Those are the words of incoming Fort Myers Beach Town Manager Andrew Hyatt. Hyatt’s $197,000 contract was approved by the Fort Myers Town Council Monday. His first day on the job will be May 1st.
The council did make one modification to the contract. As we reported last week, the original deal was for one year. That has been changed to two years. 90 days prior to the expiration of the contract, the Town Council can extend Hyatt’s deal for two additional one year periods.
Hyatt told the Town Council that the challenge ahead of him is daunting. He’ll be the Town Manager in charge of rebuilding Fort Myers Beach. He added that “a lot of the heavy lifting has already been done.
Hyatt will live on Fort Myers Beach. He said, “it’s important to be part of the fabric of the community.”
Interim Town Manager Keith Wilkins will stay on until at least May 15th to assure there’s a smooth transition. At the meeting Monday, Wilkins said he is very proud to have found Hyatt.
Hyatt’s job will be reviewed at a public meeting of the Town Council every April.
Fort Myers Beach taxpayers will also cover the expenses for a cell phone for Hyatt, benefits and allowances as provided to all town employees during his deal, 100% of the total premium cost for health, dental and vision insurance and 50% of family and spouse.
The Town will also reimburse Hyatt for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of his duties upon submission of receipts, invoices, or other documentation with the yearly amount not to exceed $4,500.
Hyatt is from Ponte Vedra Beach. He was most recently the Town Manager for the town of Surfside, Florida where he had to deal with the largest building collapse in the history of the state. 98 people died in that tragedy back in June of 2021. He was forced out of his position following an election of a new Mayor.
Prior to Surfside, Hyatt was the Texas State Director for K9s For Warriors in San Antonio. He’s also been the City Manager in Neptune Beach, Florida, the City Manager in East Ridge, Tennessee, the City Manager for Fairview, Tennessee, the City Manager for Etowah, Tennessee, the Community Development Manager for Deerfield Beach, Florida and Senior Administrator for the City of Jacksonville.
You can watch an interview we did with Hyatt HERE.
Watch our interview with Keith Wilkins on Saturday, April 5th HERE.
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