by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
Boat show or jazz festival?
We can’t have both at the same time (second weekend in April) in the same place (Metro Park) and right now that’s the time and place that both need.
Until Tuesday, the matter had been in reasonably quiet negotiations. Then, Jacksonville International Boat Show promoter Mike Land showed up at City Hall to protest to a City Council committee and everything got loud.
Before it was over, City Council member Pat Lockett-Felder and mayoral assistant Eric Green had a tense give-and-take that ended only when committee chair Jerry Holland, in an effort to get the day’s business completed by lunchtime, appointed Lockett-Felder as a subcommittee of one to make everyone happy.
Land has held his show annually for six years on the same dates, except when Easter got in the way, and said he needs them in 2003 because it fits the schedule of vendors who travel from show to show.
But, the City’s Special Events Division has placed its jazz festival at the same time and, apparently, for much the same reasons: it fits traveling schedules.
“We are trying to work it out with Mr. Land,” said Green, “and we have been talking to him. We didn’t expect him to show up here today and bring it to your attention. We felt that we were working it out without all this.
“The bottom line is that it’s a City park and the City has first right of refusal on events. Mr. Land doesn’t have dibs on the date.”
Metro Park is in Lockett-Felder’s district and it was the first time she had heard that the Special Events Department had taken over placing events in city parks.
“Some months ago, we turned that over to them,” said Bob Baughman, the assistant director of the Parks, Recreation and Entertainment Department. “They do events, and they do them well. We don’t do events. We kept the maintenance and turned the rest over to them.”
After further debate, Lockett-Felder pledged to assist Land in his efforts.
Holland directed Lockett-Felder to get everyone together after the meeting, and to work toward getting everyone on the same page.