ANNA MARIA – Anna Maria’s new city planner is Robin Mayer.
The city commission unanimously approved the hiring recommendation made by Mayor Dan Murphy at the Feb. 23 meeting. Murphy told the commission he interviewed five candidates and Mayer emerged as his top choice.
Mayer will replace former planner Bruce McLaughlin, who recently resigned on short notice; and Murphy told the commission Mayer would provide the city with more of his time than McLaughlin did.
Mayer’s contract calls for him to work a minimum of 36 hours a week, which at $50 an hour equates to a weekly salary of $1,800. He will be paid $50 an hour for any additional time worked and he will not be compensated for travel time or travel expenses.
“I love the Island and the way the commissioners want to protect it; and I’m ready to help them do that.”
Robin Mayer, city planner
After the commission authorized the mayor to execute the contract, Mayer said, “Thank you, I look forward to working with you all.”
Standing outside of city hall afterwards, Mayer discussed his path to Anna Maria.
“I have 40 years of experience. My first 28 were with the city of Tacoma, in Washington. I retired from there, came to Florida to work for Collier County, then worked in the private sector for a little over two years. I went over to St. Lucie County as the director of growth management and after the implosion of the economy they reorganized and kept me on as the head of their building and code division. Then I went to Longboat Key and I was there for a little over a year as director of planning and zoning and building. I retired there and then realized I wasn’t ready to retire,” the 66-year-old Mayer said.
Mayer lives in east Manatee County and he’s been coming to the Island for the past four years.
“I love the Island and the way the commissioners want to protect it; and I’m ready to help them do that,” he said.
When discussing his skills and experience, Mayer said, “Every day you come into the office you learn something new, and after 40 years I’ve learned a lot: how to work with people, how to make things run more efficiently and how to make the whole process work better.”
