• Steve Halverson, chief executive officer for The Haskell Company, is helping assess the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra’s $500,000 structural deficit. Halverson, a JSO board member, said earnings have been stable for several years but expenses have been growing. Halverson plans to use half of any year–end surpluses to pay down JSO’s $2 million debt.
• Mike Tolbert says phase one of Toney Sleiman’s Landing redesign would create 450 jobs downtown. Sleiman is seeking about $16 million in City incentives to redesign the center’s exterior and create a Laura Street pathway to the river in time for the 2005 Super Bowl.
• The City Council’s Finance Committee amended Mayor John Peyton’s request to fund the remainder of the Duval County Courthouse project by issuing $20.5 million in bonds. Finance chair Warren Alvarez proposed that $10 million be kept as a contingency fund, meaning Peyton would have to go back before the Council if construction exceeds $221 million. “The mayor keeps telling me he’s going to do it for $211 million; I’m giving him an extra $10 million,” said Alvarez. After passing the Finance and Audit committees, the ordinance will go before the Council for final approval.
• Real Estate chief Pat Brown introduced her potential replacement, Bob Williams, to the Finance committee Monday. Finance chair Warren Alvarez’ assessment? “He’s not as pretty as Pat Brown.”
• City employees can buy discounted tickets to the Jacksonville Barracudas’ home opener against the Miami Manatees. The Nov. 28 game will be the first hockey game played in the City’s new Veterans Memorial Arena. Tickets are $7 for City workers, their 16–and–under children get in free.
• Tracy R. Richardson has joined the law firm of Donahoo, Ball & McMenamy, P.A. as an associate.
• Thursday’s Downtown Development Authority meeting has been canceled.
• Currently under review: a Council resolution supporting a change in the requirements to become a JEDC board member. Following an amendment to the City Charter, board members would not need to be residents of Jacksonville if they “work in, or have substantial contacts with” the City.
• Also enduring Council scrutiny: a resolution supporting the establishment of a Special Risk Pension Fund for correctional officers employed by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Though members of the City’s General Employees Fund, correctional officers are not included under the Police and Fire Pension Fund umbrella.
• There’ll be a reception Saturday to dedicate “talking continents” by artist Jaume Plensa, which was commissioned for the Veterans Memorial Arena. It’s scheduled for 6-8 p.m. in the main entrance, foyer and upper level of the arena.