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Record of Proceedings

Jacksonville Neighborhoods Committee Meeting – May 4, 2026: Apprenticeship Funding, CRA Board Changes, and Grant Approvals

City Council — Monday, May 4, 2026
BodyJacksonville, Florida
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, May 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 38:52

Original source
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0:09

Well good morning.

0:10

It is now 9 30, and I'll go ahead and call to order the Monday, May 4th neighborhoods meeting, and we'll start with introductions to my left with Mr.

0:21

Delaney.

0:22

Good morning, y'all.

0:23

Bill Delaney with the mayor's office.

0:25

Brandon Russell, Council Research.

0:27

Mary Stefopoulos, Office of General Counsel.

0:30

Philip Peterson, Council Auditor's Office.

0:32

Good morning, Michael Buen District Six.

0:36

Good morning, Kenamara, City Council District 1.

0:39

Randy White, District 12.

0:41

Mike Gay, District 2.

0:43

Ron Salem, group two at large.

0:46

Good morning, Tabernacle Murray, District 9.

0:50

Terrence Freeman at large group one.

0:52

Good morning, Rockmont Johnson, District 14.

0:55

I'm visiting.

0:56

All right.

0:56

Welcome, visiting council members.

1:00

We'll go ahead and go to public comment.

1:03

We have our first speaker, Mr.

1:05

John J.

1:06

Nooney.

1:07

Come on forward, sir.

1:08

Give your name and address or say it's on the record.

1:14

And you'll be given three minutes to speak to an item on the agenda, sir.

1:21

All right.

1:21

Hello.

1:24

I am John Philanthropic, Jelly Roll.

1:27

Good boy, resiliency Nooney.

1:30

Ocho Trace, Cinco Says, Baskum Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 32216.

1:34

I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC 3, School Board District 3.

1:39

Yeah, as far as the agenda.

1:41

Yeah, I'll be touching on agenda items.

1:43

Let's see, we got five, six, seven, eight, fifteen, sixteen, eighteen, twenty-one, twenty-four, twenty-six.

1:50

RD, real doge, Ron Davis, 600 WBOB.

1:55

Let's see.

1:56

Yeah, the agenda.

1:57

Let's see.

1:58

I jotted down to agenda item five, 2026 0259.

2:02

You know, uh boy, they're calling in on that one already.

2:06

Okay, that's uh Jacksonville Waterways Commission.

2:09

That's the hotline.

2:11

Uh 2026 0260, another direct contract.

2:15

Remember, 2024 0107 JU, 2024 0325, Urban Core CPAC.

2:22

In fact, they're meeting tonight, 530.

2:26

So are you gonna defer on this and wait to see what happens with the CPAC?

2:30

Let me just say this too.

2:31

I went to uh an ethics commission meeting and I asked, you know, and Dylan Reingold was there, Kirby Oberdorfer.

2:38

You know, we have six CPACs representing the entire city of Jacksonville.

2:43

We have the mayor's disability council, you know, they're meeting tomorrow.

2:47

The wheelchair gang.

2:49

The council on elder affairs, the senior citizen gang.

2:53

I'm in it, you know, fishing with centurions.

2:59

Uh down to a minute 22.

3:01

But why is OGC not represented at these meetings?

3:08

It's the wild west.

3:10

Okay, agenda item.

3:12

We got 20 number 8, 2026 0265.

3:16

That's JCB stuff, 200 grand.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████28%
Workforce Development██████████████████████████26%
Zoning And Land Use██████████████████18%
Historic Preservation███████████11%
Community Engagement████████8%
Economic Development██████6%
Water And Wastewater Management███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Jacksonville Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee Meeting – May 4, 2026

The Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee of the Jacksonville City Council met on May 4, 2026, from 9:30 AM to 10:08 AM in the Council Chamber. Chair Mike Gay presided. Present: Randy White (Vice Chair), Ron Salem, Ken Amaro, Michael Boylan, Tyrona Clark-Murray. Excused: Chris Miller. Also attending: visiting Councilmembers Terrence Freeman, Rockmont Johnson, and later Jimmy Peluso. The committee acted on several ordinances and resolutions, including approval of apprenticeship funding with a strengthened clawback provision, amendments to CRA advisory board boundaries, and multiple grant agreements.

Deferred Items

  • 2024-0966: Settlement of fines with Live Oak Ancient City Living, LLC – deferred at request of Council President Carrico.
  • 2025-0361: Retiree adjustment payments – deferred at request of Councilmember White.
  • 2026-0227: Prohibition on city funds for abortions – deferred at request of Councilmember Diamond.

Approved Items

  • 2026-0258 (Amend/Approve 6-0): Ordinance amending membership qualifications for the Renew Arlington and KingSoutel Crossing CRA Advisory Boards. An amendment adopted on the floor narrowed the geographic boundary for Renew Arlington board members to Council District 1 (instead of a mileage radius). A proposed second amendment to similarly expand the KingSoutel board to District 10 was withdrawn after concerns that the district councilmember (Pittman) was not present and that the CRA spans multiple districts.
  • 2026-0259 (Approve 6-0): Approval of the Isle of Palms Dependent Special District FY 26-27 budget, with a total assessment of $499,000 from 499 parcels (no change in the $1,000 maximum per parcel).
  • 2026-0260 (Approve 6-0): Appropriation of $143,710 from General Fund Operating Reserves for improvements to the historic Stanton School (electrical, exterior, interior remediation). The grant includes a 25% advance ($35,927.50) and waives competitive bidding. Councilmember Johnson noted new board leadership under Judge James Ruth as key to progress.
  • 2026-0264 (Approve 6-0): Amendment to the Riverside-Avondale Preservation, Inc. grant budget, reallocating funds to printing/advertising, professional fees, and equipment.
  • 2026-0265 (Amend/Approve 6-0): Appropriation of $675,000 from the Jacksonville General Apprenticeship Association contingency account to support apprenticeship programs (electrical, sheet metal, plumbing, operating engineering, carpentry). The committee adopted the auditor's recommended amendment extending the contract term to September 30, 2028, and adding a clawback: if an enrollee leaves within one year, JGAA must repay the city $2,500 per enrollee. The administration confirmed support.
  • 2026-0267 (Amend/Approve 6-0): Renaming of Fingerlake Street to Fairfield Way in District 12. An amendment removed a waiver of noticing requirements (unnecessary since no property owners were affected).
  • 2026-0286 (Approve 6-0): Continuation of a contract with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for petroleum contamination cleanup in Duval, Nassau, Baker, and St. Johns Counties (term through June 30, 2031, with renewal option).
  • 2026-0287 (Approve 6-0): Interlocal agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for NPDES requirements (term through May 31, 2031, with renewal option).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • John Nooney (address: Ocho Trace, Jacksonville, FL 32216) commented on multiple agenda items (2026-0259, 0260, 0264, 0265, 0315, 0316, 0318, 0321, 0327, 0332), raising concerns about direct contracts and the absence of OGC representation at CPAC meetings. He also noted the Jacksonville Waterways Commission and urged deferral pending CPAC input.

Discussion Items

  • CRA Board Boundaries: Extensive discussion on expanding Renew Arlington board eligibility to Council District 1. Karen Nasrallah (OED) explained that current narrow boundaries caused vacancies and quorum issues. Councilmembers debated the rationale and later introduced a similar proposal for KingSoutel, which was withdrawn to allow consultation with Councilmember Pittman.
  • Apprenticeship Program: Councilmember Freeman introduced the JGAA bill, noting it originated from a workforce initiative. The amendment adding a clawback was praised by Councilmember Amaro as protecting taxpayer investment and motivating student completion. Qualified enrollee defined as a Duval County resident enrolled in one of five apprenticeship trades.
  • Stanton School Grant: Councilmember Johnson explained that new board leadership (Judge Ruth) and a clear plan justified re-appropriating lapsed funds. Councilmember Amaro asked about the property's relation to an AME church; Johnson clarified the nonprofit is independent.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved (all 6-0): Items 2026-0258, 0259, 0260, 0264, 0265, 0267, 0286, 0287.
  • Deferred: Items 2024-0966, 2025-0361, 2026-0227.
  • Read 2nd & Re-referred (no vote taken): Items 2026-0312 through 2026-0364 (second reading items) were read into the record and referred to appropriate committees.
  • Next meeting: Scheduled for May 18, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Well good morning. It is now 9 30, and I'll go ahead and call to order the Monday, May 4th neighborhoods meeting, and we'll start with introductions to my left with Mr. Delaney. Good morning, y'all. Bill Delaney with the mayor's office. Brandon Russell, Council Research. Mary Stefopoulos, Office of General Counsel. Philip Peterson, Council Auditor's Office. Good morning, Michael Buen District Six. Good morning, Kenamara, City Council District 1. Randy White, District 12. Mike Gay, District 2. Ron Salem, group two at large. Good morning, Tabernacle Murray, District 9. Terrence Freeman at large group one. Good morning, Rockmont Johnson, District 14. I'm visiting. All right. Welcome, visiting council members. We'll go ahead and go to public comment. We have our first speaker, Mr. John J. Nooney. Come on forward, sir. Give your name and address or say it's on the record. And you'll be given three minutes to speak to an item on the agenda, sir. All right. Hello. I am John Philanthropic, Jelly Roll. Good boy, resiliency Nooney. Ocho Trace, Cinco Says, Baskum Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 32216. I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC 3, School Board District 3. Yeah, as far as the agenda. Yeah, I'll be touching on agenda items. Let's see, we got five, six, seven, eight, fifteen, sixteen, eighteen, twenty-one, twenty-four, twenty-six. RD, real doge, Ron Davis, 600 WBOB. Let's see. Yeah, the agenda. Let's see. I jotted down to agenda item five, 2026 0259. You know, uh boy, they're calling in on that one already. Okay, that's uh Jacksonville Waterways Commission. That's the hotline. Uh 2026 0260, another direct contract. Remember, 2024 0107 JU, 2024 0325, Urban Core CPAC. In fact, they're meeting tonight, 530. So are you gonna defer on this and wait to see what happens with the CPAC? Let me just say this too. I went to uh an ethics commission meeting and I asked, you know, and Dylan Reingold was there, Kirby Oberdorfer. You know, we have six CPACs representing the entire city of Jacksonville.

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