Town re-focuses after attorney resigns
The Fort Myers Beach Town Council has begun looking at restructuring their legal services after receiving a resignation letter from Town Attorney Anne Dalton last week. Dalton will continue counseling the Town in transition issues over a necessary reasonable time period, according to the letter she sent to council members.
“I’m concluding my services and giving the council as much time as they need to replace me,” Dalton said about her open-ended resignation. “I just really felt committed to the public sector. I want to head in another direction.”
The day after her announced resignation, Dalton was back in council chambers offering legal advice while participating in a council work session regarding the council policies and procedures manual, mandatory recycling and alcohol restrictions. She also was in her familiar seat Monday during Council’s regular meeting at 6:30 p.m.
“We first have to understand what our options are before we move on,” said Mayor Larry Kiker. “We have to decide if we want an in-house attorney, a firm or another contracted individual like we had with Anne. We need to find out which one will we think will work best for the Town’s best interests.”
Councilman Alan Mandel volunteered to be a liaison for an attorney search Monday. He will gather preliminary ideas to compile options for attorney availability during this change in economy.
“I don’t think I’ve met an attorney as ethical as Miss Dalton,” said Councilman Tom Babcock, echoing several kind words from each town board official during Council Members Items and Reports.
Dalton, who celebrated her five-year tenure with the Town on Sunday, April 4, said she wanted to re-focus her practice in downtown Fort Myers. She has lived and worked in the city since receiving her Florida Bar license in 1990. She opened up her current law firm -The Law Firm of Anne Dalton, Esquire- in 1994. She is also licensed in New York and Pennsylvania.
“I’m going to be doing affordable estate planning for lower-income people,” she said of her future plans.
Dalton has served as outside council for the Lee County Tax Collector’s Office, interim council to the Lee County School and served as a trainer for the Florida Institute of Government. She is also a graduate of the Civilian Police Academy with the Fort Myers Police Department, served on the Lee County charter review committee, was president of the Downtown Business Owners’ Association and chairwoman of the Lee County Human Services Funding Advisory Board. In 2005, she was selected to the “Paulette Burton Citizen of the Year Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Total Lee County Community.”
Dalton began her legal counsel with the Town in the interim basis when her long-time predecessor, Richard Roosa, was dismissed after 10 years. She was named to the permanent position one month later and received a contract which paid her $125 an hour.
During her tenure, she served six councils and worked with eight managers including Marsha Segal-George, John Gucciardo, Rachel Lambert, David Sallee, Gary Parker, Sallee again, Scott Janke, Jack Green and, currently, Terry Stewart.
Her personal accomplishments with the Town include co-creating a set of standard Town contracts which she calls the “lifeblood of any government or business;” providing legal support to Town Council’s “boots on the ground” policy directives; working closely with every Town Manager and staff member to get the work done quickly and efficiently; standardizing code enforcement case preparation; and working with the advisory committees on sunshine, public records, ethics and legal issues.
“Working with the Town of Fort Myers Beach has provided a wide variety of irreplaceable memories,” Dalton said in the letter. “I have especially enjoyed working with the Local Planning Agency and the other advisory committees, whose dedication to the Town are unparalleled in my experience.”
Kiker has worked with Dalton either as a member of the LPA or Council for close to five years.
“It’s been a personal pleasure to work with Anne,” he said. “My experience with her is whatever she plans on doing, which I believe is to work with less fortunate people, they are going to be well served as well as the Town was.”
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During Monday’s meeting, the FMB Town Council unanimously approved three ordinances during three separate public hearings.
The first (Ordinance 10-02) amended the Small Scale Comp Plan which changed properties at 821 and 831 Estero Blvd. from mixed residence to pedestrian commercial zoning. The private properties across from Lynn Hall Park may be used for extra parking when the the county park lot is full.
The second (Ordinance 10-06) was the first of two hearings which amended certain chapters (6-11, 34-1744 and 34-1745) regarding change in refuse container and fence height/location. This ordinance is expected to further beautify the Beach by requiring lids on garbage cans when placed on the streets for trash pickup and having fences tall enough to shield dumpsters from view.
“Our committee believes that keeping our island clean and attractive for residents and visitors seems only common sense for any government presiding over a tourist-based economy,” said Lee Melsek, chairman of the ad-hoc chairman which recommended the amendments.
The second hearing is slated at 9 a.m on May 3.
The third (Ordinance 10-07) amended the Town Comprehensive Plan to incorporate the current Capital Improvement Plan for required usage.
The FMB Town Council will meet next Monday, May 3, at 9 a.m.