by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Three days after a walk-out by four members, the City Council Rules Committee met again Thursday and in short order approved all the legislation that remained on its agenda.
The committee approved an ordinance for an economic development agreement between the City and EverBank that would create 200 full-time jobs either Downtown or in the suburbs.
EverBank also proposes to relocate its suburban operations and 1,000 jobs Downtown. A deal for City relocation assistance has been approved by two other committees and was not submitted to the Rules panel.
Thursday’s actions will be considered Tuesday by the full Council in its last meeting of the Council year and also the last meeting for seven of the members who will leave after the term ends June 30.
If approved Tuesday, the City would provide $420,000 in a Qualified Targeted Industry tax refund for the new EverBank jobs, with the state contributing the remaining 80 percent of the grant, or $1.68 million.
The City’s $420,000 contribution is contingent upon EverBank choosing a site within the Enterprise Zone. If it chooses outside of the zone, the City contribution would be $200,000.
Rules passed the EverBank legislation unanimously, 7-0. There was no public comment.
The other piece of EverBank legislation, regarding a $2.75 million incentive to offset moving costs from the suburbs to Downtown, was approved by the Finance and the Recreation and Community Development committees.
Also unanimously passed was an ordinance for a settlement agreement that would return land meant for a parking garage at Water and Hogan streets to the City.
The settlement calls for the City to drop a lawsuit it filed against the land developer, Cameron Kuhn, for failing to fulfill an obligation to construct the parking garage. Kuhn filed bankruptcy and the land has been tied up in those proceedings. The settlement would return that land to the City.
A second parking garage-related ordinance also was passed, though not unanimously.
The ordinance, an economic development agreement between the City and Parador Partners LLC, would grant a $3.5 million grant to Parador to assist in construction of a 500-space parking garage on Hogan Street between Bay and Water streets.
If the Landing agrees to waive provisions of its lease that requires the City to provide parking, then Parador will reserve 200 spaces on weekdays and 375 spaces on evenings and weekends for use by Landing patrons.
The City would continue to provide a $132,250 grant to Parador annually until 2031 to fund a parking validation program for Landing patrons.
The money for the grant comes from an amended 2011-15 Capital Improvement Plan originally allotted for Metropolitan Park improvements.
The committee voted 5-2 in favor of the measure, with Council members Bill Bishop and John Crescimbeni opposing.
The committee had a different look Thursday in its final meeting before a new Council is installed.
Committee members Clay Yarborough and Richard Clark were excused and replaced by Council members Dick Brown and Reggie Brown. Council President Jack Webb voted on the first two agenda items, both the parking garage measures, in place of Council Vice President Stephen Joost, who arrived late.
The special meeting also lacked the intensity of Monday’s meeting that ended abruptly with a walkout by four committee members following heated discussion of an agenda item.
Legislation involving a land swap between the City and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority was another measure introduced by Mayor John Peyton May 24. It failed with five members voting against it, with Rules Committee Chair Denise Lee providing the only vote of support.
Critics of the bill have said the measure is too big and raised too many questions.
Following the initial vote, Crescimbeni asked to reconsider the vote and Lee denied the motion along with another by Bishop. Crescimbeni and Bishop, along with Yarborough and Clark, walked out.
Crescimbeni later said he asked to reconsider the vote to change his to a yes, which would have resulted in a 2-4 vote and made it easier to discuss and modify later. As a member of the voting majority, Crescimbeni said he had the right to call for reconsideration.
The walkout resulted in an early adjournment due to lack of a quorum. It left several agenda items that were not considered.
At the beginning of Thursday’s meeting, Lee offered an apology to people in the audience whose agenda items were not heard Monday.
She followed it by reading into the record a memo, which she requested, from City attorney Steve Rohan that referenced Council attendance and excusal rules.
Lee said her colleagues violated those rules with the Monday walkout and warned them against future similar actions, calling it unprofessional.
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