Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Transportation, Energy & Utilities Committee Meeting - August 19, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, August 19, 2026

BodyJacksonville, Florida

SessionCity Council

DateWednesday, August 19, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 39:49

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:01

It is nine o'clock.

0:03

I'll call the uh transportation, energy, and utilities committee meeting to order and begin with introductions from my left.

0:12

Good morning, Bill Delaney, Mayor's Office.

0:15

Stephen Lippe, Council Research.

0:17

Carla Schell, Office of General Council.

0:20

Edward Linsky Council Auditor's Office.

0:23

Good morning, Tyrone Clack Murray, District 9.

0:26

Good morning, Matt Carlucci at large group four.

0:29

Jacoby Pittman, District 10.

0:32

Kenamara, City Council District 1.

0:34

Good morning, everyone.

0:35

How are we doing today?

0:37

Jimmy Peluso, City Council District 7.

0:39

Good morning, Raw Areas District 11.

0:42

Thank you, everyone.

0:44

I'm going to reserve my remarks about Mr.

0:46

Pelusa for at the end of the meeting.

0:51

As you look at your agenda, nothing is going to be taken out of order.

0:55

Councilor President Mr.

0:57

Howland might be here.

0:58

He may not.

0:59

We have a couple of bills on agenda for him.

1:02

This morning we're going to begin our meeting with a print presentation from the Janksville Electric Authority.

1:09

This being the TEU.

1:11

I I thought it wise for them to come and share with us what's taking place with the project that's already on the way.

1:19

The uh I forget what it's called, but it's the extending of the power lines or the raising of the power lines across the river.

1:29

And uh and and I thought it would be a good moment to uh edify many of us here at the committee as to the work that's being done.

1:37

Uh over the past year, we have all uh approved the uh the the funding for this project.

1:42

So we'll begin with Jay.

1:44

If you would come and please introduce yourself and do your presentation, Mr.

1:48

Shea Hill.

1:50

Good morning.

1:52

Shea Hill, JEA.

1:54

Uh today we have a presentation on the Fulton Cut transmission line clearance, and we will have Daryl Hamilton, who is our manager of transmission and substations, the subject matter experts in this matter.

2:08

Come up and do a presentation for you.

2:10

Thank you for your time.

2:12

Thanks.

2:17

Good morning.

2:18

Uh I'm Daryl Hamilton, manager of transmission and substation projects.

2:23

I work for Gabor Atts and the Engineering and Projects Group.

2:27

Uh this morning, uh, we're gonna do a presentation of the Fulton Cut project uh as an update uh to the council.

2:35

Uh we also have a video to share at the end that we'll like to pivot to uh before any questions.

2:42

So uh before we get into the details of the actual project itself, what I like to do is go over some historical fact snapshots of the Fulton Cut.

2:52

There may be some folks that are may not be familiar with the Fulton Cut.

2:57

Uh the Fulton Cut is located there at Blunt Island on the North Bank and Reed Island on the South Bank.

3:04

And it's essentially a river crossing of six transmission lines, uh, five 230 KV lines and one 138 KV lines.

3:14

They're uh critical to our system.

3:18

Some facts about the Fulton Cut.

3:21

Uh the original tower was constructed and built in the early 60s.

3:28

Uh later in the late 60s, the second tower was constructed, followed by the third tower in the 80s.

3:38

The existing tower height is roughly 315 feet.

3:43

And across the river, it's approximately the river crossing is approximately 2,000 feet across.

3:54

I'm gonna mention some terms in this presentation that I'll like to clarify up front.

3:59

Uh you'll hear me say paramet structures, monopole structures, and conductors.

4:06

Uh conductors is the actual wire that the current flows on.

4:11

The paramet structures are the actual structures at the bank of the river.

4:17

Uh, there's three paramets towers on the north bank and three on the south bank.

4:22

Um they're the towers that really hose all of the can handle all of the the moments and forces and loading of the conductor crossing the river.

4:34

And we have monopole structures.

4:37

The monopole structures are the back end structures that get us into alignment of the existing alignment of the Fulton Cut.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████69%

Procedural█████████14%

Personnel Matters██████9%

Racial Equity████6%

Economic Development█2%

Summary of Proceedings

Transportation, Energy & Utilities Committee Meeting – August 19, 2026

The Transportation, Energy & Utilities (TEU) Committee of the Jacksonville City Council convened on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, at 9:01 AM and adjourned at 9:40 AM. Chair Ken Amaro presided, with seven members present. The meeting featured a presentation on the JEA Fulton Cut Transmission Line Clearance Project, committee votes on several ordinances, and a public comment period.

Presentation: Fulton Cut Transmission Line Clearance Project

Darrell Hamilton, Manager of Transmission and Substation Projects at JEA, presented an update on the project. The Fulton Cut is a river crossing of six transmission lines (five 230 kV, one 138 kV) from Blount Island to Reed Island, originally built between the 1960s and 1980s.
The project will raise the power lines 50 feet – from 175 feet to 225 feet above high tide – to allow JAXPORT to accommodate larger ships after river dredging.
Project budget: $117 million total, funded through a tri-party agreement among the City of Jacksonville, JAXPORT, and JEA. The initial $45 million (Phase 1) came from state grants and JAXPORT; Phase 3 will contribute $39.5 million from JAXPORT; JEA’s share is $32.5 million.
Milestones: Completion of Pyramax structures (three on each bank) and helicopter-assisted pulling of roping and conductor across the St. Johns River. The project is on schedule and on budget, with zero safety incidents.
Timeline: The system will be operational by the end of calendar year 2026; demolition of old towers (cut into sections and recycled) will occur between January and March 2027.
Outages: Planned transmission outages of up to two weeks per circuit, but work may be completed in one week. Customers will not be affected due to the looped transmission system.
Maintenance: JEA’s Transmission Maintenance Department conducts annual inspections; typical lifespan of such installations is 50 to 75 years.

Chair’s Remarks: JEA Survey Results

Chair Amaro, as City Council liaison to the JEA Board, reported on a special meeting held August 14, 2026, concerning a city-sponsored survey of JEA CEO Vickie Cavey. He stated that allegations of a toxic work culture and racism were unsubstantiated but that the JEA Board is pursuing executive coaching for the entire C-suite to improve communication. Committee members were encouraged to review the eight-page summary, which JEA’s Renee Goode offered to send to all elected officials.

Consent Calendar

2026-0569 – Ordinance rescheduling Finance, TEU, and LUZ committee meetings from May 18, 2027 to May 19, 2027 due to the 2027 General Election, and acknowledging the March 2027 Council meeting date. Approved 6-0 after technical scrivener’s corrections.
2026-0573 – Ordinance authorizing a Memorandum of Understanding with Atlantic Beach for use of the Girvin Landfill for disaster debris staging, sorting, processing, and temporary storage, at no charge. Approved 6-0.
2026-0574 – “Stand for Service Act” ordinance amending the Office of Economic Development’s Public Investment Policy to require companies receiving Recapture Enhanced Value Grants to make a good-faith effort to hire qualified active-duty military spouses or veterans for at least 10% of new jobs, and to give additional positive consideration to projects benefiting Cecil Airport. Approved 6-0 after a scrivener’s correction.
2026-0587 – Ordinance declaring public necessity and authorizing acquisition (by negotiation or eminent domain) of property for the Chaffee Road widening from Normandy Boulevard to I-10. The amendment attached Exhibit 1 (legal description) and the City’s real estate purchase agreement. The property is a different portion of one of 53 affected parcels identified under prior ordinance. Allows offers up to 25% above appraised value and up to $100,000 in business damages. Construction anticipated to be completed in 2030. Approved as amended 6-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

Carnell Oliver spoke on Item 2026-0574 (Stand for Service Act). He expressed support for the bill’s veteran hiring provisions but urged the committee to incorporate enforcement language referencing the 1866 Civil Rights Act and to ensure reporting mechanisms to guarantee economic gains for Black Americans. His comments were directed to the chair and general counsel.
A second public comment card was submitted by John Nooney, but he was not present to speak.

Discussion Items

2026-0570 – Ordinance regarding electric bicycle definitions and regulations. Deferred at the request of Council Member Boylan.
2026-0627 – Ordinance closing and abandoning an unopened portion of Gate Parkway right-of-way, with a reservation to JEA for utilities. Read 2nd and rereferred.
2026-0629 – Ordinance authorizing a traffic control jurisdiction agreement with Montevilla at Bartram Lakes Association, allowing JSO to enforce a 30 mph speed limit on private roads. Read 2nd and rereferred.
2026-0633 – Ordinance appropriating $100,000 from the General Fund for traffic calming and safety improvements in Council District 5. Read 2nd and rereferred.
2026-0634 – Ordinance approving the issuance and sale of JEA bonds: up to $3.9 billion for electric system, $3.7 billion for water and sewer system, and $150 million for district energy system. Chair Amaro announced a one-cycle deferral to align JEA bills on the same cycle. Read 2nd and rereferred.
2026-0635 – Ordinance establishing an honorary street designation for Preston H. Haskell III on Museum Circle (to be renamed “Haskell Way”) in Council District 4, waiving certain requirements. Read 2nd and rereferred.
2026-0644 – Ordinance renaming “Cedar Point Preserve” park to “Middlebrook Preserve” in Council District 2. Read 2nd and rereferred.

Key Outcomes

Approved (6-0): 2026-0569, 2026-0573, 2026-0574, 2026-0587 (as amended).
Deferred: 2026-0570.
Read 2nd/Rereferred: 2026-0627, 2026-0629, 2026-0633, 2026-0634 (with a one-cycle deferral), 2026-0635, 2026-0644.
The next regular TEU committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

It is nine o'clock. I'll call the uh transportation, energy, and utilities committee meeting to order and begin with introductions from my left. Good morning, Bill Delaney, Mayor's Office. Stephen Lippe, Council Research. Carla Schell, Office of General Council. Edward Linsky Council Auditor's Office. Good morning, Tyrone Clack Murray, District 9. Good morning, Matt Carlucci at large group four. Jacoby Pittman, District 10. Kenamara, City Council District 1. Good morning, everyone. How are we doing today? Jimmy Peluso, City Council District 7. Good morning, Raw Areas District 11. Thank you, everyone. I'm going to reserve my remarks about Mr. Pelusa for at the end of the meeting. As you look at your agenda, nothing is going to be taken out of order. Councilor President Mr. Howland might be here. He may not. We have a couple of bills on agenda for him. This morning we're going to begin our meeting with a print presentation from the Janksville Electric Authority. This being the TEU. I I thought it wise for them to come and share with us what's taking place with the project that's already on the way. The uh I forget what it's called, but it's the extending of the power lines or the raising of the power lines across the river. And uh and and I thought it would be a good moment to uh edify many of us here at the committee as to the work that's being done. Uh over the past year, we have all uh approved the uh the the funding for this project. So we'll begin with Jay. If you would come and please introduce yourself and do your presentation, Mr. Shea Hill. Good morning. Shea Hill, JEA. Uh today we have a presentation on the Fulton Cut transmission line clearance, and we will have Daryl Hamilton, who is our manager of transmission and substations, the subject matter experts in this matter. Come up and do a presentation for you. Thank you for your time. Thanks. Good morning. Uh I'm Daryl Hamilton, manager of transmission and substation projects. I work for Gabor Atts and the Engineering and Projects Group. Uh this morning, uh, we're gonna do a presentation of the Fulton Cut project uh as an update uh to the council. Uh we also have a video to share at the end that we'll like to pivot to uh before any questions. So uh before we get into the details of the actual project itself, what I like to do is go over some historical fact snapshots of the Fulton Cut. There may be some folks that are may not be familiar with the Fulton Cut. Uh the Fulton Cut is located there at Blunt Island on the North Bank and Reed Island on the South Bank. And it's essentially a river crossing of six transmission lines, uh, five 230 KV lines and one 138 KV lines. They're uh critical to our system. Some facts about the Fulton Cut. Uh the original tower was constructed and built in the early 60s. Uh later in the late 60s, the second tower was constructed, followed by the third tower in the 80s.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com