Citing economic impact and taking advantage of an opportunity to promote Downtown, Mayor Alvin Brown announced April 3 the City is "fully behind" the One Spark crowdfunding festival scheduled to begin Wednesday.
"The next big thing could be born here. This is the beginning of something big," Brown said in his announcement.
David DeCamp, Brown's spokesman, said Wednesday the City will provide more than $84,000 of services for the festival, including staff time among several departments and the cost of providing Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Department EMTs for the event.
DeCamp said the fire department portion of the support is $26,578 and the Parks Maintenance Department will provide $49,202 in services.
Other value provided by the City includes waiving fees for after-hours use of the Main Library and providing electricity at no cost to vendors in Hemming Plaza and along Laura Street, DeCamp said.
"Mayor Brown wants to show Jacksonville supports innovation and new activity and One Spark is going to be a great way to showcase Downtown," said DeCamp.
DeCamp said no additional budget appropriations have been made.
In comparison, the City's expenses for the 2012 Jacksonville Jazz Festival were $61,917 including staff time, park maintenance costs and fire department services, according to figures provided by the mayor's office.
One Spark organizers directly negotiated with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and will pay it $25,000 for additional officers to provide security and detour traffic in the festival zone, said Assistant Chief for Special Events Leonard Propper.
He said off-duty officers will be scheduled for the festival after normal business hours, a service the sheriff's office regularly provides for event planners.
"My staff and I spent hours planning for One Spark, but that's what we do. A city this size has to have a special-events unit," said Propper.
He said that on April 20, in addition to One Spark, the Florida Theatre gala will cause the Main Street Bridge to be closed, there is a concert at Veterans Memorial Arena and the Jacksonville Suns will play a home game at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
"It's pretty aggressive, but we know how to do this," Propper said.
The Mathews Bridge will remain open April 20-21, he said.
For information about One Spark, including a daily schedule of events, information about exhibitors, participating venues and parking options, visit beonespark.com.
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