JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville City Council will decide on Thursday if it will pull part of the $300 million Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) out of the Jaguars stadium deal and vote on it separately.
The proposal is to remove some parts of the agreement where there are conflicts of interest but keep $50 million of the city’s CBA money in the current stadium deal.
The Jacksonville City Council had three meetings on its calendar Monday and all three had agenda items related to the $1.4 billion renovation plan for EverBank Stadium.
Ahead of the main meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, where the public is invited to share input on the deal, union leaders gathered to make sure their voices are heard when it comes to the development. The labor council said its leaders are demanding workforce development as part of the stadium deal.
The $1.4 billion renovation plan is still a work in progress, as city leaders and the Jaguars work to finalize the ins and outs of the deal.
Some city leaders are questioning if the $300 million Community Benefits Agreement should be included in the deal at all.
The CBA would go toward improving the Eastside neighborhood and community parks over the span of 30 years, among other initiatives like:
- $50 million to countywide workforce development and affordable housing and homeless initiatives
- $30 million to Eastside economic development, affordable housing and mitigation of homelessness
- $14 million spread among council districts
- $8.76 million to the Flex Field in the sports complex
- $10.04 million to Riverfront Plaza on the old Jacksonville Landing site
- $24.7 million to Shipyards West Park on the downtown riverfront
- $12.5 million to Metropolitan Park
Some small businesses say it would be a mistake to separate out the CBA and incorporate the money into the city budget.
“I think it shouldn’t be separate, I think it should stay in place as it was,” said Rose Pierre of East Coast Piping and Painting. “Because the whole city of Jacksonville can benefit from this deal. And the deal doesn’t need to go to just one side when it comes to the CBA. But all sides of Jacksonville, from the Eastside to the Westside, to the Southside to the Northside, all over Jacksonville.”
Councilman Ken Amaro said he’d like to keep it together, too, and said the issue of the CBA could become a “political fiasco.”
“I don’t think we relinquish any of our authority, whether it’s separated or a part of because anything in the agreement will still have to be approved by the city council,” Amaro said. “I honestly don’t believe that. But once again, I believe that whether it stays with the lease agreement or it’s separated, everything has to be approved by city council. So therefore, I don’t see the benefits of separation.”
That’s why the city wants to hear from the public and is hosting a special meeting on Monday for community feedback.
Everyone is invited to voice their opinion about the stadium renovation deal at the city council’s public hearing at 5 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
Ahead of that, the neighborhoods committee met at 9:30 a.m. and the rules committee met at 2 p.m. to discuss a parking bill related to the stadium. The parking bill would allow four acres at the Shipyards site to be used for stadium parking.