For and Against: The Mobility Fee Moratorium (2013-094)

[sheclown]

Doug you have done a wonderful job educating everyone on the mobility fee.  Your presentations clarify a difficult concept. And like it or not, you are a leader of this charge.  We followed you and your direction.

And we will follow you again, if you choose to stand against this "compromise". 

We care about this because you, Ennis, Mike, made us care about it.  Made us understand it.

[strider]

In a nutshell:

18 month moratorium period that will consist of three (3) six-month periods

• 0 to 6 months = 75% fee waiver
• 6 to 12 months = 50% fee waiver
• 12 to 18 months = 25% fee waiver

The first 6-month period would start 3 months after the bill is signed by the mayor.

Bike/ped projects within the mobility plan will be funded at the same dollar value (not percentage) they would have been funded at if they were collecting 100% of the fee.  The non bike/ped projects will get what is left over.

The part of the bill that exempted residential lots based on construction of infrastructure was removed.

All well and good.  OK, not good, it's still a big loss.  What concerns me is that no one spoke up about this.  And that means there is something we are going to miss.  If this is rushed through next Tuesday, are we going to find that the 75% can be carried forth forever if this or that is done?  Or will this be a token "compromise" that will hopefully keep the Dougskiles at bay long enough to pull a fast one and get what they really want at the very last minute.

By the way, it is not that anyone went to the meeting.  It is that nothing was said about it.  Where were the posts about the meeting Dougskiles went to that involved all of us? Where was the post about the coming meeting on Monday and the possibility that there would be a vote on it on Tuesday?  I found out by accident when certainly the major players knew about it.  That is what I, and I suspect lots of others, take exception to. Going to a meeting and getting beat up is one thing.  Failing to tell us, the people who followed your lead on this issue, is quite another.


The BPAC ( Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee) is a citizen's advocacy group that promotes safe and healthy places and programs for pedestrians and bicyclists.  And interesting is it not that a member has gone on record to say they did not support this "comporomise".


Never give up... and never surrender. - Jason Nesmith - Qalaxyquest - 1999

[sheclown]

http://www.youtube.com/v/9fdcIwHKd_s

[Jumpinjack]

I think the case against this cozy deal  has been clearly framed by Stephen - the taxpayers get to cover the costs, 75%, 50%, 25% of any and all transportation impacts created by new development in this burg for over a year.

Many of our council members are contemplating how they can get rid of this mobility plan forever. Perhaps they hope that Representative Lake Ray will help them do it with two state bills to prohibit local mobility and impact fees which counties use to pay for unfunded impacts to schools and transportation.  Curtis Hart may be crying about how sad this compromise is for him and the Jacksonville builders group, but he is probably grinning as the legislature takes over the job in Tallahassee.

[fieldafm]

And that I think is a big problem.

Weve got to transform this.

Well, your best chance will be at the next election.  That's as clear as ever after being a part of this convoluted process. 

[sheclown]

I think the case against this cozy deal  has been clearly framed by Stephen - the taxpayers get to cover the costs, 75%, 50%, 25% of any and all transportation impacts created by new development in this burg for over a year.

Many of our council members are contemplating how they can get rid of this mobility plan forever. Perhaps they hope that Representative Lake Ray will help them do it with two state bills to prohibit local mobility and impact fees which counties use to pay for unfunded impacts to schools and transportation.  Curtis Hart may be crying about how sad this compromise is for him and the Jacksonville builders group, but he is probably grinning as the legislature takes over the job in Tallahassee.

More information on this please?

[tufsu1]

The mobility fee bill Lake Ray is sponsoring will not affect the plan adopted in Jacksonville

[JeffreyS]

Recent note I have sent to the council and Mayor.

The Bureau of labor Statistics March report showed a general slowdown in March. The bright spot was that construction jobs continued to show very strong growth almost 20,000 jobs.  The fantastic growth in the first Quarter close to 100,000 construction jobs is good news for the council. Now there is conclusive evidence that no Mobility Moratorium is at all needed and nothing needs to be done.  Since construction is so strong now the only purpose for a moratorium is to bail out sprawl speculators who invested in outlying properties and would like to shift their costs to the local tax payers.

[Ocklawaha]

Doug, my ire was not directed at you, it is clearly aimed at the city council, a corrupt, conniving and unprincipled collection of human waste as has ever been enthroned.  At least when North Korea nukes us and takes charge they'll find we have already seated  the "Provisional People's Committee" in Jacksonville.

Stephen, I think we should be very loud and very public about this and put any member of the council that supports any compromise on notice that we are coming after you, in print, and in photos, and IN PUBLIC.

Sheclown, in a nod to your post, in our message to these council members, I offer this. "You fools! You fail to realize that with your excuses gone MJ, will tear through you like tissue paper!  Well, let me tell YOU something, Mr/Ms Councilperson, It doesn't take a great actor to recognize a bad one. You're sweating!" 

The Mobility Plan's Heritage Streetcar Project has the singular ability to ramp up both development and real property value more then any other line item in the plan.  Sadly the very weight of our excellent bicycle participants in this process convinced the council and the media that the mobility plan is all about sidewalks and bike trails.  This no doubt was an unintended consequence of not having a lobby to speak up on things like the streetcars, S-Line, commuter rail or the Skyway.

[Hayley]

I just finally caught up on this thread... my interest in the issue is as a cyclist, and a somewhat peripheral member of the JBC (Jacksonville Bicycle Coalition).  I've been to several of the meetings to protest the moratorium at various stages.  And I'm pretty disappointed, thought not surprised, at how quietly the "compromise" has been worked...

But here's the point that worries me:

I can choose to pout at the loss, pack up my toys and go home; or I can choose to stay in the game and continue working toward a better city.

I think this is just what nearly an entire generation of our city's Millennial children might just do, or at least those with the means and education to do so.  Seeing that Jacksonville leadership doesn't share they're values, and that they don't have a voice in the process, they'll simply leave.

Cities all over America are waking up to the fact that 77 million Millennials are close to settling down for their 30's and 40's, and are vying to create communities that reflect, at least on some level, the values they prefer.  In Jacksonville, we're busy give kickbacks to suburban developers.

[thelakelander]

Cities all over America are waking up to the fact that 77 million Millennials are close to settling down for their 30's and 40's, and are vying to create communities that reflect, at least on some level, the values they prefer.

Unfortunately, Jacksonville has totally ignored or overlooked this particular issue.  We're already at disadvantage and we're fighting to stop or significantly neuter the very few things that would make the city more attractive to a generation that's larger than the baby boomers we built all these highways and artery clogging fast food joints for. Ultimately, I don't see much changing without a massive change in leadership. However, that really comes down to doing something about our apathetic voting base.

[sheclown]

hard to fight developer bucks and the corruption it buys

[thelakelander]

^Just about every community has developers that funnel money into campaign contributions.  However, for whatever reason, it doesn't always equate to this place fighting tooth and nail to keep itself in the Dark ages. The bad thing about this particular situation is that without the grass roots opposition that showed up at city hall a couple of weeks ago, a full blown moratorium of some sort would have been approved. It just would have been something like a year, instead of three. Sometimes I think this is our grand answer to facing economic related changes many have already figured out..

[strider]

As someone who chose a battle with city hall and fought it at all costs, I understand the tendency to give in and take what is offered.  OK, perhaps that statement isn't exactly true.  You don't choose those battles, they choose you.  And the price you pay is dear.  In time, in relationships and very much in money. The battle I'm talking about did not involved the entire city, just a few hundred of it's residents. If a compromise like the one suggested here for the mobility fee had been accepted by us, the result only would  have been 75% of the effected people losing their homes.  But of course, only for a year.  Then a third of those 75% could have returned .   As you might imagine, a compromise like that would not do.  So you fight until you win.  The “compromise” we ended up with was our side giving up verbiage and the other side not getting what they wanted.  The politicians sure made it seem like a real compromise, it's what they do.  But in the end, the bottom line was we won. Frankly, we didn't win with facts, we won because we found a bigger stick to wield than the other guys had. And we are still paying for that win.  Having to do over again the only thing I would change is getting smarter faster. We had to learn as we went and that costs too.

For the mobility fee fight, we have had some of the smartest guys in Jacksonville on our side.  Now though it appears that the other side is winning because the smart guys are giving up. They are deciding the price is too high to pay. They fear they will be ignored if they continue.  They are convincing themselves that they can't win and saving a small part of the mobility plan is as good as a win. They are looking forward and seeing nothing but roadblocks for the mobility fee and even themselves if they continue.

Perhaps they are right.  I don't know.  I can't know because I don't have all the facts. I didn't think I needed all the facts because we had these smart guys leading our way. Now, I feel lost.  And that is why I was at first angry with those smart guys we were following.  Today, after a sleepless night, I am no longer angry at them.  I just feel sorry for them.  In giving up, they are abandoning themselves, they just haven't realized it yet.  If they become the leaders in this city as we hoped they would, they won't be the leaders we imagined, they will be the same leaders we have today for change or fighting for what is right always costs.  You have to be willing to pay those costs and if you aren't, nothing will change.

I felt all along that the facts do not really matter in this fight.  The way to win is to make City Council as uncomfortable as possible.  To have a back-up plan that makes City Council nervous, that worries the Office of the General Council.  I think that there is a bigger stick here that can be welded.  Are you smart guys smart enough to see and use it?  Are you really the future leaders we need to move Jacksonville forward out of the dark ages?

[Tacachale]

As someone who chose a battle with city hall and fought it at all costs, I understand the tendency to give in and take what is offered.  OK, perhaps that statement isn't exactly true.  You don't choose those battles, they choose you.  And the price you pay is dear.  In time, in relationships and very much in money. The battle I'm talking about did not involved the entire city, just a few hundred of it's residents. If a compromise like the one suggested here for the mobility fee had been accepted by us, the result only would  have been 75% of the effected people losing their homes.  But of course, only for a year.  Then a third of those 75% could have returned .   As you might imagine, a compromise like that would not do.  So you fight until you win.  The “compromise” we ended up with was our side giving up verbiage and the other side not getting what they wanted.  The politicians sure made it seem like a real compromise, it's what they do.  But in the end, the bottom line was we won. Frankly, we didn't win with facts, we won because we found a bigger stick to wield than the other guys had. And we are still paying for that win.  Having to do over again the only thing I would change is getting smarter faster. We had to learn as we went and that costs too.

For the mobility fee fight, we have had some of the smartest guys in Jacksonville on our side.  Now though it appears that the other side is winning because the smart guys are giving up. They are deciding the price is too high to pay. They fear they will be ignored if they continue.  They are convincing themselves that they can't win and saving a small part of the mobility plan is as good as a win. They are looking forward and seeing nothing but roadblocks for the mobility fee and even themselves if they continue.

Perhaps they are right.  I don't know.  I can't know because I don't have all the facts. I didn't think I needed all the facts because we had these smart guys leading our way. Now, I feel lost.  And that is why I was at first angry with those smart guys we were following.  Today, after a sleepless night, I am no longer angry at them.  I just feel sorry for them.  In giving up, they are abandoning themselves, they just haven't realized it yet.  If they become the leaders in this city as we hoped they would, they won't be the leaders we imagined, they will be the same leaders we have today for change or fighting for what is right always costs.  You have to be willing to pay those costs and if you aren't, nothing will change.

I felt all along that the facts do not really matter in this fight.  The way to win is to make City Council as uncomfortable as possible.  To have a back-up plan that makes City Council nervous, that worries the Office of the General Council.  I think that there is a bigger stick here that can be welded.  Are you smart guys smart enough to see and use it?  Are you really the future leaders we need to move Jacksonville forward out of the dark ages?

That's harsh and condescending towards people who have sacrificed as much as anyone for this, and more than most - probably including you. Be mad all you want, but directing it at people like Doug and Mike is pointless and unproductive.