• In response to a City Council resolution urging Mayor John Peyton to reconsider plans for three parking garages, Peyton spokesperson Susie Wiles says, “The deal is done. The Council and its auditors had several months to review it and study it before they approved it, and we plan to have a signed contract by next week. It’s time to move on.”
• The construction on the ground floor of Independent Square is for the new SunTrust Bank branch. It’ll be located in the old Compass Bank site.
• More downtown renovation news: the lobby of the 550 Water Street building is getting a makeover, including a new tile floor.
• The Florida Department of Transportation has started design work on Beach Boulevard improvements. The project entails milling and resurfacing the road and repairing the sidewalk from Parental Home Road to St. John’s Bluff Road. The FDOT will seek local input on the plans, although it says the budget to address local concerns is limited.
• The CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority invited the mayor to an Intelligent Transportation Systems summit April 15. Michael Blaylock told Mayor John Peyton the meeting will bring together a panel of national experts on the automated traffic direction system. Traffic planners from Los Angeles, Denver and Atlanta will assess local conditions and make recommendations.
• According to a JCCI quality of life progress report, job losses in Duval County have been mitigated by new hires in surrounding counties like Clay and St. Johns. The city got good marks for per capita income, utility costs and new housing starts. The unemployment rate and climbing house prices drew red flags.
• JEA sent a Request for Proposals to companies that specialize in renewable energy sources. The deadline is April 6 and already about 80 companies have replied.
• The City received congratulations from the National Park Service for last weekend’s opening of the Jacksonville Equestrian Center. The Park Service conveyed a large portion of the land, which was once Cecil Field, to the City as part of the Federal Lands to Parks Program. The City has been granted more than 2,000 acres of land under the program.
• Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will donate $20,000 to the Police Athletic League during a ceremony this morning at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.