(By Ed Ryan) On Monday, the community will get a chance to mingle with the four finalists the Town Council will consider to lead Fort Myers Beach into the future, including the massive task of rebuilding the community.
After a one-hour meet-and-greet, open to the public, the council will conduct interviews with the final four then rank them before entering into contract negotiations with the top candidate. The council could also decide that these four are not qualified to run Fort Myers Beach and continue their search. Here are the final four candidates…
Andrew Hyatt from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. (RESUME)
Hyatt was most recently the Town Manager for the town of Surfside, Florida. Prior to that he 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, Florida. In December of 2022, NBC6 reported that Hyatt was forced to resign from his position in Surfside by the Mayor. The Island Times did a lengthy interview with Hyatt which you can watch HERE.
Seth Lawless of Monticello, Florida (RESUME)
Lawless is currently the City Manager for Monticello Florida in Jefferson County. Monticello is the only city in Jefferson County with a population of under 3,000 people. The city is located about 32 miles east of Tallahassee. Lawless has been in his position since October of 2021. He’s also been the City Manager in Islamorada, Florida, a position he held for four years before resigning for health reasons. Before Islamorada, Lawless was the Town Manager for six years for a suburb of Raleigh called Knightdale.
Jeff Shoobridge (RESUME)
Shoobridge is now the Town Administrator of Redington Shores, Florida, which is in Pinellas County. The county is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Area. The population of Reddington Shores is about 2,200. Shoobridge has held the position in Redington Shores since March of 2022. Before that he was the city administrator of Madison Lake, Minnesota (population 1,000) for two years. Shoobridge does have ties to the area. He attended Cape Coral High School. A story came out about Shoobridge’s relationship with the Redington government Wednesday. You can read that story HERE.
Jeff Wilkins from Pickerington, OH (RESUME)
From 2017 to 2022 Wilkins was the Director of Administration and Treasurer for the Solid Waste Authority of Central, Ohio. For 15 years Wilkins was the County Administrator for Kendall County, Illinois from 2002 to 2017. WSPY.com reported that Wilkins resigned abruptly in May of 2017. There were no additional details available other than it appeared both sides were ready to move on. Before Kendall County, Wilkins was the City Manager for the City of Buchanan, Michigan from 1998 to 2002 and the Assistant Town Manager for the Town of Fishers, Indian.
There were originally 5 finalists for the job. The fifth notified the town that he took another job.
This is a sad list of “sort of qualified” people who have no disaster recovery experience and all seem to have secrets from the past. Hire a head hunter and keep Keith on till a real person is found.
This council needs to resign and the town of Fort Myers Beach needs to unincorporate
Why isnt the a candidate that lives in the beach and has gone thru this experience with us on FMB..?
None of these applicants are remotely qualified to manage our town. Please keep Wilkins on until which time a suitable candidate comes forward..
Wilkins is the most incompetent town manager candidate on the list an shouldn’t even be there in the first place. I’ve reached out to this liar several times and never heard back from him, nor did he ever follow up on any of my questions He’s just another lying incompetent, corrupt town manager. I’ve never met an honest one in my life he looks like the worst of all of them and none of them look good to me. But what do you expect we have an incompetent town council and nothing’s ever going to get done right until we get rid of them or unincorporate.
I do not believe any of these candidates are a good fit for FMB. I think more candidates need to be vetted. We do not need to hire just to fill a slot. We need to find a quality candidate, if this takes more time the council should take more time. We cannot afford to make another mistake like Rodger.
I vote no on all 4. Remember what happened the last time. Left under a cloud for good reason and the cloud certainly grew larger when it moved up the coast to FMB. QUALITY OVER SPEED
None of these look very strong for the abilities we need. We need someone familiar with a beach/resort/small town. Experience is not right for Ft Myers Beach
None of the applicants listed look qualified for this specific position. Where is the beef???
That’s the best they could do?? Ed Ryan would be a better candidate!!
The 4 resumes aren’t strong enough. Do not settle.
You haven’t found your person yet. Keep looking.
It’s crazy how often people change jobs now a days. Doesn’t look like any of them have been anywhere for more than few years at best. Kind of concerning.
I agree.
Links aren’t working?
Looks like a set up for a friend!
Wait, you mean Roger didn’t reapply??? 🤣🤣🤣