Jacksonville City Council confirmed the first nominations to a committee created to distribute millions of dollars in investment into the city’s Eastside neighborhood.
On 17-0 votes, Council confirmed Rochelle Stoddard, Rudolph Jamison Jr., Cleve Warren, James Edwards and Larry Swink to the Eastside Grants Committee, which was established by Council to distribute funds from the city’s community benefits agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars to Eastside residents and businesses.
Council members Matt Carlucci and Reggie Gaffney Jr. were not present for the votes.
The CBA is connected to the city’s $1.45 billion agreement with the Jaguars to transform EverBank Stadium into the team’s Stadium of the Future.
In the CBA, the city agreed to provide $40 million in public funding to the Eastside over seven years to fund affordable housing, workforce housing, economic development and homelessness services. The Jaguars committed to spend $2.5 million annually in the Eastside for the next 30 years.
The committee comprises four appointees by the mayor, four by the Council president and one representative of the Jaguars.
Stoddard, nominated by Mayor Donna Deegan under Resolution 2026-0239, is president of Berman Bros. Inc., according to her resume. Berman Bros., which operates in the Phoenix neighborhood, is a metal service center, scrap metal recycling facility and custom metal manufacturer.
Jamison, nominated by Deegan under Resolution 2026-0240, is a Campbells Addition resident and executive director of the city’s Human Rights Commission, according to his resume.
Edwards, nominated by Council President Kevin Carrico through Resolution 2026-0257, is a Duval County Public School safety specialist, inspecting schools and administrative buildings for the school district, according to his resume. A former Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department station chief, Edwards is also president of the Jacksonville Brotherhood of Firefighters.
Warren, nominated by Carrico through Resolution 2026-0258, is chief investment officer for Florida State College at Jacksonville and chief investment and advancement relations officer for the FSCJ Foundation, according to his resume. He sits on the Leadership Jacksonville board of directors, Jacksonville Public Education Fund Advisory Board and others.
Swink, nominated by Carrico through Resolution 2026-0259, is president and CEO of Jackson Lighting & Electric Supply Co., according to his resume. Swink holds a substantial business interest in the Fairfield neighborhood.
Two more individuals nominated to the committee, Ariane Randolph and E. Shawn Ashley, withdrew from consideration.
The Florida Commission on Ethics ruled that Randolph could not sit on the board due to her employment with LIFT JAX, a nonprofit that advocates for the Eastside, according to Garrett Dennis, the city’s director of Boards and Commissions and liaison to Council from the city administration.
With Randolph’s withdrawal, Deegan nominated Alice Nelson to take her place on the board. According to her resume, attached to Resolution 2026-0352, Nelson is a lifelong Eastside resident working as an information technology professional. Nelson is a resident of the Oakland neighborhood, according to the legislation.
Council-approved legislation for the grants committee calls for appointments of members having a “substantial economic business interest” in the Eastside. No more than three of the appointees may come from the same neighborhood of the five in the Eastside: Campbells Addition, Fairfield, Longbranch, Oakland and Phoenix.
The committee was formed in February 2026 under Ordinance 2026-0036, which was crafted by a special Council committee. The committee determined what it decided was the best route for the city to honor its financial commitments to the Eastside from the CBA.
The legislation recommends that members be from the Eastside and have experience in affordable housing, workforce housing, economic development and homelessness services.
As outlined in Ordinance 2026-0036, the committee will request an annual funding appropriation from the city for Eastside grants and review grant applications. The city’s CBA funding will vary year-by-year based on the committee’s request.
Committee members will review the needs of the Eastside, recommend the selection process for grant recipients, review and score grant applications and participate in on-site evaluation of grant recipients.
Among other details of the committee’s structure, members will serve staggered two-year terms, and the Council president will annually appoint a nonvoting Council liaison to the committee.
The committee will be aided by a manager from the Grants and Contract Compliance Division of the city’s Finance Department. Deegan introduced legislation during the April 28 Council meeting to appropriate $36,563.20 to support two positions assisting the Eastside Community Grant Program, which is subject to Council approval.