City Council President Bill Bishop said Friday he has lived in Jacksonville for 30 years and cannot remember when there has been more focus on Downtown.
"Right now, there is the most energy and most discussion about Downtown that I have ever seen. I think we're close to critical mass," he said.
Bishop was the guest speaker at the JAX Chamber Downtown Council breakfast at The University Club on the Southbank.
He cited Council's action to earmark $9 million for a Downtown trust fund to be used for development recommended by the Downtown Investment Authority.
"We're going to need that money for Downtown," Bishop said.
Before he made his remarks to the group, Bishop said he is not surprised the authority has been in place since Oct. 15 but has yet to name an executive director, one of the first steps in taking action toward projects or initiatives.
Mayor Alvin Brown signed the legislation Oct. 15 to create the independent authority.
"The process to get an executive director is run by the administration," Bishop said.
A search firm has been contracted to identify candidates for the authority's top job, following the City's Request for Proposals procurement process.
"It doesn't have to take months for an RFP, but it did," said Bishop.
The national search for candidates is needed because the best person to direct the authority on an executive level likely will not already be living in Jacksonville, Bishop said.
"The kind of person we want is not the kind of person you can find just anywhere. There's no university degree for downtown development. It's a life-experience thing and it's entrepreneurial. The person selected will be building an organization from the ground up," he said.
With the combination of leadership and funds available for projects, Bishop predicted even more energy focused on Downtown, but said it will not happen overnight.
"I think over the next year or two we will see some exciting things happening Downtown," he said.
Bishop is in support of a proposal to provide an additional $2 million in capital improvement funds for municipally owned sports facilities. The measure is making its way through the state Legislature and Bishop said it has his support because it's time to upgrade EverBank Field.
"We have a 17-year-old stadium and it needs work. The stadium needs new TV monitors. The monitors at Florida Field (at the University of Florida) are better. We're an NFL town. We can't allow that to happen. If we're not careful, we'll be at the tail end of the fan experience," said Bishop.
On the subject of the proposed legislation being considered by Council to reinstate the moratorium on mobility fees for three years, Bishop said he does not support that action and it's "not the right thing to do."
Bishop said St. Johns County levies mobility fees on developers of new projects and twice as many new homes have been built there as in Duval County in the past few years.
Gasoline tax revenues traditionally have been used to finance transportation infrastructure improvements, but those are declining. That's because of more fuel-efficient vehicles being driven and the trend toward alternative forms of transportation such as mass transit and bicycles, he said.
"There is less fuel being purchased and road projects aren't getting cheaper. Personally, I support the mobility fee," said Bishop.
He said he is considering "reconstituting" the Council's mobility-fee task force to evaluate the fee structure and how the fee is applied to individual development projects.
Also, Bishop said he supports the recommendation of the Council Context Sensitive Streets Special Committee for the City to hire a bicycle coordinator. The proposed position would be responsible for advocating for cycling interests.
"Jacksonville has a reputation for not being bike-friendly or a safe place for bicycles. With more and more people using bicycles, we need to get with the program," he said.
Downtown Council's annual excursion on the St. Johns River is scheduled 7:30-9 a.m. April 19. St. Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman will be the guide for the tour from Downtown to near Naval Air Station Jacksonville and back.
For information about the river cruise and other Downtown Council programs, visit downtowncouncil.org.
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