{"id":37738,"date":"2025-11-07T19:40:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T19:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/37738\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T19:40:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T19:40:07","slug":"fort-myers-beach-communications-director-to-leave-town-planner-departs-fort-myers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/37738\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Myers Beach communications director to leave, town planner departs – FORT MYERS"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
\n
\n \/Fort Myers Beach News
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n


\n \"article <\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Town of Fort Myers Beach Communications Director will be departing the town Nov. 14. File photo<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

The Town of Fort Myers Beach is losing Communications Director Nicole Berzin, who is relocating and taking a new position for a municipality in Wisconsin. Berzin\u2019s last day with the Town of Fort Myers Beach will be Nov. 14. The town also disclosed this week that former town planner Judith Frankel left town government in September.<\/p>\n

Berzin, who previously worked in the town\u2019s parks and recreation department, said her family was relocating to Wisconsin. <\/p>\n

Before being promoted to be the town\u2019s public information officer, Berzin served for more than three years in the town\u2019s parks and recreation department, including time as the recreation campus manager and supervisor. She worked for the town for five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been an incredible experience to start my career here with the Town,\u201d Berzin said, \u201cI\u2019m truly grateful for the opportunity to learn, grow, and serve such a resilient and caring community. Fort Myers Beach will always hold a special place in my heart, and I\u2019m thankful to have been part of its ongoing recovery and progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berzin said she particularly enjoyed working at the parks and recreation department.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking in Parks and Recreation was one of the most fun and rewarding jobs I\u2019ve had\u2013I loved working with the families and kids on the island, and it really gave me the foundation that helped shape my path as a Public Information Officer and Communications Director,\u201d Berzin said.<\/p>\n

Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay thanked Berzin for her service to the town. \u201cNicole Berzin provided dedicated member to our team for several years, serving in various roles including Recreation Campus Manager and now as our Public Information Officer,\u201d McKannay said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer leadership, adaptability, and commitment to transparent communication have been instrumental during a time of significant transition and recovery for Fort Myers Beach. Nicole played a key role in several important outreach efforts, ensuring residents were informed and engaged. Her service reflects the resilience and professionalism we value in our staff,\u201d McKannay said.<\/p>\n

Town planner exited in September<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

McKannay also credited Frankel for her service to the town, which he sided with benefited Fort Myers Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cJudith Frankel served with professionalism as the town\u2019s Principal Planner,\u201d McKannay said. \u201cShe brought a wealth of experience in urban planning, zoning, and historic preservation in Miami-Dade County, the City of Philadelphia, and the Town of Surfside. Judith made a strong impact by helping guide redevelopment efforts and supporting our planning staff through a period of high demand. Her expertise and collaborative approach were essential to helping shape the future of Fort Myers Beach in meaningful ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frankel had made numerous recommendations for the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council to consider during its review of some major development projects. The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council didn\u2019t adopt many of the recommendations Frankel and staff had suggested.<\/p>\n

Frankel had helped lead a planning staff that recommended denial of the Arches Bayfront hotel project at Moss Marina over what she found to be its intrusion into the residential neighborhood, while also finding that more parking was needed by town code than what was approved. Frankel had also recommended more parking for the Lighthouse Resort expansion, which received a variance from the Town Council.<\/p>\n

Frankel and town planning staff had more recently recommended denial of the outdoor entertainment and outdoor dining variance at the Beach Theater project for its potential impacts on the nearby residential neighborhood. The Town Council approved the variance anyway.<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \/Fort Myers Beach News …\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-37738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}