Members of the Downtown Investment Authority approved guidelines Monday they will submit to City Council to use in selecting the authority’s first CEO.
The CEO criteria will be filed as legislation by Wednesday and introduced Nov. 13 to Council.
That would allow Council to approve the legislation Dec. 11 in the last Council cycle before the end of the year.
The three-page document lists urban visioning, Downtown development, government relations and education and experience as areas of focus.
Among the 25 bulleted points, the nine-member board is seeking a candidate who:
• has “demonstrated experience as a visionary with an ability to see beyond the present.”
• has knowledge of downtown — not necessarily Jacksonville’s Downtown — and community central core development issues that include community building, neighborhood engagement and transportation-oriented development, among other areas.
• knows the principles and practices of urban planning.
• has strong economic development credentials within the public and private sectors, and packaging deals with prospective investors, developers and business owners.
• has the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with civic leaders, City officials and the public.
In terms of education and experience, the authority approved seeking a candidate with a minimum of eight years of “progressively reasonable” experience in downtown redevelopment or a similar capacity, including four years in a supervisory or consulting role — or an equivalent combination of training and experience.
A bachelor’s degree in a field such as city planning, real estate, social sciences, finance, architecture, urban design, public administration or other related areas is required, and a master’s degree is a strong preference.
How the authority will hire its first CEO is still in question.
Authority members have expressed a desire to use a search firm to find candidates, but that could trigger the need for a request for proposals and competitive bidding, which could take months.
Don Shea, who chaired the authority’s criteria subcommittee, has said he would like to hire the CEO in January.
Jarik Conrad, City Employee Services Department director, told authority members Monday they could potentially use the services of one of the search firms that sought candidates for leadership positions for the independent authorities.
The authority would not need to issue a request for proposals if it used one of those firms.
The JEA, Jacksonville Transportation Authority and Duval County Public Schools all used firms to find executive directors in the past year.
Shea said after Monday’s meeting he was unaware of those firms’ specialties, but he wanted a search committee with proven experience in finding downtown and economic development leaders.
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