Remarks by Stephen Gray
131 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 3 of 6
- Play at 3:48:48
“Yeah, the conditional use will be next. Okay.”
City Council · Sep 10, 2026
- Play at 3:48:54
“I'm pleased. The notion about trying to have a comprehensive... all-inclusive NIM that captures and consolidates all of this, how would that conversation take place in chambers?”
City Council · Sep 10, 2026
- Play at 3:49:21
“Understood. So it's irrelevant the level of disclosure in that NIM relative to what information came out afterwards. That's irrelevant?”
City Council · Sep 10, 2026
- Play at 4:11:41
“Thank you. Attended the NIM, attended the planning board meetings. I've talked to a number of our residents. Very brief conversation with Rose management. And again, I filled up my jet ski at the pumps.”
City Council · Sep 10, 2026
- Play at 4:57:17
“Okay, so we do not have any knowledge of the terms and conditions of that lease. No. Okay. Thank you.”
City Council · Sep 10, 2026
- Play at 5:19:17
“Very good. Councillor Gray. Thank you. I'll just read a quick statement. I really appreciate this conversation. Our comprehensive plan sets a clear standard. Any tourism and development must protect our barrier island character, dark skies, and environmental resources. We must not undermine the well-being of our local residents, Comprehensive plans, strategic plan frameworks place environmental integrity and community health above visitor satisfaction and unchecked economic growth. Thank you.”
City Council · Sep 10, 2026
- Play at 6:53:26
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Council · Sep 10, 2026
- Play at 33:25
“Well said. Well said. Counselor Gray, you wanted? Thank you. A couple clarifications. The TDC money goes to Tallahassee and someone in Tallahassee. Who then decisions that allocation? It's purely by statute.”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 33:48
“Okay, and so to the other point, it would help to enlighten the community as to what kind of dollars come back and then the application of those proceeds. I'm not entirely clear what all qualifies as a potential application for the use of these proceeds. and having that menu. So I'll test one just as a concept. We have a very active tourist boardwalk, Winterberry Boardwalk. We're in the process of doing some renovations to it, maybe to the tune of about ballpark $150,000 in repairs at this point. Why wouldn't that be a very attractive and eligible application?”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 34:41
“Okay. I think to answer the other question, the TDC tax, any tax that hits our visitors and comes back to the community clearly has an attractive profile to it. I think one of the challenges that Marco Island has been wrestling with, which is why they asked for an increase in the sales tax, and that sales tax is higher in many counties in Florida, is because we do have increasing burdens to service that tourist community, whether it's law enforcement, infrastructure, et cetera. So we are challenged by an increasing need to service the tourist community at little or no offset. And so we as a…”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 44:07
“What type of growth in tourism do you try and target with that deployment of capital? I mean, how much more tourism are we hoping to bring, and how do you try and measure your returns on the investment of that money?”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 44:28
“I'll ask you a different question since you're the money guy.”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 44:32
“We have a couple of parks on Marco Island that could use some refurbishment, ball fields, et cetera. Would one of those ball fields or the Mackle Park where tourists do come visit and find it a prized destination be qualified for consideration?”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 45:17
“And essentially that study is to try and track the activity level from the tourist community into those resources. Correct. Thank you.”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 1:14:04
“Councilor Gray, please. Thank you. You mentioned the Army Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard, and the county. Has the Army Corps of Engineers done a complete assessment of Collier County from a vulnerability standpoint and what is viable to protect and what isn't in a changing environmental footprint? Because I love to believe that part of this discussion was related to it really hadn't been clearly assessed and then the other related question would be When you look at something like dredging this pass Do we have data that says what the return on investment or how much the demand is for…”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 1:16:11
“Are we needing to coax the Army Corps of Engineers to take a hard look at this?”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 1:25:07
“If there was a short list of coaching tips from the county on how we could coordinate or play nice on the playground or help coordinate our activities, I believe we would welcome that memo or those suggestions. So thank you for that.”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 1:46:55
“Thank you. Do you have a breakdown of the visitors that use Caxambas Park? Is it mostly residents? And are any private vendors permitted to operate out of there? What are the rules of who can get access to that park and utilize that park?”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 1:48:32
“So last question. It was a rather intimidating statement that Marco Island may not want to own this because of future repair risk, environmental risk impact, et cetera. Why would we want to own it? Do you know? If we're trying to make this decision one way or the other, being respectful of economics. So it's for residents. We've got it pretty well structured. It seemed to have been cleaned up. Thank you for the work you did there. And I'm inclined to leave the future liability with you. Why would I want to move that to Marco Island?”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 2:10:06
“Iowa Capri is unincorporated, is that correct?”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 2:10:10
“When and where and why might Iowa Capri and or Marco Island consider annexing Iowa Capri and would that have any favorable impacts on the management of this area? I'm just trying to look at how you move forward. I say everything out loud, which is why I travel under the cover of darkness.”
City Council · Aug 27, 2026
- Play at 7:50
“Councilor Gray, I'm sorry. I heard Gold or Silas. No, sorry, Councilor Gray. That's all right. F. ID 26-56 is kind of a theme with the fire trucks. Okay. No, I'm sorry. That was the – no, I got the wrong one. I apologize. It is ID 26-5684, which is item I, the fire department pumper truck balloon payment.”
City Council · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 39:16
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Council · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 39:40
“That's fine. There might be approximately a million dollars that might be reallocated to the city's coffers from this wind down of the foundation. I don't know what insights you can or can't share on the obligations or how we assess the application of those proceeds from the standpoint of whether the contracts were honored with the donors, who we greatly appreciate for donating, as well as if you're winding it down, I do not know what everybody's obligations are going forward and how we should be thinking about what's appropriate to allocate those funds. So it was just more a set of open…”
City Council · Aug 17, 2026
- Play at 41:07
“So not to ask a trick question, is it possible that Winterberry Park, that ball field, might be a valid application of those proceeds?”
City Council · Aug 17, 2026