City Council approved an emergency resolution Tuesday urging Mayor Alvin Brown to issue a Request for Proposal for the Equestrian Center separate from the current facilities management contract out for bid.
The current bid includes the center among several facilities, including EverBank Field and the Arena, seeking a manager.
The administration has bid the contract to save money. The current proposal for the management of City facilities is scheduled to be closed April 18.
Council member John Crescimbeni introduced the emergency action to “try to get a more interested party … to operate the center in a better manner and perhaps at a cheaper cost.”
“I was disappointed that was lumped into one RFP,” Crescimbeni said.
The center has been the subject of scrutiny during budget hearings in recent years and was almost unfunded this fiscal year before Council member Doyle Carter asked for one year to find funding or a management company to operate the facility at no cost to the City.
Carter said he has met more than 20 times with the administration about the center. He said he has been patient, but is frustrated with the lack of action by the administration.
“There are a lot of different entities out there that can do a better job,” he said.
The City’s sports and entertainment facilities have been managed by SMG since 1993 and the contract was renewed annually for about $1 million. The current contract runs through next March 30, but the City can exercise a 60-day termination clause.
The resolution was introduced by Crescimbeni, Carter and Council member Ray Holt and received unanimous support.
“I would hope that the administration, sensing the will of this body, would go ahead and proceed with making, what I think to be, a necessary change and separate the Equestrian Center out,” said Council member Bill Gulliford.
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