The search for the first CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority is estimated to be complete in June, according to the search firm charged with finding and reviewing candidates.
Todd Jorgenson, managing partner and principal of Greensboro, N.C.-based Jorgenson Consulting, told the authority's board members Wednesday that meetings with stakeholders, including City Council members, administration officials and authority board members began last week to identify what was expected of the search and the organization.
He said he is in the process of having the advertising and profile of the search approved, which then will be advertised externally on his jci-inc.net website and various associations across the U.S. Jorgenson said he already has identified target communities and described to the board the review process.
The first step is reviewing resumes, all of which become public record, and conducting background checks before a telephone interview. Candidates could then be interviewed in person or by video conference.
From there, a pool of six to eight candidates would be cut to four for final interviews with authority members and others.
In total, the process will take six to eight weeks but "will be accelerated as much as we can," Jorgenson said.
Until the authority has a CEO and Council-approved redevelopment plans, all spending for projects must be approved by Council. Once both are in place, the authority will not require Council oversight to spend.
Other notes from Thursday's meeting:
• The authority received a presentation from staff about the Jacksonville Lady, a Downtown cruise ship service that will offer public and private cruises. Foxy Lady Cruises, the company that owns the 149-person vessel, is projecting $650,000 initial annual sales and will make an estimated $1.5 million investment for the vessel and operations.
• At a mid-December meeting, the authority asked for Requests for Proposals on the property at 816 W. Union St., commonly referred to as the Sax Property, in LaVilla to evaluate the commercial interest in the property. In an update, Karen Nasrallah, with the City Office of Economic Development, told board members the two parcels comprising the property were initially requested as separate, but now have been combined for one parcel of 3.7 acres after feedback from developers. The change in scope has pushed the March 13 deadline back and there is now an April 3 pre-bid conference scheduled, she said. "We're hoping for a good amount of submittals," she said.
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