New Jacksonville Civic Council Chairman Edward “Ed” Burr wants to continue focusing on the city’s pension issues, Downtown development and the health of UF Health Jacksonville.
He also wants to increase the involvement of the group’s 70 members, who are CEOs of the area’s major businesses and organizations.
“There are a lot of issues confronting our city and the Civic Council is in a unique position to help our city move forward,” Burr, president and CEO of GreenPointe Holdings LLC, said Thursday evening.
Burr, a longtime developer, was elected by the membership for the two-year term, which began Jan. 1 and ends Dec. 31, 2016.
He is the group’s third leader, succeeding Steve Halverson, president and CEO of Haskell. The group was founded in 2010.
In a news release issued Thursday, Burr said the group will continue to focus on “difficult, long-term issues” and wants to work with other organizations “to maximize impact and success.”
The Civic Council is a private group of business and civic leaders created to “promote a fiscally responsible, economically vibrant, thriving community, which offers opportunity for all its residents.”
Its task forces have reported on the Police and Fire Pension Fund and on Northbank redevelopment. Reports are on the website, jaxciviccouncil.com.
Burr said the group’s health task force was formed to understand the issues affecting the Springfield area medical center and to identify solutions to ensure its sustainability in the community.
“To lose that would be devastating,” he said.
CEO Russell Armistead said in August that UF Health Jacksonville treats more than 90,000 patients a year, with only 10 percent covered by private insurance.
According to Armistead, the vast majority of people treated at the campus at 655 W. Eighth St. are covered by either Medicare or Medicaid or they have no health care coverage. The hospital receives city funding to treat uninsured residents, but said it has lost money on that contract.
It also has the area’s only Level 1 trauma center, which means its emergency room is equipped and staffed to treat the most serious injuries.
Burr said the Civic Council’s emphasis on member engagement is to involve more people in the issues the group addresses. The Civic Council is restructuring its meeting format to break into smaller groups that focus on a narrower set of issues.
Civic Council chairs serve two-year terms. “Given the significance of some of the issues we weigh in on, one-year terms are not appropriate,” he said.
Burr, 58, is a past chair of the JAX Chamber and serves as chair of its Government Affairs Committee. He serves on the Jacksonville Transportation Authority board and was chair in 2012 and 2013.
Among his many other board and community positions, he founded the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, which is committed to the prevention of child abuse.
In addition to Burr and Halverson, the members of the group’s 2015 board of directors are:
• Charlie Appleby, retired CEO of Advanced Disposal
• Dan Edelman, a certified public accountant with Dixon Hughes Goodman
• John Delaney, president of the University of North Florida
• Fred Franklin, managing director of the Rogers Towers law firm
• Nat Glover, president of Edward Waters College
• Rusty Newton, president of Timucuan Asset Management
• Hap Stein, chairman and CEO of Regency Centers Corp.
• Ronald Townsend, Townsend and Associates
• Susie Wiles, Right Coast Strategies.
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