A controversial 50-passenger Island Trolley pilot program favored by Marco Island business owners and unpopular with most residents came to a halt before starting.
After residents’ overwhelming opposition continued at a Nov. 18 public hearing, City Councilor Darrin Palumbo made a motion to kill the free pilot program from January through March. However, he was advised city ordinances require a motion to approve, so Vice Chair Erik Brechnitz called for a motion to approve. There was silence and the motion died.
“It’s not really a fun position to be the swing vote and have some of your neighbors not even talk to you anymore because they disagree on it, but I did listen,” Palumbo said of his tiebreaking vote for the trolley during September budget hearings. “We’ve offered about eight solutions to parking and transit and nobody wanted any of them. … Welcome to the reality of trying to solve problems that are sometimes not popular.”
Palumbo said he always envisioned an open-air trolley, not a Collier Area Transit bus wrapped to look like one. He agreed the test program wasn’t popular and asked: “What are we going to do moving forward to solve the problems we’ve been elected to solve?”
The decision to end the $206,480 test was the culmination of months of opposition and an election that sent a resounding message that voters were upset Council didn’t hear residents’ demands. The pilot program was to gauge whether it relieved traffic congestion, but residents contended it would bring more tourists and increase congestion on roads and in parking lots, where visitors would park to hop on a trolley to the beach, a restaurant and other popular spots.
Before the September budget vote to include the trolley, residents urged Council to conduct a parking and traffic study, let voters decide, conduct a survey, consider reenacting a toll on the S.S. Jolley Bridge or imposing a trolley fee to gauge interest. Brechnitz and Councilor Joe Rola voted against including the trolley in the 2025 budget.
StopTheTrolley.com urged residents to vote out councilors Rich Blonna and Becky Irwin, who supported the trolley — and was successful.
Four newcomers won Council seats Nov. 5, ousting the two incumbents and filling two vacant seats after Chair Jared Grifoni termed out after two four-year terms and Rola opted not to seek reelection after one. Newcomers Stephen Gray, Bonita Schwan, Deb Henry and Tamara Goehler were elected, making it the first time in the city’s 27-year history that three women will sit on the dais.
With six on the dais, the new Council was unable to elect a chair and vice chair after repeated tied votes. To break it, Councilor Greg Folley’s vacant seat must be filled. He was required to resign Nov. 5 after a bid for State House District 81 seat. He lost to Yvette Benarroch in the August primary. Council members will narrow down applications through paper ballot votes at a Dec. 2 meeting, interview finalists from Dec. 3 to Dec. 5, and swear in the winner on Dec. 9.
StopTheTrolley.com urged residents to attend the Nov. 18 meeting to oppose the trolley, an interlocal agreement between the city and county. Before the vote died, Council discussed how the $206,480 could be used for other needs, such as a path from a parking lot to a dog park bench, infrastructure and repairs and to add much-needed shade structures at Veterans Park.
“The past election already proved the residents do not want this experiment,” Goehler said to applause. “Therefore, we should halt this experiment, and with all due respect, never bring that back.”
Eight residents lined up to oppose it, calling it a bus to the beach and a “debacle.” None spoke in favor. They also expressed embarrassment that Council couldn’t come to a consensus on a chair and vice chair.
“We didn’t just want new blood,” Seaview Court resident Stephen Rakoczy said, adding that councilors didn’t think residents would pay attention when their desires were ignored. “We pay attention. We’re paying attention now. Please don’t be those people. We need people that will support us and drive what we need done.”
Nassau Court resident John Martini said an attorney advised him buses are only allowed in the commercial district as a permitted use, so a trolley would be out of compliance in other zones without approvals, including a conditional-use variance. He also noted there’s no place to pull over, which would stop traffic.
“Both the prior council members and the newly elected members are hereby put on notice that proceeding with the agreement without proper Planning Board approval exposes the city to significant liability,” Martini said. “Without obtaining zoning compliance and planning-permit approvals, the liability you are exposing taxpayers to is completely unacceptable. … If someone is hurt or killed while exiting or attempting to board a bus, who is liable? Marco Island taxpayers, that’s who.”
The trolley would have operated from 9 a.m. to sunset, with a proposed route starting at Veterans Park, heading south on Collier Boulevard, looping around Caxambas Park and heading north on Collier Boulevard before stopping at Rose Marina and returning Veterans Park.
The decision doesn’t affect CAT routes from Immokalee along Collier Boulevard to Marco Island and South Beach.
