STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Tell us about it

• What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
• Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
• Upload photos & videos
• More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.

Related Links

• Web: View the Feb. 19th City Council Meeting Agenda

More Local News

• Business Spotlight: Rollsecure Shutters
• Fix investment
• Pet Talk: Cat food for thought

Share and Enjoy [?]

On the heels of Presidents’ Day, Marco Island’s City Council will meet Tuesday evening to discuss just a handful of items, though with some wider implications than the slim agenda might suggest.

A variance request before City Council seeks permission for the South Seas Condominium Association to build a set of docks 35, 40 and 50 feet into Clam Bay, along the sea wall controlled by the South Seas Club. Clam Bay is a small inlet in the western part of the island, bordered by N. Collier Boulevard, Kendall Drive and Seaview Court.

The city’s land development code limits docks to 20 feet in length.

Plans by the condo association would replace the current facility, a set of 166 slips extending just 30 feet. Though the length of the new facility would be considerably greater, the association would actually reduce the number of slips to 140.

The South Seas complex is made up of 1,265 units. Background materials for the agenda item state that one third of the docks were damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Wilma, and the new construction would include replacement of the deteriorated concrete sea wall with a new vinyl sea wall.

The association is requesting the variance because of alleged desires of South Seas residents, but residents of adjacent condos and homes and some South Seas residents voiced concerns at previous planning board hearings that the new dock configurations would obstruct views, harm manatee populations, complicate boat navigation and even have negative property value impacts.

“As an owner of the Sussex on the Bay complex next door, I have no problem in South Seas restoring their docks that were destroyed, but I feel that there is no need to expand the dock sizes beyond what they had,” one nearby resident wrote before a December planning board meeting.

The city’s community development staff is recommending approval of the 15-foot and the 20-foot variances, but denial of the 30-foot variance. That would bar the South Seas association from constructing any of the 18 proposed 50-foot docks.

The vote by the planning board that passed the plans on in January went by a 3-2 margin.

Council on Tuesday will also consider the award of a $2.1 million contract for construction of water storage tanks at the city’s north water treatment facility.

Staff is recommending award of the contract to the Crom Corporation, the lowest of two bids for the project. The Second bid, by the Precon Corporation was $3.1 million.

The project is currently included in the fiscal year 2008 Capital Improvement Budget. It calls for construction of a four million gallon finished water storage tank and a reuse water tank, both to be located at the North plant. All construction is expected to take place on site.

City Council meets at 5:30 in the community room of the Marco Island Police Department building, at 51 Bald Eagle Drive. Next week’s session will take place on Tuesday, rather than Monday, because of the President’s Day holiday.