A.G. Gancarski
Ordinance 2015-304, the latest Police and Fire Pension Deal, will be the main event of Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Jacksonville City Council. However, other matters of import await the penultimate meeting of this particular group of council members.
Expect a second reading on Resolution 2015-384, which involves Council urging the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to suspend Section 8 funding for the crime-riddled Eureka Gardens apartment complex, pending “substantial proactive steps to secure [the] Safety of [the] Apartment Complex.” It has proven to be a controversial measure, in part because of the reaction from certain community members when Councilman Bill Gulliford read an online review of the complex aloud at the May 26 council meeting.
There will also be a public hearing on the backyard hen ordinance amendment, 2015-337, which may allow for Jacksonville residents to have backyard hens without facing potential legal trouble. Backyard hens proved to be an issue that got Jacksonville residents clucking a couple of years back. Surprisingly (or not), there have been no adverse hen-related incidents since the pilot program was instituted. This ordinance would phase out the pilot program and make hens a permanent fixture in certain Jacksonville enclaves.
Also on the agenda is 2015-397. Lakeshore Marine Services isn’t turning a profit on its river taxi service, which is an event-driven phenomenon. It would like to expand to new locations and perhaps launch into eco-tourism. Proponents contend that some cities pay the whole freight for river taxis. Undoubtedly there are, but the counter-narrative is that in a city wrestling with how to pay its pension obligations and for its crumbling roads and bridges, that river taxis are a luxury that the city cannot afford.
Lakeshore wants $240,000 over two years to keep its service afloat.
As well, 2015-400 would provide money for the emergency 90 Day Audit that Lenny Curry talked about so much during the mayoral campaign. Ernst and Young would conduct the audit. It got through Finance Committee without real issue, and one should expect the $483,519 authorization to get through.
Perhaps they can conduct the audit on a river taxi.
The council meeting starts at 5 p.m. at Jacksonville City Hall. As is the custom, refreshments will not be served.
