Aug 25, 2022
Jacksonville's Citizen Planning Advisory Committees (CPACs) promote communication between city government and the residents it serves. CPACs are informed of applications for land-use plan amendments, rezoning's and activities associated with police and schools within their planning district.
Here are some of the topics discussed in the July CPAC meeting. To see the complete meeting summary click the link at the bottom of the page.
Elected Officials Report:
The Honorable Danny Becton, City Council District 11 – provided the following updates:
• A Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will be held to commemorate the opening of Fire Station 74, 11010 Meeting Street, 32256, (in the e-Town area) on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 10:00 am.
• Mayor Curry presented the 2022/2023 budget to City Council.
• FDOT stated that they will resurface Southside Boulevard in the near future.
The Honorable Michael Boylan, City Council District 6 – provided the following updates:
• The 2022/2023 City Council President is Terrance Freeman and City Council Vice President is Ron Salem.
• Council Member Boylan has been assigned to serve as the Chair of the Rules Committee and will serve on the Neighborhoods Committee for the 2022/2023 year.
• When Mayor Curry presented the 2022/2023 budget last Thursday, a modest reduction of one-eighth of a mill to the current property tax rate was announced.
• City Council will hold budget meetings two days a week throughout the month of August. • Council Member Nick Howland will lead the City Council Subcommittee on homelessness. • Council Member Sam Newby will lead a subcommittee to address healthcare access • Council Member
• Ju’Coby Pittman will lead a subcommittee to address affordable housing.
Staff Reports:
JEA – Shay Hill, introduced himself to the CPAC. Mr. Hill encouraged everyone to call 665-6000 to update their contact information so JEA can communicate with each customer about power restoration efforts after a hurricane or major storm. Mr. Hill informed the CPAC about a nationwide supply chain shortage for electrical transformers and electrical wire (power lines). Electric companies across the United States are faced with this problem. If Jacksonville receives a major storm, the supply chain shortage could create challenges in restoring our power. In preparation of hurricane season and as a temporary fix, JEA is having transformers rebuilt for future use or until new transformers can be purchased. Additionally, JEA is working on inter-governmental agreements to share electrical components if needed. A national committee was formed to address this challenge. JEA’s CEO is serving as Chair on this national committee.
Eric Soriano, SE Regional Manager, provided the following updates:
• The 2022 Summer Learning Program will end in a couple of days. Overall, the program was well attended, and everyone enjoyed the activities, events, and challenges.
• Drop-in Tech Tutoring is offered every Wednesday from 11:00am - 12:00pm at the Mandarin Branch Library. This weekly event offers 1-on-1 tech tutoring where you can learn how to stream and download eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video using digital media services such as Libby, Hoopla, Kanopy, and LinkedIn Learning. Please bring your library card and device.
• In August, JPL will offer Back to School Boot Camp at various library branches. The program offers two weeks of back-to-school activities. The programs will offer story time, crafts, and the programs are geared for ages 5-12.
Eric Soriano – esoriano@coj.net Municipal Code Compliance Division –In the past 30 days, 807 inspections were completed in the Southeast District. A systematic inspection was conducted in the Englewood community. This systematic inspection generated 280 new cases. The Jacksonville Assistance and Relief or JAR program was reviewed. The purpose of the Jacksonville Assistance and Relief Program is to facilitate a means of compliance to those who would otherwise be unable to achieve it due to disability or economic disadvantages. The program’s objective is to provide the abatement services required at no cost to those citizens who qualify, thereby achieving compliance and beautification of the city while not unduly burdening its most vulnerable citizens. If you cannot comply with the violations on your property due to a disability or economic hardship, please feel free to visit: https://www.coj.net/departments/neighborhoods/municipal-codecompliance/jacksonville-assistance-and-relief-program Devron Cody – 904-255-7033 or DCody@coj.net
Robin Smith provided the following updates:
• Fire Station 74 has been completed.
• Construction for new baseball fields is underway at Fort Family Regional Park. Also at this park, the grass on the soccer fields will be replaced with artificial grass.
• The Gate Parkway Traffic Calming Project is underway. The speed limit has been reduced. Some of the cross walks will be converted to raised crosswalk to provide a safer crossing spot and to act as a speed hump.
• Hartley Road will be widened. The RFP’s have been submitted and a consultant will be selected soon.
• Sidewalks will be added on Loretto Road between Mandarin Road and County Dock Road.
• The intersection of Loretto Road and Mandarin Road will receive an intersection improvement to correct the misaligned intersection.
• The City of Jacksonville purchased some land so an intersection project can be conducted to correct the misaligned intersection at Brady Road and Orange Picker Road.
• The portion of Racetrack Road that is in Duval County will be widen at the same time as the upcoming St. John’s County Racetrack Road construction project. Robin Smith – RobinSmith@COJ.net Subcommittee/Liaison Reports (3-minute time limit):
Park Safety Council – Walter Bryant informed the CPAC that the Park Safety Committee met and reviewed four months of park safety reports. In the past four months, the Parks Safety Inspector visited 200 parks and 67 of those parks were in the Southeast District. There were 39 parks in the Southeast District with no issues, but 25 parks had some maintenance issues. The five parks in the Southeast District with the lowest scores were Southside Park, Henry T. Jones Park, Fletcher Morgan Park, Greenland Park, and Drew Park. It was noted that the safety issues were corrected at three of the parks.
Visitor John Nooney expressed his concern regarding land that was cleared cut from the 3000 block of Parental Home Road to Pottsburg Creek. Mr. Nooney has reached out to several local, state, and federal agencies to express his concern about the land that was cleared as well as the health of Pottsburg Creek.
