The Southbank Riverwalk renovation won’t stop 900 feet short of its current footprint after City Council voted Tuesday to spend an additional $2 million to finance the project.
The original shortage drew much criticism in recent weeks from members who wanted to know why the changes altering the scope of the $15 million project weren’t brought to their attention sooner. With the additional funding, the project now will cost about $17 million to replace the 3,600-foot wooden boardwalk.
Yet, just before the unanimous 19-0 vote, there was still discussion about the need for changes.
This time it was council member Don Redman, whose district includes the project, urging colleagues to contact the CEO of the Crowne Plaza Hotel and urging him to allow the city to replace a section of boardwalk with concrete instead of wood.
The hotel section of boardwalk will be replaced with wood instead of concrete because the owners and city could not come to an agreement over the project. By law, the city can replace the current wooden structure with the same material in the same mold, but concrete would require consent from the property owner.
Public Works Director Jim Robinson told council that negotiations with the property owner would have to end May 9, when the city will have to give instructions as to whether go with wood or concrete.
Concrete would be more expensive and require a change order, but as council member Warren Jones said, would mean less maintenance long term. Council member Bill Bishop said it would likely end up as “another seven-figure change order.”
Robinson said it’s also in the interest of public safety for concrete over wood.
Council for weeks has been told the financing decision had to be made before May 1, when subcontractor prices set last October would effectively end — meaning the $17 million project could cost even more with new prices.
“It is time to get this done,” council member Denise Lee said before the vote was taken. “The money is there.”
Other notes from Tuesday’s council meeting:
• Much of the night was dominated by discussion about a non-binding resolution regarding the use of civil citations instead of arrests on youths, with State Attorney Angela Corey and Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti on opposite ends of the issue. The crux of the disagreement tends to be the inclusion of battery within the resolution. Corey said her office diverts youths and some adults after they are arrested and plans to continue the non-arrest diversion methods “we have always done.” Vitti said he’s seen “good kids arrested for making dumb, dumb decisions” and urged for a way to address the issue without using the criminal justice system. Ultimately, council decided by a 10-7 vote to send the matter back to three committees, where further debate could be heard.
• Council approved spending close to $100,000 on renovating two floors of the Florida Theatre building to attract tenants, possibly geared toward the arts and education communities. The floors have been vacant and in disrepair for some time.
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