Three people apply for vacant District 5 Town Commission seat

Three people have applied for the vacant District 5 seat on the Longboat Key Town Commission, all of whom are involved with town or community organizations or have been in the past. 

Longboat Key North co-chair Maureen Merrigan, former town commissioner Gene Jaleski and campaign consultant Christopher Carman submitted their applications to the town by the 4 p.m. Friday deadline.

The Town Commission is set to determine which of the three candidates to appoint at 11:30 a.m. Monday, April 19 to fill the vacancy left by Ed Zunz, who resigned in March because he moved out of the District 5 boundary.

The appointee would serve until the next town election in March 2022. After that, whoever gets elected would serve what remains of Zunz's term until March 2023.

Merrigan serves as a co-chair of the LBK North community group, which represents 24 homeowners associations and more than 800 households.

“We have monthly meetings, we’re very engaged in what’s going on in the north end [and] what’s going on in the town,” Merrigan said. “I attended a tremendous amount of commission meetings and spoke at them when we had them live. I listened to them over Zoom.”

Jaleski has lived in Longboat Key since 1985 and served on the Town Commission from March 2009-May 2010. He is among the residents who consistently send emails to commissioners to offer perspective on issues the town faces.

“My background is technical, software engineering, system engineering, research, research and development,” Jaleski said. “We’re in a highly technical phase of the town undergrounding [project], beach nourishment, redevelopment of the parks, fiscal policies, a lot of technical stuff coming up, and I would be a voice on the commission with a background and ability to research and analyze complex technical situations, which right now, there is no one there.”

Carman has lived in Longboat Key for 51 years and has professional experience in the hospitality, political and retail environments. In the past, Carman has served on the town’s Zoning Board of Adjustment and he currently serves on the Citizens Tax Oversight Committee.

“I think [those that] actually have a job that work and live on Longboat need a representative,” Carman said.

The Longboat Observer reached out to Merrigan, Jaleski and Carman to ask about why they decided to submit the application materials to fill the vacant District 5 seat:

Why did you decide to apply for the vacant District 5 seat?

Merrigan: A couple of things. I mean, one, I was asked to apply. So I had several people ask me. Longboat Key North folks, in the past, they've asked if I would consider running for commissioner. 

And then I had a number of people say, ‘Would you at least consider fulfilling Ed’s role?’ And I said, ‘You know what, let me think about that.’ And I said, ‘Sure, I think I would do that.’

The big reason is I care about the Key, and I care about the north end. And, I think I'd be an effective commissioner.

The reason I think people asked me to run, I've done enough in the community here. I think they get that I understand issues, I do my homework, I listen to others and I’m action-oriented. So I think, for those reasons, people have asked me to do that.

Jaleski: Because I think there is a need for a person with technical experience and background, [who] understands the history of the town that can help the town make intelligent decisions.

Carman: I decided to apply for the vacant seat because I looked at the people that were already applying. And, one of them has only been here about four years. The other one has been here an extended length of time, but [he was] elected as a commissioner and then decided to give up halfway through.

And I figured they both had their chances, or they're maybe not as qualified as myself. So I think it's time for younger blood and more people that are [younger than] the age of 60, to actually get involved in government. Since we've got four new women, why not having somebody [younger than] 55 years of age on the [commission]?

If you were appointed to fill the District 5 vacancy, what would you hope to accomplish?

Merrigan: I think they've got a number of things on the plate that they have to address. I mean, one is, I think we've got a good group of commissioners, right now we've got some good folks in the town and the staff.

They’ll come out of this upcoming meeting, really looking at the goals and objectives and what has to get done. I mean, it really is balancing, what do we do to use our monies and our budgets appropriately? We've got infrastructure things that have to be addressed.

Besides a sewer pipe, there's also technology things that we're in the midst of doing. We live on a barrier island that has to make sure we're prepared for hurricanes and emergencies. So making sure that's in place.

Continuing to have zoning issues or density issues that continue to bubble up. So, really kind of keeping an eye on that.

So I think, part of it is seeing what comes out of the [April 19] Goals and Objectives [meeting]? What do we want to accomplish? And then doing the right thing in terms of where we allocate our resources or our priorities, right?

And are we involving the community in kind of hearing their opinions and how they weigh in? I never think that the commission should be sort of closed ears, and they just make personal decisions. It really should be, you know, what does the community want? And what do the residents want? And what makes sense for the Key short term, but also long term?

Jaleski: I would hope to help the commission make informed decisions about whatever they do. I have no agenda other than making optimal choices for the town.

I would like to address the way the town goes about funding the beaches and how they go about renourishing the North Shore beaches and up and down the island, I think there are more beneficial ways of doing it that cost less money annually.

I’ve had numerous articles and letters to the commission submitting well-founded, factory-based views of what I’m saying.

I never say anything off the top of my head. I always accompany it with research and industry facts. That’s missing right now.

Right now, we just listen to a bunch of people coming in we call experts. And, we don’t know whether they’re right or wrong, at least no one on the commission knows whether they’re right or wrong. They just simply accept what they’re told whether it be an optimal solution or not.

There’s always a profit motive based on all this stuff. These people they bring in have money to be made.

Carman: I would have a little bit of a learning curve. I’d need to see what exactly has been worked on so far.

But, I think one of the things I'd like to definitely get involved with is the electrical poles and the lighting here in the [Longbeach] Village neighborhood because everybody doesn't like the lighting, which the current Town Commission wants to have.

[The neighborhood wants] the shorter, more decorative ones, whereas the town wants to put up the higher, less decorative ones.

And since they should be trying to appeal to the customer base, which is the people that pay their taxes here in Longboat Key, I think people want to have the shorter, more decorative ones that should be the ones that the town should install for them.

Every time I look in the paper, there's another article about how they hate their current design. They want to have these shorter, more decorative ones. I would definitely work to promote getting that changed and switched.