Past staffers: History of unprofessional conduct on CEPD’s board
Allegations denied
The allegations: Inappropriate comments made about their physical appearance. Directed to do non-job-related tasks like personal assistants. Screamed at and berated in public and private settings.
Eight former Captiva Erosion Prevention District (CEPD) staffers — whose combined, overlapping employment goes back nearly a decade — spoke about what they say they experienced and what they observed their coworkers experience working with the board’s commissioners, both present and past members.
The commissioners referenced in this article have denied the allegations or declined to comment.
When the CEPD’s most recent general manager resigned in June, his exit letter to the board alleged “unprofessional, disrespectful, and counterproductive conduct” by two commissioners. Employed for just over a year, he cited “toxicity and dysfunction” in the organization as a result of their behavior, adding that the same pattern has contributed to the departure of other staff, from what he understands.
Soon after, the Island Reporter published a letter to the editor from another former CEPD employee. First joining the district in 2019 as a consultant, his most recent employment tenure was from 2022-25 and he departed as deputy director. He agreed with the concerns raised in the exit letter, pointing out that the “continued turnover” of qualified staff in the past several years is alarming and “is not normal.”
In response to the recent allegations, the commission drafted and adopted a new Board-Staff Relations and Commissioner Conduct Policy at its July meeting, which included guidelines on permitted and expected conduct by the board, prohibited conduct and routine contact with employees. Its purpose was “to establish clear standards governing the relationship” between commissioners and staff members.
However, in sharing what they experienced and observed while serving the district, several former employees said similar standards or policies existed during their time — to no avail.
WHAT FORMER STAFFERS SAY THEY EXPERIENCED
Writer of the recent exit letter, Brighton Heard was hired as the general manager in May 2025. In his resignation letter, he raised the allegations against Commissioners John Wade and Rene Miville.
Heard recalled one instance when he was at work and received a call from Miville. He said he was directed to stop what he was doing and go to the residence of Miville’s relative to fix her home internet issues.
Also, staff alleged that they were lashed out at when they reminded about the Florida Sunshine Law.
“John Wade, literally, bellowed at Lisa (Batchelor) and I both — he doesn’t give a f– about the Sunshine Law and he’ll speak to whoever he wants to whenever he wants to,” Heard said, adding that Miville held a similar stance. “The two of them, literally, have no regard for the Sunshine Law.”
He also alleged that commissioners requested CEPD contractors to work on their private property.
“Asking contractors to do things outside of their scope was really a problem,” Heard said. “When the commissioners use their position as leverage with subcontractors of the district to help themselves, that’s pretty wildly unprofessional.”
Terminated in October 2024, Daniel Munt was hired in January 2021 as technical director. He was retitled as director of operations in February 2022 and promoted to executive director in August 2022.
“Over the years, I had issues specifically with Rene and John Wade,” Munt said.
He described the fundamental issue as the constant crossing of basic operational boundaries — commissioners inserting themselves into personnel decisions and publicly tearing down staff. They would insinuate staff did not have the knowledge or skills and they were not worth their salaries.
“We saw a relentless pattern of this behavior,” Munt said, calling it a compounding of little things every day. “Just undermining the professionalism of the staff and the things that we were achieving.”
He noted that when Hurricane Ian turned his commute into a four-hour one, his remote work and salary were constantly thrown in his face in public, with the results that staffers were delivering on ignored.
“When board members treat staff like personal assistants, try to force hires and fires, or berate employees from the dais, it paralyzes the entire district and drives talented professionals away,” Munt said.
Writer of the letter to the editor, John Riegert was a consultant and an interim employee before moving up to administrator director from December 2020 to October 2021. He was rehired in October 2022.
Riegert recalled that he was one of a few people allowed on the island after Ian to inspect the beach and coastline. However, he said he was asked to prioritize the inspection of some commissioners’ private property.
“I’ve personally experienced conduct by specific board members that was inconsistent with proper relations with the board, management staff and members of the public,” he said. “Certainly the yelling, certainly the abusive behavior toward staff, even the vendors.”
Riegert cited one time when a commissioner walked onto a private property and got into a dispute with the people working on the property. He also pointed to possible cronyism related to CEPD business.
“Pretty much everything mentioned in that (new) policy I’ve seen happen or has happened to me,” Riegert said, noting that he has witnessed the same from previous commissioners on the board.
“These are consistent patterns of behavior,” he added. “This is not new since I’ve been around.”
Former Administrator Carolyn Weaver was terminated in December 2019. She was given the title permanently in December 2018 after serving in an acting capacity after the then-administrator resigned to accept a job at Collier County. Weaver was hired as the assistant administrator in August 2018.
She called her experience with past Commissioner Mike Mullins “horrendous.”
Michael “Mike” Christopher Mullins is a candidate for a seat on the CEPD’s commission in the November election. He is challenging the incumbent, Commissioner Bob Walter, for Seat 3.
“There was a lot of unprofessional conduct that went on,” Weaver said.
She described Mullins as overbearing and demanding.
“He wanted to talk at all different hours of the day. It didn’t matter if it was office hours or 9 or 10 at night,” Weaver said. “There was no respect for the boundaries of personal life and work life.”
She recalled a coworker had a family medical emergency, so she sat in on a meeting on his behalf.
“He was yelling at me, he was screaming at me,” Weaver said of Mullins. “He was telling me that I had no right to take the meeting — that I didn’t have the knowledge or intelligence to hold the meeting.”
She alleged that there were times commissioners talked to each other about things that they should not have because it was in violation of the Sunshine Law. Weaver added that she wrote to the commission that she was not going to compromise her morals and ethics to do something “not on the up and up.”
The feedback she said she received was that she was not qualified for her job.
“It was a general feeling of disdain,” Weaver said.
Terminated in August 2020, Joe Wagenti served as the administrator, promoted to the position in December 2019 after Weaver was fired. He was hired in March 2019 as deputy administrator.
“Frankly, I didn’t think that anyone would verbally abuse me, but then he did,” Wagenti said of Mullins. “Just constant ridicule, left and right — that was Mullins’ MO (modus operandi).”
He noted that he saw him do the same with Weaver and knew his time at the CEPD was short lived. Wagenti explained that Mullins spoke well of him in the beginning and talked about having a great working relationship with him, then suddenly Mullins just turned on him one day and laid into him.
“I knew I needed to get out of this relationship really bad because it was toxic,” he said.
Wagenti said that Mullins would give him and Weaver non-CEPD tasks to perform, extraneous work that had nothing to do with the district. They would get their directives from the commission at the meeting and Mullins would be at the office the following day with a completely different set of tasks.
“It was a full week of him — and then we’d be scrambling,” he said. “Trying to get done what the district actually wanted us to get done.”
Wagenti spoke about a private meeting when they were going over CEPD business. Mullins started comparing him to an actor with big ears in an old vampire movie, laughing at and mocking him.
“I’m like, ‘What are you driving at?’ I knew what he was driving at. It was a psychological thing to belittle somebody, to make them feel smaller, to make them feel inferior,” he said. “I saw him do that every chance he got.”
Hired for a part-time position as a parking lot attendant, Lindsey Ford was promoted about a month later in October 2021 to legislative administrative aide in the office. She resigned in March 2022.
“He would call in little favors here and there,” she said of Miville. “It was like I was his personal assistant.”
Ford said that he called during non-work hours and on holidays. Miville called the day before Thanksgiving, angry and complaining about the toilets in the parking lot and wanting answers.
She added that he told her at one point there would be a place for her at the CEPD “if she was on the right team and made the right choices,” which she took as reporting to him about her coworkers.
WHAT FORMER STAFFERS SAY THEY OBSERVED
James Elston was hired as the administrative director in October 2021. He resigned in mid-2022.
A former military service member who has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he explained that he was never the target of unprofessional conduct by certain commissioners — but he watched it happen. Elston added that he had been around those personalities in the military, so he knew how to play along.
“You just stroke their ego, tell them what they want to hear. You do that and kind of stay off their radar,” Elston said, noting that while he was not targeted, it was “high school” drama all over.
“I know how to play the game, but it’s an exhausting game to play,” he added. “You see what’s being done to your coworkers and you just get fed up with it.”
Elston ended up taking two weeks off to attend a PTSD program in Boston, Massachusetts.
“In the hopes of getting the tools to just ride it out because it was getting bad,” he said of the work environment. “The pay was good and stuff, so I was just trying to hang on. But it just wasn’t worth my mental health.”
As for what he observed, Elston pointed to Miville and other commissioners verbally attacking former Executive Director Jennifer Nelson. She started in January 2021 and was terminated in June 2022.
“Any decision she would make, they would attack her — they were nitpicking over stuff, overlooking the good that she did,” he said. “It seemed like, no matter what, she was always the focus of negative attacks from them — everyone knew that they were targeting for Jennifer.”
Elston added that the improper behavior extended beyond the staff.
“There’s been times that they offended people in meetings,” he said, citing consultants and vendors. “They would just say stuff and not think about the consequences. They would just insult people.”
Elston noted that when he submitted his resignation letter, Miville called him within an hour.
“He asked if I would be willing to resubmit my resignation letter because what I put in the letter could make the CEPD look bad,” he said. “When he did that, it kind of just reaffirmed my decision.”
Hired in December 2020 as communications manager, Laura Aldana was terminated in mid-2023.
Also not the direct target of improper conduct by any commissioners, she confirmed witnessing the disrespectful treatment of Nelson, such as calling her inefficient and making negative comments about her. Aldana pointed out that while this was taking place, they were offering a lot of praise for Munt.
“But then that flipped on Dan when Jennifer left and he remained. So obviously Jennifer wasn’t the problem and neither was Dan,” she said. “Obviously, there’s some disconnect there.”
Ford also spoke to the treatment of Nelson.
“Rene made the comment that he was sick of Jennifer and she ‘needs to stick to what she’s good at, which is being a rah-rah cheerleader’ — and he did the hand motions with it,” she said.
“Rene was super unprofessional. When he would talk to her, he would belittle her,” Ford added. “He made comments about her pay and she wasn’t worth it. Everything she did, he couldn’t stand.”
She noted that it was the reason behind her resignation.
“He made me super uncomfortable the way he talked about Jennifer. Every time that he talked to me, he complained about Jennifer,” Ford said. “And I loved that job. That was the best job I ever had.”
Wagenti reported that he switched positions with Weaver because of the verbal abuse.
“There were dozens of occasions where Carolyn would get off the phone in tears because of Mullins,” he said.
Weaver explained that she was OK with the change because she did not want to deal with it anymore. However, she also confirmed that the unprofessionalism did not end as Wagenti became the target.
“I listened to him on numerous occasions screaming at Joe on the phone. It would just be one call after another after another,” she said. “Mike would call him at all hours, several days per week. There was absolutely no separation between work and life.”
Weaver also recalled Mullins making inappropriate comments about Wagenti’s physique.
“Asking how he got so ripped and could he train him, that kind of thing,” she said. “I don’t care if he’s a man or a woman, that’s not appropriate — you don’t talk to someone about their looks.”
“The lines were constantly blurred,” Weaver added.
In a prior request for comment, Miville denied the allegations outlined by Heard in his exit letter.
Wade declined to speak on the allegations, writing via email, “NO COMMENT.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the CEPD story on which you are reporting,” Mullins said. “Unfortunately, the information you shared over the phone is too vague and inadequate to provide a meaningful response.”
THOUGHTS OF FORMER STAFFERS ON NEW POLICY
According to the new Board-Staff Relations and Commissioner Conduct Policy adopted by the commission in July, it is intended “to preserve the proper separation between governance and administration.” It was approved 3-2, with the commissioners named in the exit letter voting no.
“I feel like the vote kind of sums up what this policy is going to do,” Elston said.
“The fact that is wasn’t unanimous is crazy in my opinion. Right off the bat you don’t have all the commissioners on board,” he added, noting that changes were put in place in the past when incidents occurred or issues were raised. “They behave themselves for a little bit and then they revert back.”
Riegert called the new policy a “positive addition,” but pointed out that the CEPD adopted similar guidelines and rules in prior years. He explained that it is simply reinforcing what is already in place.
“It shows that the existing requirements weren’t being followed or enforced,” Riegert said.
He added that when employees brought attention to issues, they were forced into quitting or being terminated or they would not tolerate the behavior anymore and resigned on their own accord.
Riegert also noted the split vote on a policy outlining basic standards of professionalism and respect.
“Anyone who votes against that type of policy should reconsider whether they’re qualified to lead,” he said.
Heard reported that the new policy “provides great guidance.”
“Whether the commissioners will all be willing to adhere to it is the bigger question,” he said. “It’s just words without enforcement actions behind it — there needs to be follow-through.”
“I don’t know if it’s going to have any meaning,” Heard added.
Ford described the new policy as “redundant.”
“There were guidelines in place and already repercussions for treating staff badly,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what policy you have in place. It’s not going to do anything.”
“You shouldn’t have to have a policy in place to treat people professionally that work for you,” Ford added.
Joe Wagenti voiced support for the new policy, adding that the intent makes sense.
“The fact they’re going to (have to) sign it means that they’re going to be responsible now,” he said. “Hopefully, everybody is going to be a big boy and have to act like an adult.”
However, Wagenti questioned the self enforcement.
“My main thing about that policy is it’s just not enforceable. I just don’t see how they’re going to enforce it,” he said, explaining that that responsibility lies with the community. “The enforcer is the public. The public has to do something about it.”
Aldana explained that she does not think the new policy “will do anything.”
“I think it’s just a formality for them. I don’t think it’s coming from a genuine place,” she said, pointing out how the unprofessional conduct keeps happening. “It seems kind of like a thing to save face on.”
Aldana noted that the same commissioners cycle on and cycle off the board.
“As long as the same people continue to be there,” she said. “I think that’s probably the biggest problem.”
Aldana also questioned why a policy on respecting people is even necessary.
“You should just respect people,” she said. “It’s the basics of working relationships.”
Aldana suggested that the residents pay attention.
“Especially since so much money is manipulated through that organization with the ad valorem and parking lots funds,” she said. “They (commissioners) have so many resources that they oversee.”
Munt described the new policy as “mostly redundant of previous rules.”
“And the expanded language includes things that shouldn’t even have to be spelled out in writing,” he said. “In reality, it serves as a laundry list of the daily boundary violations each administration lived through.”
However, Munt added that the CEPD has immense potential to do great work for the island.
“But until the board holds its own members accountable and respects the boundary between policy and daily administration, a piece of paper won’t break these destructive cycles,” he said.
Weaver voiced support for the new policy trying to make a difference.
“Unfortunately, it’s the try part because they’ve had those policies in place,” she said. “Without someone holding someone accountable for it with consequences, it’s just paper.”
Weaver questioned the enforcement aspect, too.
“The people who are causing the issues are the people you would report it to,” she said. “So there’s really no one to enforce anyone for being accountable.”
Weaver also spoke of the present and past commissioners not referenced in this article.
“The fact that no one else stepped in or bothered to make any of the other commissioners tow the line — as far as respect, consideration, boundaries — was indeed disheartening,” she said.
“Any member of the board should have accepted responsibility and held each other accountable for the treatment of the staff,” Weaver added. “And they didn’t.”
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