Rummell: One Spark is not a 'turning point' for Downtown Jacksonville

[Cheshire Cat]

I fully acknowledge that many people on this site have been able to effect change in Jacksonville.  My response was directly to you.  However, if you have been able to be a part of positive change I applaud you.  Sincerely. 

[Cheshire Cat]

It sounds like what it boils down to is Rummell is looking for a vehicle to bring forth downtown revitalization, and perhaps in the long term look for some sort of profit.  I can relate.


Let's not forget that Rummell once helmed Disney Imagineering.

I would have been remiss had I not commented on this one Simms.    I've got a vehicle for him and for the whole city, it's called STREETCAR!

...And Disney has several!    Perhaps we should speak with him???

What do you think CC?

Well you know I adore streetcars.   

[Cheshire Cat]

Meh. As in all things Stephen, I respect your right to your opinion, however this was and is not about slinging mud it's about the reality of special interest influences in our city.  Now to the issue of inserting the names of others who I may know connected to politics in order to make some sort of bizarre point or to agitate, well that is just foolishness. They were not a part of the original post and completely irrelevant to it.   My words are mine and not to be measured by my friends in politics.    Of course you know all of this but the need to stay on point in your support of Rummell and ignore the politics of his support is noted. 

[BridgeTroll]

meh.  this seems like much ado about nothing Diane.

And its not very considerate to sling mud at this man because he bankrolled the man who beat your horrible candidate for mayor last time around in this context. (a thread about the One Spark Festival)

Criticizing and disempowering people right in the middle of doing something good for the community, like this festival is in poor taste, and while I look forward to working with you to find a viable alternative to Mayor Brown, I criticize you for using the work of Elton and so many hundreds of other people as a forum to criticize pete rummel, who is actively changing the ground game for artists.

This is something that has never occurred to you or your group of friends and associates.  Not a single one of them has ever championed the idea of funding creative types, and in several cases Glorious spoke but did nothing for the arts.

Rummel is doing something wonderful and his example should be followed, not mocked.

And sitting around casting stones at a man who is actually (not with fine words only) helping this community isnt a terribly good reason for anyone else to do the same.

After all, if you are going to get called an asshole no matter what, why bother anyways?

There used to be a universally observed moratorium on criticism during acts of civic betterment.  You know, leave the politics alone and lets celebrate the things that we can agree on and do together.

This is the opposite of that. 

The artists and creative types are pretty grateful for the support from Rummel.  And thats not a factoid that I made up out of my posterior, thats from actually asking around and getting the pulse of this.

So while there might be some pretty good contexts to criticise him, I think that you are probably going to have an epic fail advancing your arguments if this is the beginning of your Yellow Brick Road.

Save some of your energy for a viable alternative to Brown.

But dont tear him down before you have a better alternative than Ole Clinic Bombing Hogan.

There have to be better ways of creating consensus for your many worthwhile points and aims.

I agree with Stephens post.  We have heard your points about Mr Rummel and understand your paranoia about rich old white guys... it is a fairly constant drumbeat heard here but it is probably time to stop now...   I wonder why Elton and other organizers have not mentioned any wariness of Mr Rummels motives...

[edjax]

^^most likely because they are young creative young minds and understand that money and politics is necessary evil for most widespread successes.  Not sure the paranoia about Rummell perhaps seeking some incentives in the future. All the while Mr. Sleiman ( I use the term Mr. hesitantly) who endorsed Cat's choice for mayor has stood with his hands wide open for years.

[tufsu1]

^ and now that he is reading the tea leaves differently, Sleiman is putting his $ behind Mayor Brown...and I'm sure that is purely for the selfless benefit of the city as a whole.

[Cheshire Cat]

Bridgetroll  I agree with Stephens post.  We have heard your points about Mr Rummel and understand your paranoia about rich old white guys... it is a fairly constant drumbeat heard here but it is probably time to stop now...   I wonder why Elton and other organizers have not mentioned any wariness of Mr Rummels motives...

Sigh BT, there is no paranoia of rich old white guys....none.  Trying to put this frame around my commentary is a complete miss, but you already know that.   My commentary is about the influence of special interests in our city at all levels and how that impacts all that goes on here. It is also about the reality that the GOB system is alive and well in Jacksonville and will readily tap exciting new ideas and make them their own.  There is always an agenda.  Take that as you wish.   In the history of Jacksonville however the GOB influence has not been altogether healthy and I will continue to remind folks of that because our political environment is not a healthy one.  It will remain that way until we are willing to even discuss the negatives as well as the positives of doing things in a manner that says, business as usual.  I understand that is uncomfortable reality for some.   Beyond that nothing remains to be said on this thread to my view, unless of course another individual trying to make some ground in attacking my views, decides to frame them in a manner that is without validity or truth. 

Invoking Elton's thoughts on the matter considering he has not commented on this thread is really of no importance to this particular dialog.  If he chimes in then we will know his views. My guess would be the politics of this does not concern him and it probably shouldn't. 

[simms3]

CC,

1) Please, please, please learn how to quote properly.  Look at your quote above and look at other people's re-quotes.  Your's consistently somehow F up and cannot be requoted (is that on purpose)?.  If you are going to post as often and thoroughly as you do, please learn how to actually post correctly.  Mods should be on you for being a perennial offender of posting etiquette (bc it's etiquette at this point and you can't claim naivety/being a novice with 2,734 posts).

2) You keep acting as if Jax is unique in having "special interests".  Please travel more or live elsewhere to gain perspective.  I've actually seen the opposite, as well.  Here in CA, and more specifically SF (for major cities, but Menlo Park, Malibu, and Berkeley would be smaller examples) are cities where anything and everything gets put to ballot for popular vote.  What a clusterf**k that can be!!  I blame the city's unaffordability and housing crisis on the mass stupidity of the overly prominent activist community here who is confusing causation with correlation and blaming rising prices on new supply!  But they get to vote on every little thing (actually the reason the Warriors moved locations).  So to that end, cities with strong private sector leaders such as Rummell are a very happy medium between being run entirely by political hacks or being overrun by mob rule.

3) Is it not possible to you that "special interests" can be a positive for the city?  Would you claim that Hogan or any other candidate you've ever supported is not backed by any special interests?  (ahem the Hogan -  Sleiman connection)

4) If there is one major new thing I've learned in my life in the past 12 months, it's that having a little grey hair in the room can be a very positive thing.  Your constant criticisms of "old white men" falls on deaf ears here (well I can take race out of it, and gender as well).  "Old" people have good perspective on things that young/"energetic" people don't necessarily have.

[simms3]

CC,

1) Please, please, please learn how to quote properly.  Look at your quote above and look at other people's re-quotes.  Your's consistently somehow F up and cannot be requoted (is that on purpose)?.  If you are going to post as often and thoroughly as you do, please learn how to actually post correctly.  Mods should be on you for being a perennial offender of posting etiquette (bc it's etiquette at this point and you can't claim naivety/being a novice with 2,734 posts).

I'll properly quote myself to provide an example.    but I wanted to also add to this point with another, and you'll see why I quoted myself rather than edited my previous post (didn't want to appear hypocritical).

But you edit probably a good 75-90% of your posts.  I've even noticed timestamps that are wayyy later than your initial post.  This is poor etiquette.  Perhaps choose your words more wisely the first time around, or perhaps have the attitude that I have - that you should just let it out and stand by what you say (your stated mantra right?).  It's unfair to the rest of us when you go back do-over all of your statements.  If you were a newbie, I would forgive you.  But you have more posts than I do and I've been on/off these boards since 2005/2006 when it was metjax.com.

[Cheshire Cat]

Ah, back to the tit for tat approach.  I am not going to engage you Simm's beyond reminding you that you are wasting your time with the attempts to chide/insult.  Not interested.    Make it easy on yourself and simply use the "block" function available on this site.  That should solve your problem.

[BridgeTroll]

Bridgetroll  I agree with Stephens post.  We have heard your points about Mr Rummel and understand your paranoia about rich old white guys... it is a fairly constant drumbeat heard here but it is probably time to stop now...   I wonder why Elton and other organizers have not mentioned any wariness of Mr Rummels motives...

Sigh BT, there is no paranoia of rich old white guys....none.  Trying to put this frame around my commentary is a complete miss, but you already know that.   My commentary is about the influence of special interests in our city at all levels and how that impacts all that goes on here. It is also about the reality that the GOB system is alive and well in Jacksonville and will readily tap exciting new ideas and make them their own.  There is always an agenda.  Take that as you wish.   In the history of Jacksonville however the GOB influence has not been altogether healthy and I will continue to remind folks of that because our political environment is not a healthy one.  It will remain that way until we are willing to even discuss the negatives as well as the positives of doing things in a manner that says, business as usual.  I understand that is uncomfortable reality for some.   Beyond that nothing remains to be said on this thread to my view, unless of course another individual trying to make some ground in attacking my views, decides to frame them in a manner that is without validity or truth. 

Invoking Elton's thoughts on the matter considering he has not commented on this thread is really of no importance to this particular dialog.  If he chimes in then we will know his views. My guess would be the politics of this does not concern him and it probably shouldn't. 

You say... "there is always an agenda".  Really?  Always?  Be careful with Never and Always.  Perhaps the agenda here is to provide funding to a really good idea... or provide some muscle behind the idea.  I invoke Eltons "thoughts" because they are apparently 180 degrees from your own.  Perhaps he and the others are as naïve as you claim the rest of us are.  Or perhaps there is some quid pro quo between the parties... Eltons silence tells me he and others are comfortable with Rummels contributions and are probably hoping for more.

[Cheshire Cat]

The use of the word "agenda" is not as a negative.  There are good agenda's, bad agenda's and world of other things between that.  Simple semantics. 

[mtraininjax]

By Roger Bull Sat, May 31, 2014 @ 4:42 pm | updated Sat, May 31, 2014 @ 5:27 pm

Beaver Street Enterprise Center helps build new businesses in Jacksonville

They seem to be the buzz words for business these days — startup, incubator, accelerator. But before One Spark, before CoWork Jax, KYN and talk of other efforts to nurture new businesses ... there was the Beaver Street Enterprise Center.

Somehow, One Spark, deemed itself the only business incubator in the world, and most of Jacksonville thought it was the best way to help small businesses. Well guess what ostriches? Beaver Street Enterprise Center has been helping people start new businesses for over 10 years now.

Formed in 2003, the center is usually home to about 18 businesses at a time who spend anywhere from one to three years getting established.

In 2010, it was named incubator of the year by the National Business Incubation Association.

In case you're wondering exactly what an incubator is, it simply means helping new businesses get going well enough to move out on their own.

"If you have a business idea, you come to me," said Jackie Perry, the center's executive director. "One of the things we do is help you explore that idea."

But the center only accepts companies that have a business plan; some may have a customer or two. They're not just looking for ideas.

"Our sweet spot," Perry said, "is companies that will grow jobs. That's what we really want."

There are limits, though.

"Nothing smelly or noisy," she said. "No retail or day care."

She said about half the applicants are accepted, which means furnished office space, ranging from 115 to 3,000 square feet, with rents running $275 to $3,000 a month.

"And you don't have to shop for Internet, phone, we've got meeting rooms, fax, copiers," she said. "It's more like plug and play, so you can concentrate on this business."

There's help, of course — classes, mentors, even a loan program.

Six years ago, it started a shared-space program where business owners gets their own desk and phone, but don't have them full time. For $200, a business owner can use his desk or just hang for 40 hours a month.

"The biggest thing that I hear about the incubator," Perry said, "is hanging around the break room talking to other business owners."

William Almas agreed.

"There's a lot of cross-fertilization that goes on between all the small businesses that are in there," he said. "They're at different stages of growth. I see that discussion as being the main selling point."

Almas was just looking for an office when he moved his B3 Solutions into Beaver Street in 2006.

His business, which sends his employees into government offices to provide managerial and logistical support, was about three years old. But he still didn't have an office.

"Some people are skeptical of giving a large contract to someone operating out of their home," he said. "There are some negative connotations to that."

He used the accounting support at Beaver Street and attended classes for CEOs.

Almost all of Almas' employees work onsite with the government, but he still has three offices of his own: Jacksonville, Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Va. And he's kept his Jacksonville office at Beaver Street.

"I guess it's because that's where we started and grew," he said. "I don't know if I want to say it's loyalty. It's comfortable and it's still working for us."

He's also hesitant to give the center credit for his success.

"Companies grow because their employees are performing and customers are happy," he said. "But it did allow us to project more professional appearance to our clients."

The center's operating budget is $728,000. The state provides 62 percent of that, with tenant revenues paying 22 percent and sponsorship the final 16 percent.

But now it's spending about $2 million to renovate an old warehouse right across Blanche Street. The plan, Perry said, is that graduates of the center could set up shop there and expand even further.

"Maybe they've made their first million, but still need to stabilize," she said.

Rummell would be wise to invest his monies into a business that is generating returns in the local community, such as this one. Who knows, maybe he is. Good local story of helping businesses. One Spark is not the only game in town, it was just the only one that setup shop in downtown.