by Natasha Khairullah
Staff Writer
The Duval Tourist Development Council approved a proposal from the Jacksonville & the Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau Thursday for a grant of $75,000 to fund a Convention Center Task Force. The 40-member task force will examine the two big issues surrounding the current convention center: add on to the Osborn Center and build an adjacent building, or build a newer, bigger convention center near the Hyatt or build at another site.
The total projected expenses of the task force will be $150,000, with the other $75,000 coming from the TDC, which generates funds through the local bed tax — a tax charged by hotels.
The CVB will contribute $61,000 for facilitation of the task force and $14,000 for travel expenses, while also covering any additional costs to fund the task force.
CVB President and CEO John Reyes said the question of whether or not Jacksonville can define itself as a regional convention center destination has always been on the table.
“I believe that this unanswered question has to be brought into a forum that is transparent and open and provides recommendations,” said Reyes. “In order to do this, we need to form a Convention Center Task Force process that people can participate in and where there are different voices at the table. We’re coming to you to request a joint partnership in looking at the creation of that process.”
The CVB’s proposal came three months after Mayor John Peyton asked the CVB to form the task force to determine whether or not a new convention center is needed in Jacksonville and if so, where and how will one be developed.
There has been talk for years of building a new convention center near the Hyatt once the new county courthouse is completed. The City also plans to vacate the City Hall Annex, leaving valuable property that can be used for either new convention center space or private development. The new county courthouse is expected to be complete some time in 2010.
Reyes said he does not want the CVB to be the ones facilitating the study, however, and that there should be a third-party facilitator who will have no agenda or effect on the outcome of the situation.
“My concern is that there will be a predetermined bias,” he said, “and the community will say ‘of course they want a convention center’.”
Reyes proposed Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. facilitate the task force.
“We believe that JCCI has great credibility in Jacksonville and in the market place,” he said.
JCCI’s role would be to provide background research, organize meeting times and locations for all task force and sub-committee meetings, gather necessary background info, record findings, monitor group process and facilitate the developments of the final recommendations.
The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission will be the liaison between the mayor’s office and the Convention Center Task Force. The group will consist of 40 members, including a 10-person steering committee appointed by the mayor. That steering committee will chair seven subcommittees: Current Environment Committee, Community Impact Committee, Market Support and Demand Committee, Finance Committee, Site Selection Committee, Facility Manager Committee and Task Force Recommendation Committee.
Reyes said although each committee will be chaired by a designated member of the steering committee, all meetings will be open to the public to encourage a broad and full community participation in the decision-making process. He also said, “the community should view the force as one with varying viewpoints.”
The process is scheduled to run through next September.