OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL

 

CHERYL L. BROWN                                                                                                        117 WEST DUVAL STREET, SUITE 425

            DIRECTOR                                                                                                                                                                                 4TH FLOOR, CITY HALL

   OFFICE (904) 630-1452                                                                                                                                                          JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA  32202

     FAX (904) 630-2906                                                                                                                                                                                                               

  E-MAIL: CLBROWN@coj.net

 

 

PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE AMENDED MINUTES

 

 

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Tape No.________________________

2:00 PM  

 

Council Chambers 1st Floor,  City Hall

Dana Farris,

Chief of Legislative Services

 

 

 

 

Ronnie Fussell, Chair

Legislative Assistant: Marilyn Allen

Art Shad, Vice Chair

Asst. Council Auditor: Janice Billy

Reggie Brown

Attorney: Steve Rohan

Johnny Gaffney

Administration: Sherry Hall

Ray Holt

Chief of Research: Jeff Clements

Glorious Johnson, Excused

 

Doyle Carter, Arrived 2:10

 

 

 

                        Meeting Convened     2:05 PM                       Meeting Adjourned       2:25 PM

 

Attendance:

Presentation by Jerry Spinks-Cemeteries 

Joel McEachin, City Planner Manager, spoke concerning the cemeteries.

 

C/M Fussell appointed a Subcommittee on Cemeteries, Council Members Doyle Carter and Reginald Brown.

 

 

NOTE:  The next regular meeting will be held Tuesday, May 3, 2011.

 

 

Item/File No.

Title/History

 

 

1.  2010-766

ORD-MC Creating new Sec 634.102(f), Ord Code, to Estab a $40 Court Cost on Felonies, Misdemeanors & Criminal Traffic Infractions to fund Elements of State Court Syst, Provide Progs thru Jax Area Legal Aid, Inc for Education, Mediation & Defense of Foreclosure Actions for Disadvantaged; Sunset on 12/31/14; Amend Sec 111.385 (Court Cost $65 Trust Fund per Sec 939.185 F.S.) to Conform Same to Statutory Changes; Create New Sec 111.386 (Court Cost $40 Trust Fund per Sec 939.185(1)(b) F.S.) to Receive Authorized Court Costs. (Rohan) (Introduced by C/M Hyde & Co-sponsored by CM Holt)

Public Hearing Pursuant to Chapt 166, F.S. & CR 3.601 - 10/12/10

 

1. 9/28/2010 CO  Introduced: F,PHS,R

 

    10/4/2010 R Read 2nd & Rerefer

 

    10/5/2010 PHS Read 2nd & Rerefer;    10/5/2010 F Read 2nd & Rerefer

 

2. 10/12/2010 CO PH Read 2nd & Rereferred; F, PHS, R

 

 

Bill Summary

R:    Defer                                            

F:    Defer

 

 

DEFER

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.  2011-175

ORD Approp $199,995 for Advanced & Specialized Training for Law Enforcemt & Correctional Officers & for Administrative Costs apvd by Criminal Justice Standards & Training Comm & Adopt Budget for 2011-2012 Fiscal Yr (7/1/11 - 6/30/12) for Criminal Justice Training Fund; Auth Funds Carryover to FY 2011-2012. (BT 11-065) (McCain) (Req of Sheriff)

Public Hearing Pursuant to Chapt 166, F.S. & CR 3.601 - 4/12/11

 

1. 3/24/2011 CO  Introduced: F,PHS

 

    4/5/2011 PHS Read 2nd & Rerefer;    4/5/2011 F Read 2nd & Rerefer

 

2. 4/12/2011 CO PH Read 2nd & Rereferred; F, PHS

 

 

Bill Summary

F: Amend/Approve

 

AMEND(F)/APPROVE 5-0

 

 

 

 

3.  2011-200

ORD-MC Amend Chapt 123 (Public Fees), Part 1 (In General), Sec 123.107 (Exemptions), Ord Code, to Exempt the State Attorney's Ofc, 4th Judicial Circuit, from Pymt of Fees for Rescue Reports & Fire Incidents Reports. (McCain) (Req of Mayor)

Public Hearing Pursuant to Chapt 166, F.S. & CR 3.601 - 4/26/11

 

1. 4/12/2011 CO  Introduced: F,PHS,R (Added by R Chair 4/12/11)

 

                                                                                     Bill Summary

                               R: Read 2nd & rerefer

                               F: Read 2nd & rerefer

 

                                                                             READ 2ND & REREFER

 

At the conclusion of the agenda a presentation was made by Jerry Spinks, Chair of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Abandoned and Neglected Cemeteries.  The commission, composed of 9 members appointed by the City Council in 2007, has been cataloging and studying the issues related to abandoned and neglected cemeteries in the city, of which there are over 125, ranging in size from a single grave to several thousand.  The commission identified several key points that need to be addressed with regard to these cemeteries, including recordkeeping, maintenance, and coordination of state and local laws regarding cemeteries.  Joel McEachin of the Planning and Development Department, a member of the commission, reported that his department serves as the repository of information gathered about the cemeteries and will coordinate record storage.  Jon Ferguson of the Southern Genealogical Exchange Society, a member of the commission, explained that his organization did the survey to find all of the abandoned and neglected cemeteries.  Hazel Mack, archivist at Congregation Ahavath Chesed in Mandarin and a member of the commission, explained that she is the keeper of records for the City’s Jewish burial grounds, several of which are portions of the large commercial cemeteries in town.

 

Mr. Spinks distributed binders to each committee member with information on all of the identified cemeteries in the city by council district to be used as a resource when constituents call seeking information or to make a complaint about a cemetery.  He also noted that state law specifically authorizes local governments to use public resources to open up access to neglected or abandoned cemeteries and provides that by doing so a city or county does not incur any liability and does not establish any precedent requiring it to take any further action with regard to any other cemetery.  Mr. Spinks thanked the members of the commission, the City Council and City staff, and Jacksonville Community Council Inc. (JCCI) for its work in facilitating the public participation part of the project.  Council Members Fussell and Shad thanked Mr. Spinks and the members of the Blue Ribbon Commission for their hard work and diligence in bringing the project to completion and presenting good recommendations.

 

Pursuant to Sec. 4 of Ordinance 2004-13149-A, Chairman Fussell accepted the report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on behalf of the PHS Committee and declared the commission’s work to be complete and the commission officially sunset.  He appointed a PHS Subcommittee comprised of Council Members Reggie Brown and Doyle Carter to review and follow up on the recommendations presented by the commission.

 

Council Member Holt requested information from the administration regarding the City’s ISO rating and its effect on fire insurance premiums.  He reported a recent conversation with Mayor Stan Totman of the Town of Baldwin who reported that his town’s ISO rating was recently downgraded and as a result the premiums for property insurance in the town have increased dramatically.  Mr. Holt is curious if the same is possible for Jacksonville.

 

 

Minutes:            Jeff Clements, City Council Research

                                Posted 4.20.11    10:30 a.m.

 

Recording:            PHS Committee meeting - LSD

                                4.19.11

 

Materials:              PHS agenda – LSD

                                4.19.11

 

c.c.          cityc@coj.net