Downtown Investment Authority backs $800,000 for Hemming Plaza proposal

[jaxlore]

Looks like Hemming Plaza might be getting some muscle finally. It kills me to here Bill Gulliford talking about Champagne budget vs beer budget. He just does not get it.

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=542668

Downtown Investment Authority backs $800,000 for Hemming Plaza proposal
Wednesday, April 9, 10:37 AM EDT
By David Chapman, Staff Writer

Over the next several days, Hemming Plaza will be programmed with One Spark activities that will attract thousands. The Downtown park on the doorsteps of City Hall will be a main attraction of the annual crowdfunding festival.
The Downtown Investment Authority wants the park — criticized by many for years as being a Downtown sore spot — to have that kind of appeal year-round.

The authority board voted 6-0 Tuesday to spend $800,000 — close to 20 percent of its $4.1 million economic development budget — to make that happen. Three members did not attend the meeting — Vice Chair Jim Bailey (publisher of the Daily Record), Rob Clements and Kay Harper.

The resolution gives $800,000 to Friends of Hemming Park for an 18-month operations and management contract. Under the proposal, the group will hire staff to make the park safer and cleaner, schedule events and work with surrounding property owners on accomplishing those goals.

The $800,000 would be in addition to the $200,000 already budgeted this year and the $250,000 the Hemming group has committed to raise. The initial bump, authority CEO Aundra Wallace said, was for initial startup costs.

The Hemming group was the only respondent to a December request for proposals for the contract.

The five-member group comprises Wayne Wood, Bill Prescott, Diane Brunet-Garcia, Terry Lorince (executive director of Downtown Vision) and Vince Cavin. During the transition period, Wood would serve as interim director with support of Downtown Vision staff.

And, while the single entity has no track record, Wallace said the individuals have had success elsewhere.

"Everything is a risk," he told board members.

Wallace advocated for the group to receive the funding, after telling the board funding other Downtown projects like the Shipyards and Sax Seafood property was premature. Others, like the Bostwick Building or Laura Street Trio, could use other funding sources.

One program the authority is funding is a Downtown retail enhancement program for Northbank businesses to renovate. The authority has allocated $750,000 for the program, which board member Melody Bishop suggested doubling during the Tuesday discussion.

Developer Mike Langton told the board that funding the Hemming Group from the $4.1 million budget was "the wrong thing to do" because the group would continue to come back each year for funding. Like Bishop, he said the retail enhancement program would be more beneficial. Langton's renovation at 121 W. Forsyth St. received $100,000 as part of that program earlier this year.

Wallace said the funding would not be continuous for the Hemming Plaza group, which he would need to become self-sufficient.

The group anticipates creating nine jobs, including a director, who will be paid $60,000; an operations manager with a salary of $40,000; and an administrative support and a volunteer coordinator with salaries of $35,000 each.

The five remaining hourly positions, to be employed by DVI, are for cleaning, beautification, safety, hospitality and social services outreach. Their pay (including benefits) will range from $18.75 to $29 per hour.

The idea to fund the group will still need City Council approval, but several council members said Tuesday evening they were pleased with the decision.

"It's about time," said council member Denise Lee. "I've been screaming and hollering for years about Hemming Plaza."

Lee chaired a committee on the park that began in early 2012 until the group handed the responsibilities to the authority.

She said the recent development was "refreshing" and she was enthusiastic Wood was a part of the group.

Council member Don Redman has been before the authority board in recent months pushing for action to improve the park. He called Tuesday's development "great" and said he supported the idea, as well as the funding source.

"We have got to get something started there," he said.

Council President Bill Gulliford said he wanted to see the details of the resolution and funding, but that the park is the "key to start Downtown development."

"We have to take a hard look at it," he said.

In December, Gulliford had expressed concern over the amount of money the group was requesting.

"It may be a champagne budget that we may need to drop back to a beer budget. It's a starting point. Now we'll get into negotiations," he said at the

time.

dchapman@baileypub.com

@writerchapman

(904) 356-2466

[jaxjaguar]

This is excellent!!!

[strider]

Do we know what the groups full proposal was? 

[tufsu1]

^ yes.  It was made public months ago.  I think its pretty good.

[Noone]

$800,000 is now $1,200,000?

[AuditoreEnterprise]

I think the overall intention is good. I mean you can walk by Hemming Plaza and tell that it needs help. However, the bottom line is the Hemming Group at this time, from what I understand, has no way of generating there own income. It leaves too many questions to be raised as to what they actually need nearly 1 million dollars for. I have seen franchise chains shoot up and build out for less than that and I am sure landscaping equipment and what not is far less expensive. The ever looming problem is the vagrants. I had a saying back in California every time a neighborhood built a park as part of a beautification project; "If you build it. They will come." Referring to the vagrants who prefer the relaxed atmosphere of a park to socialize and hang out during the day. Now the major underlying issue is the Hemming group is not comprised of law enforcement officials which lacks the authority to deal with the issue. Though there are laws you cannot use police force to deal with a insignificant matter such as vagrants when the surrounding neighborhood is in need of their presence.

Just my opinion. I do hope it works out for them, I just feel the money could have been better allocated. Sorry DVI. 

[Cheshire Cat]

I think the overall intention is good. I mean you can walk by Hemming Plaza and tell that it needs help. However, the bottom line is the Hemming Group at this time, from what I understand, has no way of generating there own income. It leaves too many questions to be raised as to what they actually need nearly 1 million dollars for. I have seen franchise chains shoot up and build out for less than that and I am sure landscaping equipment and what not is far less expensive. The ever looming problem is the vagrants. I had a saying back in California every time a neighborhood built a park as part of a beautification project; "If you build it. They will come." Referring to the vagrants who prefer the relaxed atmosphere of a park to socialize and hang out during the day. Now the major underlying issue is the Hemming group is not comprised of law enforcement officials which lacks the authority to deal with the issue. Though there are laws you cannot use police force to deal with a insignificant matter such as vagrants when the surrounding neighborhood is in need of their presence.

Just my opinion. I do hope it works out for them, I just feel the money could have been better allocated. Sorry DVI. 

Some very valid points here. 

[JeffreyS]

I used the hemming wifi eating at the park today. It was fine and I think is perhaps something we could promote doing regularly within this site's community.

[AuditoreEnterprise]

I used the hemming wifi eating at the park today. It was fine and I think is perhaps something we could promote doing regularly within this site's community.

It is my understanding from the people I have talked to regarding the Plaza, that they hold a lunch in the park type event every month. I am not sure how many people actually know about it... but they do it. Maybe some publicity would help the cause as you mentioned. It is also new to me that there is Wi-Fi there. very interesting. Thank you for sharing that.

[Cheshire Cat]

I used the hemming wifi eating at the park today. It was fine and I think is perhaps something we could promote doing regularly within this site's community.

It is my understanding from the people I have talked to regarding the Plaza, that they hold a lunch in the park type event every month. I am not sure how many people actually know about it... but they do it. Maybe some publicity would help the cause as you mentioned. It is also new to me that there is Wi-Fi there. very interesting. Thank you for sharing that.

The lunch in the park thing is relatively new but seems to be catching on.  It was talked about a lot on social media when it started out. Perhaps it's time for folks to be reminded of it. 

[Cheshire Cat]

Noone, the 800k is the part the city is backing, the rest of the money is from other sources.  Stephendare has an article posted about it with the link on another thread.

A Request for Proposals to manage the park and schedule programming yielded in December a single response, that from Friends of Hemming Plaza. The group's proposal specified a $915,000 budget for the first year of operation with the city covering $765,000 of the cost.

Since then, the Downtown Investment Authority has adopted an 18-month, $1.25 million budget for the private operation of the 1-square-block park adjacent to City Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, the Main Library and the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse.

The city Parks & Recreation Department has earmarked $200,000 per year for operation of the park and the prospective new administrator has agreed to raise $250,000, said Bill Prescott, a Friends of Hemming Plaza board member.

"The $1 million is there to operate the park," he said Wednesday at a meeting of the board of directors of Downtown Vision Inc., of which he also is a member.
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