The City of Marathon hired Carlos Garcia as public information officer (PIO) in June to design and implement a broader communications strategy.
Garcia distributes information across various platforms and helps city leaders respond to questions from the community.
There are several traditional ways in which residents can get information from the city, such as:
- Public records request: Residents can contact the city’s clerk, Diane Clavier, to request information about anything including city contracts, meeting minutes, ordinances, emails, policies and processes. Requests can be made directly at the city’s website, ci.marathon.fl.us, or by sending an email to the clerk at cityclerk@ci.marathon.fl.us.
- Email all council members by using the address council@ci.marathon.fl.us.
- Email or call council members or the city manager individually:
- Lynn Landry: landryl@ci.marathon.fl.us – 305 304-3133.
- Robyn Still: stillr@ci.marathon.fl.us – 305 923-0006.
- Jody Del Gaizo: delgazioj@ci.marathon.fl.us – 786 649-5029.
- Jeff Smith: smithj@ci.marathon.fl.us – 305 304-8359.
- Kenny Matlock: matlockk@ci.marathon.fl.us – 305 393-5914.
- George Garrett (City Manager): garrettg@ci.marathon.fl.us.
- Directly email or call Garcia at pio@ci.marathon.fl.us or 305-848-4731.
- Council meetings: Regular meetings are held once a month in the council chambers at 5:30 p.m. and anyone can voice concerns. Meetings are typically held the second Tuesday of each month. Residents can also participate by watching the meetings online. Scan the QR code to see a calendar of upcoming meetings.
- QR LINK: https://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/calendar
- Workshop meetings: Workshop meetings are held once a month in the council chamber at 5:30 p.m. Residents can also participate by watching the meetings online. Workshops are typically scheduled for the fourth Tuesday of each month.
New, expanded communications
Garcia has expanded existing channels and implemented new communication channels via social media. All accounts are active and information is shared several times a week. Information is posted on Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo, NextDoor and TikTok under the handle @cityofmarathonofficial. A newsletter is distributed at the start of each month, and all city press releases can be found on the website. Marathon Fire Rescue will have a separate Facebook account @marathonfirerescueofficial.
- Building permits dedicated support: The city now has a dedicated front-desk person to help with any questions permits, track permit progress and help to solve issues. There is also a direct line for permit questions at 305-289-5052.
- All building permits can be viewed at https://marathonfl.portal.opengov.com/.
Garcia has also implemented a new social media policy, which can be found on the website. The city views social media as a method to inform the community, but not to discuss topics, so commenting features are turned off. For questions about content posted on social media channels, contact Garcia directly.
