A.G. Gancarski
On Wednesday morning, Jacksonville Councilmembers Lori Boyer and Tommy Hazouri, along with Council President Greg Anderson and the city’s Chief Administrative Officer, Sam Mousa, convened to discuss the future of Jacksonville Transportation Authority road projects that are behind schedule for completion.
Among them, intersection improvements at Old St. Augustine and Greenland Road, stretches of Kernan and Girvin Roads, Blanding Boulevard intersections, stretches of Collins and San Pablo Roads, and others.
Fourteen projects in total were on the list.
The problem, according to Boyer, has been some time in the making.
The city’s mobility plan, instituted recently, was preceded by a fair share/concurrency system.
That meant developers paid for roads as needed, and it was on a first-come, first-serve basis, which allowed early developers to get out of paying, while the later ones got stuck footing bills for construction projects.
That nettled the latecomers.
The current mobility system ensures everyone pays.
The problem that Jacksonville faces: All Better Jacksonville Plan road projects are part of the baseline in the mobility plan, and they are assumed to have been constructed via the local option gas tax.
The ones on the behind-schedule list have not, and they are slated for completion no later than September 2016.
Boyer contended that, though the list can be amended, it has to be addressed or completed.
An existing conditions study, to satisfy the evolving timeline, needs to be wrapped by January 2016.
In response to this, Mousa wondered, “Why is it not OK to assume these projects will get done?”
Boyer pointed out that JTA has “letters and statements” on record that say they “may not have enough cash.”
Since the projects are on JTA’s books, this is an issue for planning.
Representing JTA, Brad Thoburn pointed out that “cost pressures” and “issues with estimates” have manifested.
A number of projects have yet to even be designed, also; a pressure there is that conditions may have changed in areas since the original proposals.
“The bigger picture,” Boyer said, is “communication and mutual understanding” between the city and JTA, to “facilitate capacity to keep projects moving forward” to allow growth and expansion of the tax base.
Thoburn commented that the relationship with the executive branch has improved since Mousa came back to city government, with administration and public works members showing up at more meetings.
For Mousa, the goal is simple.
“If these were my roads,” the CAO said, “they’d be built.”
Financing is an issue for JTA, which wants to build the roads without compromising operations.
The implication was that more creative financing might be required from JTA. Mousa described Boyer’s position as one of “wanting the projects done no matter where you get the money from.”
Boyer, for her part, wants to be sure that JTA and the COJ are “not siloed” on these projects, and are working together to ensure completion of these long-promised, and delayed, projects happens.
