by Beth Slater
Staff Writer
The auditorium was nearly packed, and at least two dozen people stood along the back wall and down the side aisles. They approached the microphone in an orderly fashion, each person asking questions of the mayor and persisting until they had an acceptable answer from him or the other City officials in the panel.
Most of the questions were directed to code enforcement. A few were directed at law enforcement. But each carried with it the citizen’s desire to improve his or her neighborhood.
On June 20, Mayor John Peyton held a town hall meeting for the downtown neighborhoods at FCCJ’s Downtown campus. Residents of Brooklyn, Northwest Jacksonville, Springfield and the Urban Core, as well as others, attended to voice concerns on a myriad of subjects.
The neighborhoods and public works departments handled the brunt of the questions, from litter problems and property maintenance issues to infrastructure concerns and trouble with traffic lights. Kristen Key, press aide to Peyton, said those questions are typical of town hall meetings and city staff is prepared to follow up.
“We asked the department chairs to stick around to meet with the residents,” she said. “We also take good notes to get in touch with them. That’s why we ask people to state their name, address and phone number.” Key said City officials contact the appropriate agency and keep a record of the process, then reconnect with the resident.
The mayor holds six town hall meetings per year, Key said. One is held in each Citizen Planning Advisory Council (CPAC) district, with town hall meetings being held about once every two months.
In addition to Neighborhoods and public works, representatives from the departments of parks and recreation, administration and finance, community services, procurement, planning and environmental resource management attended, as did officials from the Sheriff’s Office, Fire and Rescue, the mayor’s office, JTA, JEA and Jacksonville Public Library system.
Peyton said the meetings are a benefit to the mayor’s office and City officials.
“I think town hall meetings are an excellent way for staff to hear from residents. They allow us to follow up and understand people’s priorities. We get tremendous value out of them,” he said.
Peyton also said one of the most important steps after a town hall meeting is to follow up on concerns by getting the citizen’s name and address and finding a remedy.
The neighborhood most represented at the town hall meeting was Springfield. Most residents attended because of a recent request by River Region Human Services to take over occupancy of the Job Corps building, formerly Jacksonville Jewish Center, on 3rd Street near Silver Street.
One of Peyton’s first agenda items at the meeting was to announce the City’s attempt to work with River Region to find a new location for its proposed rehabilitative center.
“River Region does great work and they need a place. The Job Corps building is not the place for it,” he said. River Region’s board of directors was supposed to vote June 21 to look for a new location but as of press time, that had not happened.
Peyton said when the Springfield neighborhood brings “an army of people to City Council,” it’s hard to ignore, and the Council listens to what the “organized, mobilized” group has to say.
“They know better what’s good for their neighborhood than we ever will,” he said.