JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville’s Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) is coming under fire by some council members as a new committee has just been formed to see if changes need to be made.
News4JAX spoke with the CEO of the agency, Lori Boyer, Tuesday about that and if she believes they are being targeted.
Boyer says she is not going to speculate about that.
“The council obviously, has the authority and the opportunity anytime they want to look at various things in the ordinance code and agencies they’ve set up to see if they’re performing the best. And, frankly, I kind of welcome the opportunity to focus on downtown, “ Boyer said. She adds there’s been a lot of focus on the stadium and the jail and affordable housing and all these other topics so this could open discussion on downtown development.
Boyer says much of the delays are not because of DIA but are individual developers who might be having trouble with contractors -- and that is normal.
This new city council committee looking at the effectiveness of the DIA was put together by outgoing council president Ron Salem. There are questions about why now and who is really behind this push.
Councilman Ron Salem will end his term as president in July and some who did not want to be identified have suggested to News4JAX that this is a political move
“I understand I’m hearing the same rumors as you are. But I’m not going to speculate on that. Ron has shared with me that he doesn’t have an agenda. He just wants to see if there’s an opportunity to do things better” Boyer said.
No date has been set when the committee will first meet, but they are due to wrap up by the end of June.