Town announces new team for BORC
Now that the Lee County Board of County Commissioners and the Fort Myers Beach Town Council have both agreed on the Bay Oaks Interlocal agreement, the five new Town employees who are expected to oversee the operation of the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus beginning Oct. 1 can begin their duties. They were introduced to the Bay Oaks Advisory Committee at their monthly meeting Thursday, Sept. 3.
The new hires’ appointments were contingent upon the finalized interlocal agreement between the FMB Town Council and the BOCC. The interlocal was approved by the BOCC Tuesday, Sept. 8, and was given final approval by the Town at the FMB Town Council meeting Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Bay Oaks Transition Coordinator Nicole Olsen presented her new staff to the committee. Ed Frazier, Sean Sipe, Jenny Muench, Ashley Schiavan and Randy Norton took turns at the podium to introduce themselves. The five began acclimating to their jobs after the meeting.
Frazier will be BORC’s new part-time athletic program coordinator. He has been a Beach resident for five years.
“One thing I hope to do is re-energize athletic programs that are going on at Bay Oaks and introduce some new things to get the families more involved,” said Frazier. “We have a great team here, and I think we are all on the same page.”
Sipe was hired part time as the Town’s teen program and special events coordinator.
“I’ve been a gymnastics coach for 25 years, and I’m an Olympian,” said Sipe. “I’m looking forward to bringing the teen program and events to the island.”
Muench will be the Town Pool’s aquatics supervisor. The position is full time.
“I have a freelance background in Recreation and Aquatics,” said Muench. “I’m really looking forward to being part of this whole neat process here and being part of the new team.”
Schiavan will be Bay Oaks youth program coordinator and is the other full-time hire by the Town.
“I have had pretty extensive involvement in the Lee County Recreation program and have been a teacher for the past five years,” said Schiavan. “I’m hoping that the recreation and teacher sides merge very well together. I want to get everybody involved whether it be the seniors or the high school kids helping the younger kids. I see the recreation center not as just a place to play but a place they can come and grow.”
Norton was hired as a part-time recreation aide. He has a background in sports marketing and coaching.
“My background is really in sports promotion,” said Newton. “I am currently the pitching coach at Bishop Verot High School.”
Olsen said the Town has yet to hire someone for the senior programming position as well as several aides. She addressed the Bay Oaks Advisory Committee about BORC’s new employees.
“I hope that all of you are excited about the Town’s hires as I am,” said Olsen. “I think that we had an amazing pool of applicants and we picked the absolute best of the best. These people have a lot of experience, a lot of energy and a lot of ideas.”
The remaining job descriptions may be found on the Town’s Web site at www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov. Go to “Your Government” and click onto “Employment”.
Town budget for BORC
The following is a preliminary breakdown for BORC’s 2009/10 budget:
n Pool Operations $104,550
n Pool Maintenance $59,200
n Pool Utilities $37,100
n Pool Horticultural $2,000
n Bay Oaks Rec Center $513,550
n Total BORC Budget $716,400
“The budget is built on the recreation center being open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays,” said Olsen. “With the group of people that you will see in the next couple of weeks, we are going to make sure that we’re to meet everyone’s needs with that. If there’s any shaving that we can do, that’s fine. But, I’ve been under the impression that those are the traditional hours at the center. We are budgeted to be open six days a week -all day and into the weekend.”