A.G. Gancarski
By an 18-0 vote, the Jacksonville City Council authorized a resolution urging Housing and Urban Development to defund Eureka Gardens.
It seemed clean enough at the time. Bill Sponsor Warren Jones noted that the legislation was being studied in Shelby County, Tennessee, where the same owner had eight properties. Denise Lee added that she wanted to extend the legislation to Roosevelt Park and other apartment complexes. So far, so good.
Then public comment hit. Two representatives from the Eureka Gardens tenant association said that conditions over there had improved and that they needed help from the city. Councilman Jones went into a side room to discuss their issues.
Then another gentleman came up to speak, and spoke out against Councilwoman Lee for her use of the phrase “human blight.”
Lee sat silent during his three minute speech. Then she spoke up with a point of order.
“Speakers, when they come up, are not to attack council members,” Lee said.
Thereafter, another person came up regarding Eureka Gardens, saying that the proposed fence would not be a solution to the crime issue.
Reggie Gaffney asked for a suggestion from her, the Community Development Coordinator for Eureka Gardens. She said that education would drive changes.
“Some are in this situation because they don’t know; some are afraid to move forward.”
Most of the things that she has been implementing, she added, are from her own initiative. Support comes from the churches, non-profits, and other groups.
Then, a representative from the management company talked.
“I’ve been doing this for 39 years with affordable housing. It is a passion of mine. We manage for the owner.”
GMF, the ownership group, bought it in 2012. The representative mentioned that crime has gone down almost 30% since 2012, and that the owner had, in fact, put in place a security plan. He increased police, added cameras and lighting, and provided other security features. The staff are members of ShAdCo, and they are part of a crime-free program sponsored by HUD. And they do not permit criminals to maintain residence, she said.
“I’m proud to represent the community, and I’m sad that we’re not being portrayed in a better light.”
Could the resolution be rescinded? As we saw with Charlotte’s Web, stranger things have happened.
