Fort Myers Beach advisory committees have vacancies

Fort Myers Beach advisory committees have vacancies Nov 13, 2026 2 min read The Town of Fort Myers Beach has five advisory committees to the Town Council with vacancies. The committees with vacancies are the Anchorage Advisory Committee (one opening), Bay Oaks Recreational Campus Advisory Board (one opening), Cultural & Environmental Learning Center Advisory Board (one opening), Marine and Environmental Resources Task Force (two openings) and the Public Safety Committee (two openings). The advisory committees make recommendations to the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council concerning various issues of interest that are related to their committees. The Marine and Environmental Resources Task Force (MERTF) went through a tumultuous period over the past three years as a new town council was elected in 2022 and in 2023 replaced three environmentalists with more council-friendly members, and four committeemembers resigned. The council and MERTF members had previously been at odds over a number of environmental issues in the town, including opposing viewpoints on a boardwalk that was allowed in the Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area. In 2024, the Town Council appointed Ed Rood to MERTF, who had initiated litigation against the Town of Fort Myers Beach in order to construct the boardwalk. With the appointments of Rood, Leo Sand and Sharon Hegstrom, MERTF member Rose Larkin was replaced. Rood did not seek reappointment to his seat last month and Larkin was reappointed to MERTF by the Town Council, filling one of three vacant seats on the board. Larkin is a longtime member of the Estero Island Garden Club and has been instrumental in gardening projects and native species plantings on the island. There are currently two vacancies on MERTF, following the recent resignation of Vice Chair and longtime MERTF member Jennifer Rusk, who was a longtime observer for the International Osprey Foundation. Ranger Rob Howell, who runs Keep it Wild, a nonprofit dedicated to acquiring and preserving natural lands to protect them from development, resigned his seat in August. To apply for any of the vacant advisory committee seats, send an email with a letter of interest to Town of Fort Myers Beach Clerk Amy Baker at [email protected] with the advisory committee you are applying for in the subject line.