KELLY FARRELL / Staff

Resident Dick Bryan, left, gets the ear of City Manager Steve Thompson at Orion Bank's In the Round lecture series Wednesday evening. Thompson spoke one-on-one among over 80 residents who visited the event.

KELLY FARRELL / Staff

City Manager Steve Thompson sits among the crowd at an "In the Round Lecture Series" event at Orion Bank Wednesday evening. Following an introduction by Bank Manager Keith Dameron, Thompson began a dialogue-style speech about citizen's vision for the island, commitment to open communication and budget issues.

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“Welcome to my home town, I’m Steve Thompson,” the new city manager began as he addressed an audience of over 80 residents attending Orion Bank’s In the Round lecture series.

The introduction seemed hardly necessary as many residents were already thanking Thompson for answering their questions as they arose over the past several weeks since Thompson began his work with the city.

Still, Thompson said he hoped to further improve communication.

“The way city managers can always get fired is for communication, so let me tell you I emphasize it,” he said with a smile.

His goals were to set the “tone of discussion” keeping it positive even when addressing topics that people won’t like. He said his goal is for information “to be pushed out rather than anyone having to go somewhere to get it.”

Thompson recommended further discussion with the community on budget items, particularly alternative revenue sources such as payment-in-leau of tax (PILOT), which is a fee proposed to be added to utility bills that will supplement the loss of property tax revenue when the water utility was taken over by the city.

“I don’t know if (PILOT) will be successful or not, but it is an item up for discussion,” he said.

A possible benefit of fees and assessments over property taxes is that the claim can be made that the property taxes are low, something that may help in the sale of properties.

These ideas “are critical to look at, they’re not critical to accept,” he explained.

Planning Board member Monte Lazarus asked Thompson whether the spending cap, a limit that allows the budgeted expenses to be increased at an inflationary rate each year, was a problem for the city.

“If our budget goes down one year, we get into what I call a death spiral ... I think the time has come to address the spending cap and look at what it’s advantages and disadvantages are,” Lazarus said.

Thompson said he wouldn’t advocate the idea, he wouldn’t take on the contentious spending cap one way or the other.

“I’ve had experience with revenue caps, but not with spending caps. I don’t get wrapped up in the budgets. They are just priorities. You pick what you want to do and we’ll put it in there,” he said to the residents.

Resident Herman Diebler asked Thompson to explain the plans for Tract K, an 11.6 acre parcel of land located along the west side of Tigertail Court between Somerset and Century Drive.

Collier County School District Superintendent Dennis Thompson has discussed the possibility of building a solar project on Tract K with Steve Thompson and Gary Elliott of Solar Power and Light, a new Marco-based company.

Marco Island Civic Association records indicate the land was donated by Deltona Corporation to the Collier County School Board in 1989 to be used for education or profits from the land to be used for education.

Thompson said he wasn’t necessarily against the idea of such use for Tract K.

“Solar energy isn’t a bad image to tie to Marco Island,” he said, reiterating that conversations need to continue as to whether athletic fields or a dog park are part of the community’s priorities.

Thompson also fielded a question about an update to the city’s standing with physician Andrew Guidry. Guidry owns the lot adjacent to the police department and City Hall.

Guidry and the city had a written agreement which outlined primarily Guidry’s giving of land in exchange for the police department in exchange for improvements to his parking lot, lighting and landscaping.

Struggles between Guidry and the city arose after arrangements went beyond their written agreement such as the city continuing to pay for the electricity to the parking lot lights while the public parked in Guidry’s lot during City Hall meetings.

Electricity and parking lot use were not included in the written agreement. Verbal agreements and whether such agreements ever existed led to disputes and ultimately to the parking lots between the properties being barricaded by the city.

“There is no issue I won’t discuss,” Thompson began.

He said the issue with Guidry “falls off the horse when we got beyond the written agreement.”

Guidry’s concerns were about an increase in liability insurance due to public use of his parking lot during city meetings.

“It’s an understandable position and if it’s reasonable for us to participate in those costs, we will or we’ll seal up the street and let’s move on. Right now it’s sitting with Dr. Guidry,” Thompson said.

Orion Bank Manager Keith Dameron wrapped up the evening Wednesday explaining his commitment to the community as his basis for hosting the In the Round Lecture Series on various islanders and topics for the last couple years.

“A bank on Marco Island must participate in the community by reaching out and informing and not just always trying to sell something,” he said.