Fort Myers Beach Manager relieves two senior administrators under investigation
Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay has relieved Community Services Director Jeff Hauge (left) and Community Development Director Frank Kropacek (right) of their duties, according to a short statement issued by the town.
The two senior administrators had been on administrative leave since August as part of an investigation into procurement practices involving four grants related to FEMA, sand renourishment projects and Bay Oaks Recreational Campus. The investigation involved contract practices and missed reporting timeliness requirements. The town recently contracted with a firm to do a more in-depth investigation.
The announcement of the update in the status of Hauge and Kropacek’s tenure with the town, arrived in a short social media post by the Town of Fort Myers Beach.
Messages seeking further information from McKannay and Public Information Officer Abigail Eberhart, were not returned.
Hauge had been working for the town since before Hurricane Ian, first overseeing Bay Oaks Recreational Campus. He was promoted in 2023 after Hurricane Ian to Director of culture, parks and creation for the Town of Fort Myers Beach after the resignation of former director Alison Geisen. He continued to oversee Bay Oaks and the Mound House, while later being promoted further to Community Services Director.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers (left) sits and watches a meeting of the Lee County Delegation of state legislators in 2023 with (former) Fort Myers Beach Operations Director Frank Kropacek (second from left) and the town’s legislative liaison and deputy clerk Jason Freeman. The meeting included discussion on the proposed state bill to merge the Fort Myers Beach Mosquito Control District into the Lee County Mosquito Control District and merging the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District with the Iona-McGregor Fire District. Members of the Fort Myers Beach Mosquito Control District and Fort Myers Beach Board of Fire Commissioners spoke in opposition to the bill. File photo
Kropacek was hired by the town in the months after Hurricane Ian, after previously working for Lee County. He started out as procurement manager and was later promoted to Community Development Director.
This story will be updated.
Former Town of Fort Myers Beach Director of Operations Frank Kropacek (left) with former Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Andy Hyatt (right) in 2023. Fort Myers Beach Observer file photo
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at Nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com