OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
E. DENISE LEE		SUITE 425, CITY HALL
COUNCIL MEMBER, DISTRICT 8		117 WEST DUVAL STREET
OFFICE (904) 630-1385		JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32202
FAX (904) 630-2906		E-MAIL: EDLEE@COJ.NET

NEIGHBORHOOD BLIGHT AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

February 24, 2014

5 p.m.

Location: Conference Room A, City Hall, 117 West Duval Street.

In Attendance: Chair CM E. Denise Lee, CM John Crescimbeni, CM Jim Love, CM Warren Jones; CM Don Redman, Kimberly Scott, Municipal Code Compliance; Jeff Foster, Solid Waste; Sgt. David Oliver, JSO; Karen Bowling, Mayor’s Office; Daphne Colbert, Neighborhoods; Robert Prado, MCC; Angela Spears, Mayor’s Office; Aleizha Batson, PIO; Alex Pellom, EPD; Jim Robinson, Public Works; Lin White, Public Works; Calvin Burney, Planning; Steve Woodard, Emergency Preparedness; James Reed, City Planner; Brian Mosier, MCCD; Mike Clark, Florida Times-Union, Ron Littlepage, Florida Times-Union; Dave McDaniel, Public Works; Kevin Kuzel, ECA District 14; Sherry Wilson, Parks & Recreation; Hosea Small, citizen; Luis Flores, Public Buildings; Aleizha Batson, Public Affairs Office, Det. David Matsick, JSO; Andi Hammond; Public Works; Janice Billy, CAO; Diane Armstrong, EPD; Michael Pool, EPD; Kenny Logsdon, Neighborhoods; Terrance Ashanta-Barker, Neighborhoods; Sean Lindsey, JSO; and Dan Macdonald, ECA District 8.

CM Dr. Johnny Gaffney had an excused absence.

The meeting was called to order at 2:09 p.m. Chair E. Denise Lee, CM Bill Bishop and CM Jim Love in attendance .The minutes were accepted (3-0).

Jeff Foster, Solid Waste director, spoke about short-term, mid-term and long-term solutions to tire and illegal dumping (see document). The short-term solutions are currently in place. When Mr. Foster said that fencing publicly owned land was not a primary option, CM Lee insisted that it be part of the plan. Jim Robinson, Public Works director, said the city is not anti-fence but fencing isn’t practical along the right-of-way where much of the illegal dumping is taking place. CM Lee insisted that fencing be part of the plan to see if it is affective. She also asked how long the short- term solutions would be in place. Mr. Foster said three months but that the short-term solutions that work will be continued. Karen Bowling, of the Mayor’s Office said the problem with fencing is that after time, chain link fences become a cause of blight.

CM Jim Love asked about the frequency of collecting illegal tires and Mr. Foster told him it happens five days a week. When he mentioned that this effort is costing overtime, CM Lee wanted to know the amount of money that is budgeted for this and asked that costs be provided at the next meeting.

CM Warren Jones said the current ordinance (Chapter 260 – Disposal of Waste Tires) requires that tire haulers keep inventory in locked, fenced areas. Det. David Matsick, the sole officer responsible for tire blight, said the ordinance lacks teeth as a class D offence with a maximum penalty of $500 and up to 60 days in jail.

CM Crescimbeni arrived at 2:37 p.m.

CM Lee formed a subcommittee that includes CM Love and CM Bishop as well as Det. Matsick and a representative from the General Counsel’s Office and asked that a noticed meeting be held to discuss strengthening the current ordinance.

Mr. Foster moved on to discuss mid-term and long-term solutions and CM Lee asked that costs for each item be presented at the next meeting. CM Lee asked the Love –Bishop Subcommittee to look into increasing manpower and examine funding for the Blight Task Force.

CM Crescimbeni asked about the fee people pay when they buy new tires and found out that the fee is actually voluntary and not applicable if they take the old tires home with them. He asked if the city could impose its own 50 cent fee per tire. CM Lee asked the subcommittee to address that issue as well. CM Crescimbeni said tire stores need to be able to educate customers about the proper disposal of tires.

Peggy Sidman, deputy general counsel, made Det. Matsick and the committee aware that bill 2014-123, which will be voted on at the Feb. 25 City Council meeting will exempt tire hauling limit of 8 tires from March 22-April 5 so that people can collect tires for the planned April 5 tire and snipe sign buyback event.

Mr. Robinson discussed the establishment of the new mowing division. He said the search for a new chief has come down to two in-house candidates. It is expected that the chief will be hired by the end of February. The inspector staff will be hired in March. He presented a PowerPoint presentation that discussed the division’s expected budget and told the committee it would be located on St. Johns Bluff near Craig Airport.

The Recreation and Community Development committee will handle the issue of Senior Citizen and multi-use center blight. CM Crescimbeni chairs RCD and said he would report on the committee’s work.

CM Don Redman arrived at 3 p.m.

Daphne Colbert of Neighborhoods and CM Love spoke about the newly drafted letter and information form drafted to populate a city-wide neighborhood organization database. (See attachments). The committee spoke mostly about the form asking why zoning information and other related information was included on the form. CM Lee asked that all zoning information be removed other than the question asking if the organization wanted to be notified of zoning issues in its area. CM Lee asked that a new draft of the form be presented at the next meeting.

CM Crescimbeni said by the next meeting that the new database model would be ready to present. He told Ms. Colbert not to print the multi-page list, instead be prepared to explain how the database works via a PowerPoint presentation.

Due to the lack of time agenda items for Municipal Code, JTA, Intergovernmental departments will be presented at the next meeting as would the report from the Bishop-Love subcommittee. CM Lee asked that CM Crescimbeni and MS. Bowling form a subcommittee and create a “dress rehearsal” for the April 5 tire and snipe sign buyback so that every aspect will be considered.

CM Crescimbeni told the committee that JEA was going to place a flier in its bills to Duval County citizens telling them of the tire and snipe sign buyback. It was suggested that a letter or resolution of thanks be extended to the JEA.

Resident Hosea Small was asked to speak of his experience since the city began this intense blight removal initiative. He has several properties on the Eastside. As a longtime resident, he said he has never seen such an effort and the results are very positive. He also commented the when he called 603-CITY on another matter that he was pleased the blight was the first CARE option mentioned in the recording.

The next meeting is on Thursday March 6 at 10 a.m. in the Don Davis Room.

Meeting adjourned at 4:11 p.m.

Contents: Minutes, attendance sheet, Public Works Waste Tire and Illegal Dumping Plan, Neighborhoods letter and information form, JSO Information Bulletin on the Enforcement of Ordinance Chapter 260, and audio recording.