RAP-->Costs? Benefits?

[grimss]

^ Thank you. I'll start reading!

[Jimmy]

you certainly have become a lot more productive since your JaxOutLoud days, Jimmy!  Remarkably so.  It definitely is a far cry from the days of posting intensely inappropriate videos of a prominent attorney's aging mother in an attempt to embarrass the man!  Or all that crazy semi slanderous gossip that used to always get pasted onto the website.

I for one am very proud of you, and the good work that you are doing in the community! From your participation in RAP to your work on the anti discrimination bill! Its great to see someone grow.  I certainly hope that you keep this in mind when considering other people trying to get a grasp of the community around them.  Ive often found that dialogue changes people.  People can improve! IMHO of course!

Actually I've always been personally quite productive before, during, and after JaxOutLoud.  As to the contents of JaxOutLoud, I would never presume to judge an entire website by the antics of a few posters.  Even if they happened to have also been mods or admins.  You see that sort of foolishness everywhere on the internet.  I've been happy enough to be able to keep up and separate the wheat from the chaff.

By and large I'd say we've all come a long way and learned much since our time at MetJax.  And clearly there is more yet to learn and much more yet to do.

[tufsu1]

As to the contents of JaxOutLoud, I would never presume to judge an entire website by the antics of a few posters.  Even if they happened to have also been mods or admins. 

good point!

[Timkin]

JOL had some good points

Jimmy is a great man !

[Jimmy]

Tim ain't no slouch, himself.

[Ocklawaha]

I enjoy your input Jimmy, glad to have you aboard, it's been too long... We should gather the whole gang together again an do dinner some time. Tim? Stephen? Come on down!

OCK

[JeffreyS]

Just read the 11 pages very interesting.

[johnny_simpatico]

The out-of-pocket cost for a family is $65 per year.  For that you get what? I just checked the website for the neighborhood improvement association where I lived previously.  There it's $10 per year.  I'd pay $10 a year to be a member of RAP.  It's not worth $65, which looks more like the dues for a professional society. 

I submit that the high cost of entry makes it an exclusive club, which helps to explain its arrogance.  The organization is hardly representative of the neighborhood (or should I say neighborhoods).

[JeffreyS]

This thread is a really good discussion. We obviously have some well informed posters. I would like to commend Mr. Wood and Mr. Dare for their valuable input. Lake's insight is particularly impressive.

As for RAP itself no doubt this neighborhood would not be as great without them and I appreciate Kay and others participating here even when it is contentious. I think they found a reasonable solution in the Kickbacks situation and I was very critical of them earlier in the process.

I would like to see RAP add as a stated goal  the restoration of the historic streetcar lines in Riverside.  Preservation of the past preparation for the future.

[ben says]

I would like to see RAP add as a stated goal  the restoration of the historic streetcar lines in Riverside.  Preservation of the past preparation for the future.

+1.

[Kay]

This thread is a really good discussion. We obviously have some well informed posters. I would like to commend Mr. Wood and Mr. Dare for their valuable input. Lake's insight is particularly impressive.

As for RAP itself no doubt this neighborhood would not be as great without them and I appreciate Kay and others participating here even when it is contentious. I think they found a reasonable solution in the Kickbacks situation and I was very critical of them earlier in the process.

I would like to see RAP add as a stated goal  the restoration of the historic streetcar lines in Riverside.  Preservation of the past preparation for the future.

We have it as a goal!!!

[L.P. Hovercraft]

...As for RAP itself no doubt this neighborhood would not be as great without them and I appreciate Kay and others participating here even when it is contentious. I think they found a reasonable solution in the Kickbacks situation...

Agree wholeheartedly.

[JeffreyS]

This thread is a really good discussion. We obviously have some well informed posters. I would like to commend Mr. Wood and Mr. Dare for their valuable input. Lake's insight is particularly impressive.

As for RAP itself no doubt this neighborhood would not be as great without them and I appreciate Kay and others participating here even when it is contentious. I think they found a reasonable solution in the Kickbacks situation and I was very critical of them earlier in the process.

I would like to see RAP add as a stated goal  the restoration of the historic streetcar lines in Riverside.  Preservation of the past preparation for the future.

We have it as a goal!!!

That is great however I don't see it stated on the website or on the 18 page RAP strategic plan document. I am not questioning what you have said rather how many people including your membership and in city government know you are advocating it.

The closest I could find was this statement in the strategic plan.

• Traffic: RAP will hire a consultant who specializes in transportation and traffic
management to put together a long-term master plan to deal with traffic and parking problems. RAP will seek adoption of this transportation master plan by both local and state government.

Again I think RAP has been the best QOL organization in Jax over the last 30 years

[mtraininjax]

If a new business overburdens the parking capacity of any of these neighborhood commercial districts, it not only does it hurt the existing businesses but it causes adverse quality-of-life problems for the nearby residents. Balance is the key.

Isn't this the RUB here in Avondale? A balance? We all thought the Avondale Strip was going to hell when Mojo #4 came in and knocked out 2 Retail shops, but in fact, the area is thriving and doing better than ever. I don't see where Parking has become a larger issue, from before it arrived. There is no wild west after dark, no gangs patrolling the area, just people having fun and learning to cope with urban issues. Other areas of town are jealous to have this level of activity, San Marco has had a sign that Publix is coming for years now with a lovely fence around it, their road is torn up for blocks from Landon Avenue to the Square. I know people who own retail in San Marco, and they would rather have the issues that Avondale is "supposedly" having.

Now that 'town is gone, we have lost a restaurant in the area, yet I still see cars everywhere, is it easier to find a parking space now with 'town gone? Or are we just complaining for the sake of change coming to the neighborhood. I already offered Valentino parking in my driveway and in front of my house, cause I can walk or bike down there. If you want to live in Avondale, its changing and if you don't, Brooklyn is nice and boring and you can get a lot more for your money right now. Start the cult, move to Brooklyn and enjoy river views from blocks away.

[Kay]

This thread is a really good discussion. We obviously have some well informed posters. I would like to commend Mr. Wood and Mr. Dare for their valuable input. Lake's insight is particularly impressive.

As for RAP itself no doubt this neighborhood would not be as great without them and I appreciate Kay and others participating here even when it is contentious. I think they found a reasonable solution in the Kickbacks situation and I was very critical of them earlier in the process.

I would like to see RAP add as a stated goal  the restoration of the historic streetcar lines in Riverside.  Preservation of the past preparation for the future.

We have it as a goal!!!

That is great however I don't see it stated on the website or on the 18 page RAP strategic plan document. I am not questioning what you have said rather how many people including your membership and in city government know you are advocating it.

The closest I could find was this statement in the strategic plan.

• Traffic: RAP will hire a consultant who specializes in transportation and traffic
management to put together a long-term master plan to deal with traffic and parking problems. RAP will seek adoption of this transportation master plan by both local and state government.

Again I think RAP has been the best QOL organization in Jax over the last 30 years

That is the strategic goal and we have a transportation committee who has identified specific goals/outcomes.  Our next step is to vet it with the community hopefully via a consultant and get those goals into a specific plan/policies.  Stay tuned.