OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Jacksonville TEU Committee Meeting - April 21, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, April 21, 2026
BodyJacksonville, Florida
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 47:24

Transcript — Verbatim
0:11

Good morning, everyone.

0:12

Welcome to the Tuesday, April 21st meeting of the Transportation Energy and Utilities Committee.

0:18

We'll kick it off with introductions starting to my left with Mr.

0:22

Libby.

0:23

Stephen Libby, Council Research.

0:26

Carla Shell, Office of General Counsel.

0:28

Edward Linsky, Council Auditor's Office.

0:31

Canamar, City Council, District One.

0:34

Reggie Gaffney, Junior, District 8.

0:36

Will Annan District 3.

0:38

Carluccia at large group four?

0:40

Good morning.

0:40

Rockman Johnson, District 14.

0:42

And Mr.

0:43

Bill Delaney from the administration has arrived.

0:46

Welcome.

0:47

All right.

0:48

So uh what we're gonna do first, I'll go through the agenda and then we're gonna let our presenters we got two presentations.

0:54

Uh one's fairly quick and then 15 minutes from our resiliency department, and then we'll do public comment and then we'll take up the action items on the agenda.

1:03

So going over the agenda, it's a total of nine items.

1:06

Item one, we'll take action on 2026 215.

1:09

Item two, we'll have a public hearing and then take action on as well, 2026-216.

1:14

Item 3, 2026, 222, we'll take action on.

1:17

Item 4, 2026, 22.

1:20

I'm sorry, 222 and then 226.

1:22

We'll take action on both of those.

1:24

Item 5, 2026, 230.

1:26

There is a rules amendment, and then we'll take final action on that.

1:30

And item six, we have a resolution from Mr.

1:32

Peluso 231 that we'll take action on.

1:35

Item 7, 8, and 9 are on second.

1:37

That's 2026 267, 286, and 287.

1:42

So with that, I'm gonna ask Ms.

1:45

Teresa Eichner to do our first presentation.

1:50

Good morning, Teresa Eichner, City Council.

1:53

You're the chair to the committee.

1:54

Um, wanted to give everybody a quick update.

1:56

Um back in February, we were notified by the administration that the um city of Jacksonville website needed to be ADA required, um, had an ADA requirement for the documents that are retained on our website.

2:11

And so um since February, we've gone through there's um a number of documents that have um uh are located on our website that were not compliant.

2:23

Um and um we've been moving them, removing them, making them ADA required um accessible.

2:32

And um part of my uh presentation today is to talk about the legislative gateway portion of our website, which is managed by um Jessica and her team, Bernadette and her team.

2:46

And um, that is coming down from our website um tomorrow.

2:51

Um it will be available to staff internally via a username and password that I will circulate tomorrow with an SOP on how to get access to that, but for the general public, it will not be available while we get those documents or a way for those documents to be accessible to um those with a disability.

3:13

And so um it will be down for about four to six weeks.

3:17

The agendas and minutes for meetings will be posted to our website in a location that is um easily accessible to those and easy to be found.

3:29

But I just wanted to let everybody know that that's portion of our website will be down for a couple of weeks.

3:35

Councilman, uh thank you, uh Miss Eichner, uh Councilman Johnson.

3:39

And then I have a question as well.

3:41

Good morning.

3:42

Thank you, uh Mr.

3:43

Chair, uh Ms.

3:43

Eigner, thank you.

3:44

And public information does such a great job in helping us to ensure that the public is informed as well as us.

3:50

Uh let me ask you during our through the chair, during this time of downtime, will there be some kind of way for us to access the data that's there so that we can we meaning the public, period, uh, to get to bills or whatever since the business of the council will continue.

4:06

So internally for staff, we'll we have a um we're creating usernames and password that everybody will be able to access that information.

4:13

But for the public, um they there will be a mechanism for them to request that information.

4:19

So my team, either myself or Rhonda Hall Patrick, um, we'll be able to pull that information and send it.

4:26

Um they can also go to legislative services division um and be able to get that information as well.

4:31

So legislatar goes down, but we just would request hey, if we need a bill from and will it also, and start to continue this, but will the you know how right now when you go to legislatar prior to 2019, any legislation you have to go to a separate kind of portal to get to it.

4:46

Will it all be consolidated or will we kind of still have that separation?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Environmental Protection█████████████████████████████████████████████45%
Procedural█████████████████████21%
Active Transportation███████████████████19%
Housing████4%
Zoning And Land Use███3%
Public Safety███3%
Parks and Recreation███3%
Community Engagement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Jacksonville Transportation, Energy & Utilities Committee Meeting – April 21, 2026

The Transportation, Energy & Utilities Committee of the Jacksonville City Council met on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 9:31 AM in the Council Chamber. Chair Will Lahnen presided. The meeting included two informational presentations, public comment on multiple items, and action on nine legislative items. The committee approved six items, amended one, and read three items on second reading. The meeting adjourned at 10:18 AM.

Presentations

  • ADA Compliance Update – Teresa Eichner, Chief of Public Information, informed the committee that the City’s website and documents must be ADA compliant. The Legislative Gateway will be taken offline for four to six weeks starting April 22, 2026, to update documents. During that period, staff will have internal access via credentials, but the public will need to submit records requests to Ms. Eichner, Rhonda Hall Patrick, or the Legislative Services Division to obtain legislative documents. Agendas and minutes will remain publicly accessible. Council Member Rahman Johnson asked about continued public access and whether pre-2019 legislation would be consolidated; Ms. Eichner confirmed that systems will remain separate.
  • Resiliency and Compound Flood Model – Anne Coglianese, Chief Resilience Officer, presented on the city’s first compound flood model, which covers the entire St. Johns River basin and can simulate 42,000 flood scenarios. The model will help predict flood risk and inform capital planning. She also discussed updates to land development regulations, including a target growth area along transit corridors where higher density would be incentivized in exchange for resilience design or affordable housing. Other ongoing initiatives include an extreme temperature readiness project, an urban forest management plan, shoreline suitability modeling, a food plan, and a community wildfire protection plan. Council Member Matt Carlucci emphasized the importance of regional cooperation through the Northeast Florida Regional Council. Council Member Ken Amaro asked how improved risk assessment translates into protection; Ms. Coglianese noted that Jacksonville’s dispersed risk requires incremental improvements over time rather than large seawall projects. She also mentioned upcoming legislation to create incentives for developers in strategic locations.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Carnell Oliver – Spoke on procurement, asking whether the committee has reviewed contracts under the 1866 Civil Rights Act and whether foundational Black Americans are receiving 50% of procurement funds.
  • Barry Cotter – Expressed support for protected bike lanes resolution (2026-0231).
  • Litsa Dawkins (Scenic Jacksonville) – Stated strong support for resolution 2026-0231, endorsing protected bike lanes on Beaver, Monroe, Hogan, and Liberty streets.
  • Larry Roberts – Supported protected bike lanes for safe mobility, noting the cost is reasonable compared to other projects.
  • Peter Borenstein – Supported protected bike lanes, citing dangerous road design and a need for safer infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.
  • Lewan Brunson (Blue Zones Project Jacksonville) – Expressed strong support for resolution 2026-0231, noting that between 2021 and 2023, 508 people died in traffic crashes in Jacksonville, including 147 bicyclists and pedestrians. Jacksonville ranks 15th most dangerous city for pedestrians.
  • Emily Friedman – Advocated for protected bike lanes to improve safety and make Jacksonville more welcoming.
  • Lauren Rushing (Bike Walk Jax) – Expressed strong support for resolution 2026-0231, stating protected bike lanes improve safety and encourage cycling.
  • Chris Burns (Groundwork Jacksonville) – Supported protected bike lanes, highlighting Jacksonville’s history as one of the most dangerous places for pedestrians and cyclists.
  • John Nooney – Spoke on multiple items including 2026-0215, 2026-0216, 2026-0222, 2026-0226, and 2026-0231. He expressed support for the bike lanes resolution but also raised concerns about public access to waterways and the need for transparency. During the public hearing on item 2026-0216 (GFL Solid Waste), he submitted handouts and suggested a park on Pottsburg Creek.

Action Items

  • 2026-0215 – Ordinance appropriating $75,000 from the Solid Waste Disposal Fund for street sweeping beautification. Approved 4-0 (2 excused).
  • 2026-0216 – Ordinance renewing GFL Solid Waste Southeast LLC’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity with modifications to operate a transfer station and recycling facility at 11011 Blasius Rd. Public hearing held. Approved 5-0 (2 excused).
  • 2026-0222 – Ordinance approving a restrictive covenant with FDEP for portions of Lomax St and Bishop Gate Ln right-of-way. Approved 5-0 (2 excused).
  • 2026-0226 – Ordinance appropriating $77,440 in grant funds from Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove four derelict vessels. No city match required. Approved 5-0 (2 excused).
  • 2026-0230 – Resolution concerning vacation of plat portions and abandonment of unopened roads. A rules amendment (striking erroneous reference to Jacksonville Heights Subdivision) was moved and approved unanimously. Amended and approved 5-0 (2 excused).
  • 2026-0231 – Resolution expressing support for protected bicycle lanes downtown on portions of Beaver, Monroe, Hogan, and Liberty streets. Chair Lahnen noted that the resolution expresses support, not funding, and emphasized balancing priorities citywide. Approved 4-0 (2 excused, 1 absent; Johnson not voting).
  • 2026-0267 – Ordinance to rename Fingerlake Street to Fairfield Way in District 12. Read 2nd and rereferred to full council.
  • 2026-0286 – Ordinance approving standard contract with FDEP for petroleum contamination cleanup. Read 2nd and rereferred.
  • 2026-0287 – Ordinance approving interlocal agreement with FDOT for NPDES requirements. Read 2nd and rereferred.

Key Outcomes

  • All six action items on the agenda were approved with unanimous votes among members present. The committee passed a resolution supporting protected bike lanes downtown. No items were defeated or postponed.
  • The next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Tuesday, April 21st meeting of the Transportation Energy and Utilities Committee. We'll kick it off with introductions starting to my left with Mr. Libby. Stephen Libby, Council Research. Carla Shell, Office of General Counsel. Edward Linsky, Council Auditor's Office. Canamar, City Council, District One. Reggie Gaffney, Junior, District 8. Will Annan District 3. Carluccia at large group four? Good morning. Rockman Johnson, District 14. And Mr. Bill Delaney from the administration has arrived. Welcome. All right. So uh what we're gonna do first, I'll go through the agenda and then we're gonna let our presenters we got two presentations. Uh one's fairly quick and then 15 minutes from our resiliency department, and then we'll do public comment and then we'll take up the action items on the agenda. So going over the agenda, it's a total of nine items. Item one, we'll take action on 2026 215. Item two, we'll have a public hearing and then take action on as well, 2026-216. Item 3, 2026, 222, we'll take action on. Item 4, 2026, 22. I'm sorry, 222 and then 226. We'll take action on both of those. Item 5, 2026, 230. There is a rules amendment, and then we'll take final action on that. And item six, we have a resolution from Mr. Peluso 231 that we'll take action on. Item 7, 8, and 9 are on second. That's 2026 267, 286, and 287. So with that, I'm gonna ask Ms. Teresa Eichner to do our first presentation. Good morning, Teresa Eichner, City Council. You're the chair to the committee. Um, wanted to give everybody a quick update. Um back in February, we were notified by the administration that the um city of Jacksonville website needed to be ADA required, um, had an ADA requirement for the documents that are retained on our website. And so um since February, we've gone through there's um a number of documents that have um uh are located on our website that were not compliant. Um and um we've been moving them, removing them, making them ADA required um accessible. And um part of my uh presentation today is to talk about the legislative gateway portion of our website, which is managed by um Jessica and her team, Bernadette and her team. And um, that is coming down from our website um tomorrow. Um it will be available to staff internally via a username and password that I will circulate tomorrow with an SOP on how to get access to that, but for the general public, it will not be available while we get those documents or a way for those documents to be accessible to um those with a disability. And so um it will be down for about four to six weeks. The agendas and minutes for meetings will be posted to our website in a location that is um easily accessible to those and easy to be found. But I just wanted to let everybody know that that's portion of our website will be down for a couple of weeks. Councilman, uh thank you, uh Miss Eichner, uh Councilman Johnson. And then I have a question as well. Good morning. Thank you, uh Mr.

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