by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The St. Johns River City Band is asking for an additional 42 months to pay off City loans. The band’s president, Neptune Beach Mayor Dick Brown, said the extra time would allow the band to finish work on Snyder Music Hall and said the band would generate extra revenue by promoting other paid performances in the Laura Street hall.
The City postponed collection on a $650,000 loan in August when the band defaulted. The band was supposed to begin paying off the loan in $133,000 increments. However, band administrators deemed that schedule impossible.
The City was faced with the choice of collecting its money from Oceanside Bank, which likely would have taken ownership of Snyder, or granting the band leniency. The City has postponed repayment indefinitely while City planners work with the band to restructure its debt said mayor’s office spokesperson Heather Murphy.
Murphy said the City was not considering calling in the loan in the short–term.
“I wouldn’t even characterize that [calling in the letter of credit] as a choice right now,” said Murphy. “We are in the process of talking to the River City Band to figure out what can be done. We don’t want to shut the band down.”
Murphy said the mayor’s staff was considering Brown’s proposal, which called for three and a half years of leniency to allow the band to finish redevelopment of its hall. Once the hall is complete, Brown said in a letter received by the mayor’s office last week, the band could take advantage of rental offers on the hall, guaranteeing enhanced revenue. Brown also asked for City help in securing local historic trust funds.
Brown said his plan would repay the City while allowing the mayor’s office to avoid taking a public relations hit for letting the band slide with taxpayer money.
“At that time [in 42 months] restoration would be complete, cash flow [would be] in place and permanent long–term financing would be arranged to repay the the City,” said Brown. “The administration would not be criticized for forgiving the loan.”
Conversely, calling in the letter of credit, Brown said, would “result in negative publicity for the City of Jacksonville and the SJRCB,” and would likely put Snyder, a downtown landmark that the City has spent $650,000 to renovate, in Oceanside Bank’s hands.
“[Calling in the loan] would leave the City with no control over the important landmark,” said Brown. “Snyder as a downtown cultural and activity center is an asset to the rapidly developing downtown. The potential of a vacant, boarded–up landmark across from City Hall is very undesirable.”
River City Band executive director Mike Davis said he had not received a response from the City regarding Brown’s proposal. He said the road to a solution had so far been a long one, but said he was confident a deal could be reached.
“People think there’s all this animosity; but there’s no tension,” said Davis. “We’re just waiting for the situation to work itself out.”
The band’s financial problems have not affected their performance, said Davis. He said the band played its holiday concert to 3,200 children last Friday. This weekend, the band will be the featured performer at the Midwest Band Clinic, a Chicago show that will draw more than 15,000 conductors from 33 countries.