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"Yin & Yang"? That implies there is some pattern in how Code Compliance opperates. Over the past few years I've seen a steady decline in quality of life here on the island. The quality issues and standards that all residential & commercial owners accepted when they came to the island are just eroding with the help of an equal errosion in enforcement of those standards. What happened? Did we not prefer tighter control over the inconsiderate nature of some of our neighbors - at least in limiting the space they disturb? For myself I liked the standards and thought they were worth the effort to stay in compliance to keep the wonderful quality of our community. Code Compliance is our 'first line' of action to maintain community standards and should not be neglected. There is no purpose to having standards when enforcement is a "yin & yang".
Stop with the bible already! It's not the 'bible' of billions of people on this planet! Why don't we just bring back the Crusades? Then - I'll be sitting in front of my house behind my 'Ma Deuce' atop my surplus M1A1 tank waiting for the real bible toting 2nd ammendment 'crazies'! Be true to the history of the 2nd ammendment and bear your single shot musket as a member of a well organized militia! Then, as loaves and fishes, your musket balls will multiply into 30 round magazines.
That's funny! Actually it's opinions like yours that most Americans find represent the height of hypocracy, irony, and stupidity!Add ignorance and egotism to your own list of personal qualities!
Again the voice of the "clueless"! Perhaps the OP would like to explain their logic to the parents of a gunned down 6 year old! In this country guns are like toys. You're not holding an AR15 you're holding a basketball! Let's go out and play! Give it up little boy. No one is going to keep you from your little toys - just the ones that turn humans into fanatics! Fool!
I'm not sure why this section of beach is any different than any other on the island. Access to all Marco Beaches is restriced if not by access areas then parking. You're saying the beach at Hideaway can not be accessed because of "distance"? What would you suggest - tear down the trees and put up a paking lot? How about building a bridge to Keywadin Island or Cape Romano? Maybe all the waterfron lots on the island should be requires to put in 1 public parking space and restroom facilities! You guys are swinging after the bell when the other guy is back in his dressing room!
It's hard to believe that our City could let businesses operate like this. There are few reasons why the City Council allows such a strangle hold on our community.Until we, as homeowners, organize ourselves into one voice we can only expect more of the same. In fact, we can expect the entire residential nature of our community to become a service area for the needs of business and investors. Don't you see it happening now?I think it's time for residents to bring our city government to court and force them to abide by the contract we all have with them - our city codes!
With respect Mr. Gilmore, I've seen and experienced 1st hand what you call a "construction site". We all know you could do a much better job of making it easier for all concerned. Your sites become collection grounds, for months at a time, for debris while you spread your work onto lots in places where work is not being performed. You have no desire to use precast panels as it cuts into your profit and no interest in adopting newer methods for repairs and replacement for that same reason. I would say that, in fact, you seem to hold a whole community hostage to better your own interests.
How many miles of seawalls in need of repair and how many $$$ per foot would be enough to make you happy?
If there's inerest in acting in the interest of residents on quality of life issues here on Marco email me at wearemarcoisland@hotmail.com
captnjimbo don't wait for MICA! We, as residents, need to tell MICA what WE want and not wait for what WE"LL get from them. Up until now I haven't seen much leadership from them - nor interest in a loosing battle we now only seem to be fighting in our minds and on paper. Tell me there are others willing to take this simple task in hand an I'm there 100%. And Y'ALL? Like in the old days - 1,2,3,4 we won't be ig-nored any more!! WE, by the way, being the essential word here! Just because we need folding chairs to stage a sit in doesn't mean we can't put our ever widening butts to good use:)
I agree that "Property rights are being trampled on Marco !!!" Quality of life issues are being ignored which seems weird since living on Marco is all about 'quality of life'. Seems like Marco is somewhere between a gated community and a free for all. I see the names of posters over and over. Can't you all get together and address one issue - quality of life - before there is none left here on the island. I may be "confused" but isn't that why we all pay the tab for living here? Maybe we should talk to the island's owner since it is obvious that we have no rights. We don't 'own' we only live here by the graces of Good King Marco!
We live on an island with great beaches. I see so much of the beach vacant. As a resident and a dog owner I can't share the beach with my "kids" 2 yellow labs. I think it's a lot of bunk to say that dogs, if confined to a special area, would somehow disturb the Eco-system. Meanwhile, the restricted access essentially gives up a great portion of the beach to residents in high-rise buildings. On this topic, at least, I wish you would consider "us".
in response to naples_rocket: care to elaborate?
in response to naples_rocket:
care to elaborate?
I will! The renters are not the problem but the owners of these properties are! Every week my wife and I hold our breath waiting to find out who our neighbors will be for the next week and what problems they will bring to our "residential" neighborhood. Florida law 509 calls these rentals businesses. We are not zoned for commercial. The owners of these properties operate a business without a license. Additionally, the agents who promote these operationss are advertising 'unlicensed' businesses. How many more laws can they break??? As a contractor, if I ran an unlicensed business I'd have the Marco PD on my job site every day and fines on top of fines plus jail time! Guess I'm a member of the wrong club!This is just another sample of how the City Of Marco picks and chooses what laws they will enforce. We did not realize that we purchased a home across from hotels and I believe that a lawsuit is in the making!!! Our quiet enjoyment of our home during the season is ruined by the rotating packs of tourists and the forces of money that are behind them here on the Island. They belong in hotels not in my backyard!Hey, City of Marco, how can you do this to us?
Racism isn't gone its' just gone further underground. Every once in while it rears its' ugly head in the comments we read here. If you can't act or comment in a civilized manner please, at the very least, adhere to the rules of this forum! To those that make these comments I would say not only is your ignorance showing but so is the white hood your hiding in your pocket!!!
BTW Is it the traffic or the people that bother you? If it's the traffic then build a paking lot (dawn to dusk) for profit off the island and run a seasonal tram up and down Collier. Have signage before the bridge that shows when on island lots are full. The lot doesn't even have to be paved. Let a local business rent bikes there. There's lots of ideas that will work if we can just come up with them and pick those that are most practical!
You guys do realize that this is only 'our' fault! If we do not speak with one voice then we should accept what is given to us without complaint. Organize your voices and make them heard as one voice. Powers that be will have no choice but to listen!
We should be fair to Code Compliance and our PD. They are good people who seem to do their job as instructed. The problem is in the attitude of our City Council and their willingness to become true representatives of all who share this island. Again I only moved here three years ago but do we have a resident's group that sends representatives to all meetings? Sounds like we need to somehow organize to speak our minds as a group and not just as offended individuals. Does MICA do that? If not they should! Signed "I'm Confused"
BTW Could somebody post a list of local ordinances that Marco Island really does enforce. It seems we can pick and choose from the list as the wind blows on a particular day. Maybe you could post them on the Marco Island website daily. We could have "free for all days"! Friday is come one come all day. Make a mess and we'll clean up after you. We do, after all, have such deep pockets that we can afford to do that! Remember, tourist folks, our Island is your island as long as you buy a tee shirt at Alvin's.
I wish you guys would figure out who we are as an island and stick to it! There seems to be so many contradicting forces at work here daily. You complain about too many tourists yet Marco does not enforce state and local laws which would limit them to legitimate hotels. I feel like the old guy in the movie "Moonstruck" and my only real comment is "I'm Confused"!
The idea is to share your thoughts about the original post - not your problems with the world. The Marco Eagle should enforce their own user agreement to clean up some of these trash posts and ban those who use these pages to "spew" not discuss!
If you know it's the law why do you park there? How many times have officers driven by your house when the car was parked there and not given it a ticket? While you seem to deserve kudos for your efforts to help your mom there is another answer to the problem other than chiding the PD for doing their job. Perhaps you could have a garage sale to make room in the garage for your car - but make sure you get a permit first! ;)
There seems to be declining attention to the quality of life on Marco. This is an example. No big deal, I guess, but add it to many other small things and we have an Island whose appearance has seemingly changed for the worse in the past few years. Residents seems less and less important rating behind business & tourists. This also goes for the the established rules which protect our Island resident way of living - for which we all pay so dearly.
It seems to me that the effectiveness of our Code Enforcement is in decline and I don't think it's their fault. I'm not sure if this is a matter of budget cuts, more manpower or just a simple willingness to maintain a quality of life standard. This seem weird since the Island Authorities seems to be throwing around a lot of money these days.
I'm all for aggressive, consistent and equal enforcement of codes relating to our quality of life. After all, they were there when I moved here so there's no surprise. You know the Bronx NYC has beaches too! Keep going in this direction and we'll be living in the Bronx with palm trees!
What history? What aesthetics? To use the Collier style post requires 2x the number of installations not to mention the costs of changing a contract in the middle of the job. I'm not paying for that! The new lights are among the best on the island and I wish I had them on our street. However, if local residents would like to pay for the changes let them! That area is lucky to have any at all! If you want to be 'historic', there were no lights back then!
I am curious why the city continues to ignore Florida Statute 509. By definition homes being offered for occupancy as Transient or Non-Transient Public lodging establishments are required by this law to be licensed commercial businesses subject to all rules, regulations and taxes. In their operation they further violate the residential zoning regulations here on Marco. So the City again bows to money interests, fails to uphold state law and fails to maintain the residential character of our neighborhoods.
Legitimate, tax paying businesses, who conform in every respect to local ordinances, lose income on a daily basis as our city loses tax revenues.
Law abiding residents lose the character and value of ownership as a constant stream of daily and weekly rentals flow in and out, unregulated, bringing with them whatever they wish.
Convention destination with eyes on a casino destination! We need to get our act together! What this Island needs are people who will champion a plan for our future - not complain about street lights already in progress!
I'll take the new lights. You can put one in front of my home instesd of these ugly concrete ones with all the wires and transformers hanging all over them. Then they can take these concrete ones and install them where the new ones are supposed to go. I think that would be in keeping with the 'historic' character of the neighborhood.One thing I would agree with, the city should put a lighting plan in place that would serve the entire community. This would free up the wonderful energy of these residents which they could then apply to something a 'real' value in our community!
I've looked at the lighting in question. From Collier to Barfield the lights match those on Collier. I assume that was done to join the business sections. I have no objection to the new lighting. Traveling on that road there is little to no construction of historical value. The lighting in the so called 'historical' neighborhood is the same as everywhere else on the island and includes utility poles.
Personally I don't see a problem at all and the installed lights are far better than we have on the rest of the Island. I believe they allowed the city to use half the number of fixture with no loss of area lit. They were, I think, half the price of the other poles and 2 posts were used instead of 8 in the same length of road (or 4 if the light were used on on on side). This does not take into the costs of running the lights through the years.
It seems to me that this whole fuss is a waste of time that should be applied to other areas of need on the island and is self-serving for those involved with considerationtion of others on the Island. I, however, would not object to those 400 people or so paying for their own upgraded lighting with special assessments on their properties.
We all have an interest in this because it involves the tax $$ of everyone on the island. The lights in question are better than the ones we have. Let's change them all! DUH! There's a lot more character busting structures in that area (now better lit up by the new lights!) Since it's our money, how else would you like to upgrade YOUR neighborhood as we all have pretty deep pockets here. Would you like us to hire someone to cut your lawn?
Commander: I'm not sure I understand you're saying "taking peoples freedoms away". As a cop there are attitudes you display to bad guys. This officer display those attitudes toward all. And, NO, I would not want him to respond to any call to aid. I would prefer one of the other terrific men and women we have in our fine PD
This man is not a responsible, professional law enforcement officer and does not belong on the city's force. People who have had exchanges with him have and will attest to this. Most us would say that officers are deserving of our respect given the nature of their jobs. Respect extended to Officer Derrig, though, was not returned. He believes himself to be some kind of super cop and putting him on patrol is a danger to the entire community who will pay for his errors in judgment.
With the limited choices proffered he'd probably choose the latter of the 2 since the posting seems to represent more trumpeting distorted with "biased spit". I think Bill might have a lot more brass in his orchestra but I couldn't speculate on the amount of spit!
More of the same!
Well again ajm3s reads without ‘reading’. Might I ask what makes you think I’m unconcerned with the city’s operating costs because I became an owner in ‘2009’? I think not!Boutique style services and businesses, now-a-days, usually refer to a small and locally owned and operated business that may or may not have the outward appearance of a traditional street front business. I don’t think you’re grasping the concept, being defined as we speak, that the ideas of retirement and retirees are changing! With these changes comes a new set of standards and services one looks for in a community. Communities which offer a certain charm with modern infrastructure and amenities will be in the forefront. The natural ‘charm’ of Marco is evident. The integration of this ‘charm’ with a responsible development process is not. And, since there seems to be plenty of vacant land here for the having, you’d think that a ‘responsible’ plan for further development would already be in place.Now, just for your information ajm3s and not in any way offering support for a plan I did not see, many large corporations and universities operate solar power generating stations. With current Federal Tax incentives, Grants and Regulations and required utility ‘buy-backs’ it has become very profitable to operate one. The plants offer reliable clean energy, reduced utility costs for their operators, and, an investment in the future. Wouldn’t just the possibility of cheaper electricity that could potentially power a desalinization plant for cheaper water be worth looking into? Universities have built these to fund, in part, their endowments instead of more risky market investments.These are all just ideas and no one is opening their checkbooks! Marco has a unique opportunity to look at the future with the wisdom of our collective experience if its residents would just try to think a little out of the box built in the 50’s.
Ajm3s: Might I suggest that you take a deep breath and step back from this issue. What we have here is a simple forum for opinion. With comments like: “So again, why did you move here? And if you want to improve this island, improve your own lot” you just offer an opinion of me, which I’m not sure I enjoy hearing, and not an opinion on an issue.
Now, this is my first post on this site and, as stated, I’m new to OUR community. This does not mean I accept a ‘pecking order’ in the validity of one’s opinion. I’m not a developer nor is my reason for being on this island one of pure investment. I used words like ‘modest’ repeatedly to express something which you obviously ignored. I would see ANY change to OUR community as an active community process. I highlight ‘OUR’ to simply remind you that residential owners on OUR island have but one vote in the process. Don’t believe that I’m naive enough not to ignore the forces within our community that exert considerable influence on issues to promote an agenda that is not necessarily in the interests of all involved.Please do speak your mind on the related issue here. I, and many others, will welcome and consider it in the formulation of our own opinions. However, please consider that this is a community in which there will be varied opinions on a whole range of related subjects. Among reasonable people there is no need to feel that you need to add another step up to create a ‘bully pulpit’ for yourself. A simple soap box on the corner should do nicely!
I'm part of the "Boomer" generation. We’re in our middle to late 50's and purchased a house here in 2009 at auction to live here full time until we can no longer manage because of our age or finances. Our purchase was part of a long range phased plan for retirement which we implemented in 2004 having saved our entire lives in preparation for this time. Our means are modest compared to some on the island. I must admit that Marco was a destination by chance but, in being here, our love for it has grown. To try to compare values to the insanity period of the mid 2000's is unrealistic. Better to take the values from 1995 and add to that the modest growth one would normally experience in a "non-fad" community. I think saying the values dropped 50% is not accurate given the circumstances of the market in the past 10 years.I believe there is a wonderful lifestyle here that we all would wish to enhance. Some like it just the way it is and some would support building a resort casino here. I believe that our city would benefit from an increase in resort related "boutique" services with a few modest and well planned developments that would attract home buyers to our Island without diminishing its’ fundamental character. Boomers have many, many choices on were to spend their retirement. I don't like seeing so many vacant houses and vacant land. Amenities suitable for a full time population must be planned to attract the boomers implemented as they arrive. This would be as simple (or as complex) as trying to get together and develop a plan that Realtors could use to attract new owners. It’s done all the time and has led to what some feel to be wonderful communities. I would hate to see Marco wither from neglect. You must remember that many boomers have internet based occupations and will not be living a traditional retirement. We are an example of that. We continue to work not so much that we have to but because we love to. Our office is an easy chair, a laptop, a cell phone and an internet connection. We have any number of choices on where to live. With that freedom we can positively benefit a community that would seek to enhance that lifestyle by offering a modest variety of amenities suitable in size to a population in residence who seek an active lifestyle and to support a modest tourism trade. We feel this is of benefit to our community. Currently our opinion is that Marco, as beautiful as she is, is a little lacking in that area.How else can we get our kids to visit us! Thanks to all for your attention!
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