Jacksonville City Council committee meetings rarely resemble an episode of “Survivor.” But the Recreation, Community Development, Public Health, and Safety Committee started three short: Katrina Brown, Sam Newby, and Reggie Brown were not in the house.
Reggie Brown did materialize a few minutes in, however. And then Katrina Brown got in just before 10 a.m.
The highlight: RCDPHS considered the “prohibited outdoor storage” bill that Finance spiked Monday, with Reggie Brown advocating for the ordinance, saying, “We’re failing the taxpayers” by not coming up with legislation that addresses the spirit of the measure, and allowing people to “circumvent” the process by leaving junk vehicles and other detritus out in the open. Brown stressed that “no one cares if people back their vehicle up” in their driveway, saying the measure, with active code enforcement, would fix the problem of yard blight.
“If it was next to most of our homes we’d have a conniption,” Brown said of the vehicles. “Let’s manage the city; let’s not be managed.
Councilman Matt Schellenberg referred to the NICE Committee, which pushed the bill out, as a “quagmire,” and the recommendation was for cleanup. As well, someone in code enforcement was telling people how to avoid a ticket, which is really a nice thing to do, but which is revenue-negative for the city.
Councilman Al Ferraro, meanwhile, spoke of wanting to do it, but “wanting it to be effective.”
Brown, sensing defeat, said, “We’ve been having the same conversation for the past seven years,” and then putting NICE on blast, before saying that, perhaps, the solution is to take 2012 legislation on this subject and actually enforce it.
Then, Brown referenced the employee shortfall in Code Enforcement, and Jacksonville having an “understaffed department” without the “tools” to do their jobs.
“We’re looking at a Human Resource issue. If we’re not serious about it, let’s stop wasting our time,” Brown said.
The issue, as committee member and NICE Chairman Garrett Dennis said, is a “manpower issue,” raising the question: “If we can’t enforce it, why do it?”
Brown appealed to the Office of General Counsel, “expecting them to give us a good law that we can defend.”
The bill, in light of that, was deferred.
Also, the $90 million capital improvement bill for the EverBank Field amphitheater was subbed and re-referred as in Finance, with Councilman Brown raising questions about procedure. The sub is slated to be available in Rules later Tuesday.
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A.G. Gancarski
