Naples City Council candidates discuss affordable housing, ethics and spending at forum

Jan. 30--The four candidates for the Naples City Council differed Monday on the city's approach to affordable housing and on a proposal to establish a local ethics commission governing conduct for public officials.

The candidates did agree to rein in government spending, even if they disagreed on the need for an $8.6 million firehouse.

A good start to addressing future financial obligations, the candidates each said, would be for the council to consider setting aside more money each year to pay for the city's $44 million in unfunded pension fund debt.

Altogether, Monday's forum at City Hall hosted by the League of Women Voters was a noncontentious 90 minutes among candidates Terry Hutchison, Mitch Norgart, Linda Penniman and Gary Price. A crowd of roughly five dozen watched the televised event, moderated by Bonnie Michaels, from the seats of the council chambers.

The Naples election for three council seats is Feb. 6. The candidates run at-large, with the top three vote-getters winning office.

Penniman is running for a second term. Price is seeking a third four-year term after serving on the council from 2005-14. Hutchison, a local 7-Eleven franchise owner, seeks a first term after a failed bid for the council in 2016. Norgart, a longtime Naples real estate broker, is making his first run for the council.

Penniman and Norgart came out strongly in support of affordable housing supported by local government.

Naples leaders for years have turned away such proposals, citing the area's high land values. The council in April rejected a proposal to allow workforce housing to be zoned within the main corridor of the city's redevelopment district.

Norgart said he has discussed the issue with Stephen Hruby, chairman of Collier County's affordable housing advisory committee.

"The city can work somewhat closely with the county and ask large landowners to contribute their land so developers can build affordable housing that actually makes sense," Norgart said.

Penniman has floated the idea of using city-owned land for an affordable housing project.

"I'm looking at city property that is available," she said.

Price and Hutchison expressed a concern about using taxpayer money to pay for affordable housing.

Hutchison voiced support for a local group's effort to establish a Naples ethics commission to investigate and handle complaints against local officials. The group is eyeing the issue for referendum on the August ballot.

"Your elected officials are going to be tempted in a lot of different ways," Hutchison said. "There is corruption in government. We need strong ethics policies."

Penniman also has backed the effort from the Naples Ethics political action committee. She filed a complaint against one of her colleagues, Councilman Sam Saad, with the Florida Commission on Ethics last year alleging Saad had a conflict of interest with his vote on a controversial development project. The complaint was dismissed two weeks ago.

Norgart said he wouldn't support the local ethics commission if it required taxpayer funding.

During the forum's lightning round of yes-or-no questions, Norgart was the only candidate who said he supported city licensing of medical marijuana dispensaries. He was also the only candidate who said he would support licenses for the sale of beer and wine at Cambier Park.

Price, who was chairman of the Naples pension board from 2008-16, said if he were elected he would urge the council to make annual $500,000 payments on the city's $44 million pension fund debt.

"Pension liabilities will ruin cities in Florida in the next 20 years," Price said. "We're not going to be one of them."

Asked about the costs of a new fire station behind City Hall, for which bids came in $3 million over budget, the candidates agreed that residents shouldn't face tax increases to help pay for the project.

Penniman suggested funding part of the fire station by removing funds from another controversial project -- Baker Park.

"Baker Park is not necessary to our parks system," she said. "Our level of service in our parks system is quite high. Let the future users of the park pay for it."

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