Some residents of a southwest Florida city that was destroyed by Hurricane Ian wants the city’s local government shut down and the county to take control.
NBC affiliate WBBH-TV reports the residents of Fort Myers Beach want Lee County to take control of the island due to what they say is mismanagement in recovery efforts and concerns about the town’s ability to financially support rebuilding efforts.
“I just think that it’s time to go back to the county,” said Tracey Gore, a former Fort Myers Beach Mayor. “Not being able to go to our properties, keeping our contractors off. The way it’s being managed, I don’t know how much money the town has left to pay for all this cleanup.”
The seven-mile island was officially incorporated as a city in 1995 and was run by the county before that.
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Hurricane Ian Aftermath
“Lee County has got to step in and take this town under their wing,” said Linda Beasley, who is the former Chairwoman of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce. “When I finally got back on the beach my house, mold, mold. I feel the county would do a better job with this.”
Fort Myers Beach city officials said a big financial burden was just taken away when Lee County agreed to pay for the removal of all storm-related debris.
“That’s very helpful for us and that helps with securing us forward financially,” Councilman Bill Veach said.
Veach added the city’s current Town Manager, Roger Hernstadt, is fully competent to handle the recovery.
“I think the best chance for the town to go belly up is if the town council changes the town manager mid-stream,” Veach said. “Because our town manager, our current town manager, he’s been through like 11 hurricanes. He knows how this game works.”
