume those homes pay a higher rate and knew of the distance to hydrants since that is a question on the insurance application form)

I suspect some of these unserved homes are in areas where the STRP construction has already been completed, missing the opportunity for project synergy.

Mr. Trotter correctly points out that this project was not on the table when the millage rate was discussed.

Please stop the sky is falling mentality and make a long range plan that fits within the budget process."

I'm sure there are many city empoyees who have met city council goals in recent times who have not received a raise over the past couple of years nor have they received a bonus. Other exemplary and essential staff have been laid off from the police dept. Surely, Mr. Riviere will turn away this bonus offer from his friend councilman Magel. I agree he has performed well during his short tenure but he has been well paid. Marco Island is not Wall St where top executives are rewarded in poor economic times and at tge expense of displaced employees. I also doubt morale is high among the rank and file.

Congratulations on making yet another soft landing Mr. Thompson. You are like a cat with nine lives who always land on its feet.

Appears that Mr. Thompson was a candidate for this position when our City Council took action.

http://www.ips.tennessee.edu/?pg=131

How can the City issue this bond offering with a straight face when City officials knew there is pending action by EPA that will likely result in significant fines?

I think Mr. Joel keeps getting things backwards. Why is he asking for permission to spend money already spent? Wasn't there an audit of the Collier project that suggested city council approval is needed before overspending? How does one change the "scope" without informing council first? Let's hope our new elected officials burn the rubber stamp.

I hope a City Councilor asks the City Manager who he finds to be wicked. It is an odd choice of words. Something serious and cumulative must be afoot for Mr. Joel to be docked.

Thanks to others for their advice on water pipes and how to handle the excessive pressure. I will shut my water off before leaving tomorrow. I can't risk getting more pinhole leaks while traveling.

MICA should not have to be involved. The City should have done their job and ended this discussion on Monday by enforcing the deed restriction. Instead, City Council agreed to sign a letter of intent which gives further incentive for this group to spend more money on developing plans for a school at Mackle Park. Had the City fullfilled their obligation to protect common land then MICA would have no need to be involved. Let's hope MICA speaks up as they did when the school board wanted to sell Tract K.

Council candidates, where do you stand on this issue?

Mackle Park is deed restricted so it can forever be a public park. The school needs to go somewhere else.

"TBE and T.Y. Lin are the two firms suggested by Joel and staff. TBE’s bridge costs about $8.4 million and T.Y. Lin’s costs $7.5 million. TBE’s design was residents’ second choice and T.Y Lin’s was residents’ third favorite. T.Y. Lin’s design includes steel arches and has higher clearance under the bridge than TBE’s design."

The above is copied from the article.

Are all of the bridges higher off the water than out current bridge? If so, that would mean a longer or steeper ramp up and down the bridge will be needed. How much of the newly completed road work and bridge park will be demolished for the bridge options? Is that part of the cost difference? Has that even been accounted for? One would have to determine the loss of recently completed improvements to get a true cost since the life of those improvements has not yet expired.

How much will it cost just to repair the existing bridge?

I just read an article from March 2005 when Joel recommended a drawbridge. Is the goal to have a bridge that is safe or, to raise the span for larger boats to get under the bridge?

Mr. Issler...where in this article do you find Facts that support your claims?

" claims that 10,000 or 100,000 gallons a day I do not rememeber the exact number but ewither is ridiculous) are leaking from this system are totally fiction and based on faulty assumptions and are ludicrous. "

The article doesn't provide any estimate on how much sewerage is leaking from these pipes. I hope Kelly ignores your request for another article on septic tanks and sticks to this story. It would be far more interesting and revealing to hear how much sewerage the authors of this article believe is leaking from the pipes. I'm sure there has been a measurement or professional assumptions made during this study.

More too, needs to be revealed about the deteriration of manholes caused by hydrogen sulfide exposure...is this from the dewatering process?

Let's hope the Eagle does some good investigation and writing around these questions so we can get the facts. It is, afterall, the newspapers role to investigate studies of this nature and report the facts.

Obama richly deserves Nobel Peace Prize

By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

Barack Obama has inspired. He has elevated. He has brought hope to people around the world. He has reinvigorated dialogues that seemed long dead, or hidden on back burners.

For that, on Friday, he was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

Obama’s work for peace is still promise. Critics, even some supporters, suggest it’s too early to hand this young president the world’s most prestigious award. After all, it’s a frighteningly exclusive club; it doesn’t, for instance, include Gandhi.

But Obama does share something with many who have accepted this award before him including Nelson Mandela, Elie Wiesel, Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr. and Lech Walesa: The ability to lift eyes upward, to prompt dreams of a better future.

The prize is only sometimes given out for accomplishments. As commonly, it is awarded to give strength to a position, to provide gravitas for a noble individual struggling for peace against a corrupt system.

Obama was chosen as a way to welcome the United States back into the global community after years of unilateral policy. This award is therefore not just to the man, but his nation. And it’s focused as much on what we can do, and what with Obama as president we seem to have the will to do, as on what he’s already accomplished in the short time he’s been in office.

He humbly acknowledged that in his acceptance announcement on Friday.

Already, his administration has reopened discussions with Iran, addressed nuclear disarmament and confronted the Western-Islamic divide, the source of so much that is wrong with the world today.

So, maybe, Obama, to date, hasn’t earned a Peace Prize for sealed deals. But he brings hope.

And, sometimes, hope is worth rewarding.

Again, all Americans should be proud. You have shown you hold your conservative arrogance above national pride. I and many others are very proud of the progress the president has made domestically and internationally. He is our president and we should all be proud.

Now, Mr. Issler. "There you go again". Not long ago, you wrote in an Eagle blog that you don't make negative personal comments about people. In fact, you have and you do, as evident in your comment about Mr. Sanchez above. If he wants to file a suit to get the records, you should be supportive. After all, he only wants the facts. The same thing you claim to seek when you openly challenge others to "get the facts". Open the records, let's see the facts. There should be no fears about embarrassing anyone. People act and speak as they do and can only embarrass themselves. Open the records. They will either confirm claims of no wrong doing, embarrass someone for mis-speaking or reveal criminal conduct.

The interesting "fact" is, Council was told they should pull out of the case and they continued to spend money foolishly defending the ordinance. The "fact" is, they wasted money again and antagonized residents along the way. Kelly did a good job on the article and I'm sure an editor wrote the headline.