by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The audience will be measured in thousands instead of billions and the opening act will feature a college professor instead of Jessica Simpson, but City planners draw Super Bowl comparisons when they discuss Florida’s annual Florida Neighborhoods Conference coming to the Adam’s Mark Hotel in September.
The City’s Neighborhoods Services Chief, Lorrie DeFrank said the conference — call it Florida Neighborhoods VIII — is one of the most respected in the country, even rivaling the national conference. More than 1,300 neighborhood advocates and municipal officials from across the state are expected to attend. To denote that status, and to cash in on growing Super Bowl hype, this year’s conference is titled: “Building Super Neighborhoods.” DeFrank said it’s her division’s version of the game of the year.
“It’s a big deal, and it’s a big deal that the City is hosting it,” said DeFrank. “Across the state, everybody has a piece of it.”
DeFrank said hosting the conference for the second time will pay practical dividends for the City. Public and private neighborhood representatives from cities and counties across the state will come to the Adam’s Mark from Sept. 16-18. Each delegation will present on what’s working for them and what isn’t, allowing others to pick the best practices for their own use.
“We can see what’s working across the state and put it to use here,” said DeFrank.
Jacksonville modeled its neighborhood matching grant program on a similar effort presented by Orlando when the city hosted the original conference. DeFrank said Jacksonville’s neighborhood outreach has served as an example as well. She said several municipalities had followed Jacksonville’s lead in producing a magazine for its neighborhoods.
The City will pay about half the $100,000 bill to put on the conference. The rest of the money will come from registration fees and private sponsors. DeFrank said sponsors like Bank of America, Home Depot and State Farm help keep registration costs low. The price for basic registration is around $40 for the three-day event.
For its money, the City will get the chance to market some of its revitalized neighborhoods to conference attendees. DeFrank said the City would give tours of some Better Jacksonville Plan projects, including the Veterans Memorial Arena and the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, and neighborhoods such as Murray Hill, Springfield and Ortega. The City will also lead boat tours into some of its conservation areas. The tours cost $5 each in addition to registration.
Although the conference will attract visitors from every corner of Florida, DeFrank said many of the locales deal with the same issues. She said code enforcement, safety and providing affordable housing were conference staples.