Questions about a Theoretical Mayoral Platform

[NotNow]

StephenDare!,

I would agree at least in theory on many of your points, but I must throw in the proverbial wrench for you to chew on:

If I was Mayor, I would immediately do the following.......

Create a partnership to implement rail based transit and finally extend the skyway to the stadium, san marco, riverside and Shands.

This is the ridiculous part.  To build and operate this, there is already the money set aside, and the savings derived from an efficient well organized transit system would pay for the whole thing within a couple of years even if there WERENT a hundred million dollars lying around from the Better Jacksonville Plan.

How much money do you think it would take to extend the skyway to the stadium, san marco, riverside, and Shands?  Do you think a hundred million would cover the infrastructure and trains?  Are you aware that Better Jacksonville Plan money can not be spent as the mayor chooses?  And where did you get the "hundred million dollar" figure?

Personally use a sawsall and cut up every single parking meter in the downtown.   Send a 'your fired' note to everyone in the department.

One Sawsall (I bet I could borrow one for free) and would free up a department worth of savings (600,000 per year)

Cute.  What is the income from the meters?  What is the cost of collection and enforcement?  Don't tell me about lost business and how much we will make in the future, what is the CURRENT income and costs?  How do you propose to handle abandoned/overstay/complaints of blocking business autos?  How do you propose to pay for the separation packages for the employees that agree to leave?  How do you propose to pay for the legal fees and settlement for the other civil service employees that will sue the city?

Open up the St Johns River to sports recreation and fishing.

A couple of hours arguing with the state and whatever locals oppose it, plus simply opening the riverfront to the free market.

Perhaps it could take more than a couple of hours.  You are wanting to change state LAWS.  You are talking about environmental concerns that extend to authorities far beyond the city.  I don't believe it is possible in todays world to just say "screw the manatees, let's ski/tube/fish!"  I would be interested in hearing a more detailed plan.

Repair the port and open trade embassies, beg John Delaney to partner UNF with the Port to create a logistics partnership without paralell in the southeast.  Return Jacksonville to a shipping powerhouse.   Have weekly cabinet meetings on the issue.

Federal Monies available under the short sea shipping act,  and the benefits available to UNF would be immediately apparent to John.

What repairs are you talking about?  Can you give me an example of a "trade embassy" that you would like to have here and what the cost to Jax would be?  The Short Sea Shipping Act is a Republican sponsored tax cut on shipping between US ports and Canadian ports.  It is only in committee, and has little chance of passage in this congress.  I see no provisions for such funds.  Can you tell me where that is in the bill?  What benefits would be "immediately apparent" to "John".

Reconnect and reopen all the east side of downtown so that the financial center of the city and the source of raw wealth represented at the port were a cohesive unit.

This is as simple as unblocking the access points that were re routed to seperate the races and classes during the 50-through the 70s, instituting a facade program, and putting the cities attention towards spreading the Springfield miracle eastward.

Exactly which "access points" do you mean?  How much would this cost?  Where would you get the money?  What "facade" program are you describing?  How much would that cost?  Where would you get the money?  What "Springfield miracle" are you talking about?  What historically valuble properties exist East of Phoenix?

Sell the empty buildings presently crumbling to dust under the city's terrible stewardship

This requires no funds, but would instead generate revenue.

Which buildings do you mean?  How much will it cost to get them in saleable condition?  Where would you get the money?

Abolish the Downtown Traffic Loop and return Main Street to Two Way Traffic.

Less than a million dollars, funded through the sale of one of the buildings.

What traffic study are you basing this on?  What advantages do you expect from this?  What is your education and background in traffic management?

Implement green initiatives in every department possible.

This would not represent an increase in spending nor would it need to be funded.  Just decisions made during the budgeting process.  

Exactly which "green initiatives" do you mean?

Open the Mayor's Office to the public, step away from the imperial mayordom, pull a John Delaney and talk to the crazy rasta white boy with the bullhorn trying to legalize pot ever now and then.

Free.

Umm, OK.  Why?

Demand that the Sheriff come hang out with me after nightfall in unmarked ways in the bloody block and the crime terrorized neighborhoods.

Also Free.   Maybe a cup of coffee, and some pastries.   Then dinner for the Sheriff's family in return from depriving them of his company for the evenings.   I could keep it under a couple of hundred.

I'm pretty sure that the Sheriff is not home on most nights now.  The Sheriff, John Rutherford has not always been the bespectacled gray haired man you see in uniform now.  He has more experience in "bloody blocks", "crime terrorized neighborhoods", and actual direct confrontation with criminals than you will ever know.  I was riding a beat in Springfield when your business was there and when it was downtown.  You overblow your crimefighting experience.  It comes off kind of cheesy, you know?  Although I do admit that you have some good ideas on the subject.

Revisit the Masterplan and make sure that it is in keeping with a smarter growth intent.

Hiring Ennis Davis and Bob Mann to do this could be funded by eliminating the Parking Enforcement Department

AIMO's?  Really?  Can we for once just hire the most qualified people rather than cronies?  See above about funding from eliminating parking enforcement.

Put an immediate end to the dynamiting of the historic buildings.  Send Jack Dynamite a 'thanks for all your service" note.

Less than 15 dollars, depending on the stationary.

Umm, I can tell that you are an Obama man.  Three words...private, property, rights.  Who says what buildings are historic?  You?  But the stationary is on the taxpayers.

Take away all cars from JTA administrators until their damned system worked.

This could be accomplished by hiring an army of volunteers, comprised entirely of disgruntled JTA passengers to follow administration around with b. b. guns.

OK, it is REALLY hard to defend JTA.  But the JTA is an independent authority, created by state statute.  All the Mayor can do is appoint board members.  Shouldn't a mayoral candidate know that?

Hang out with Al Letson in the Mayors office, Put Tiffany Duhart in charge of the the City's Marketing and Promotions.

No additional funding necessary.

You can "hang out" with whoever you want.  More AIMO's?  You know it cost money to hire friends, right?

Actively preserve the cool history along fort caroline and Arlington.

This could be funded by the addition a proper signage and the resulting increase in admission prices to the various points of interest.

Are these city owned sites?  Which sites are you referring to?  Where will you get the money for "proper signage"?

Make sure that Harriet Beecher Stowe, Stephen Crane, and Zora Neal Hurston were appropriately honored out in Mandarin.

This too is already funded.   The Art in Public Places fund is an ongoing fund replenished by new construction.

So you will "pressure" those folks to buy art honoring these luminaries?  The Art in Public Places fund:

Jacksonville’s Art in Public Places Program (APPP) uses designated funds from city construction and renovation projects to purchase works of public art to display in the community. The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville administers the APPP on behalf of the City of Jacksonville. For more information, contact Allison Graff at 904.358.3600.

How much do you think they have on hand?  How much influence do you think the  Mayor has on this and what specifically are you proposing?

Encourage Green Industry to relocate to Jacksonville's North and Southside.

This would involve Appointing Audrey Moran, Suzanne Jenkins, Susan Grandin, and Michael Llewyn to a newly prioritized JEDC.

I'll just classify this as the usual unicorn story and name dropping.  Let us know when real, profitable businesses are ready to go.

Fund the Arts and the Cultural Life of the City.

Accomplished through the restructuring of the Parks and Recreation Department and the Office of Special Events in addition to self funding models being propagated by the city as a requirement for grant monies.   In other words, the institutions would be required to put in place self sufficiency devices to augment funding.   By not funding administrative fat, the reach of each dollar would be extended. Finally the addition of 50 cents to sporting arena tickets to go to the cultural council.

How would you "restructure" those departments?  What "self funding models" and what "grant monies" are you specifically talking about?  You expect Parks and Recreation and Special Events to be self sufficient?  You had better start now telling us which Park and Recreation programs you will cancel and which events the City will no longer sponsor, specifically.  I understand the new tax.  I am surprised this is the first one mentioned, but your not really in office, are you?

Look at the writing on the wall and encourage the four beaches communities to go full steam ahead with their chosen directions:   Full Scale condo development of the beach in Jax Beach, Uppity residential in Atlantic.  Working class residential in Neptune.

Setting the developers free.  Obviously.   Make sure they comply with the environs and regulatory agencies, but STRONGLY discourage the political pissing matches that are poisoning the groundwater for everyone out there.

The Mayor of Jax has no control over the beaches cities.  How exactly would you strongly discourage the political pissing matches?  How would you convince all of us that you would not be the KING of political pissing matches?

Ponte Vedra would pay through its ass to use duval county roads, as would all the rest of the tax avoiders who relocated on the other side of duval county borders in order to enjoy our services without having to pay a dime for them.

Pursue Smart, rail based growth policies and retrofit all of our building codes to deal with an enhanced possibility of flooding.

Specifically how would you make Ponte Vedra "pay through is ass" to use Duval County roads without impacting all of us?  Which specific "rail based policies" are you suggesting?  How would you pay for this?

Retrofitting the building codes would be the most expensive of these proposals.   This would have to be done through a millage rate tied to the application of new construction outside the floodproof zones.  Again, this would be Ennis Davis and Bobb Mann's problem.

Exactly how would you propose "retrofitting" our building codes and exactly what "flooding" are you speaking of?  How high would you propose the new property tax be?  AIMO's again?

Again, StephenDare!, I actually agree with some of your proposals "in principle".  My real intention here is to point out how easy it is to sit in a coffee shop/dark room/momma's basement and solve all of the problems that others can't.      

[NotNow]

Thanks for the questions, notnow.  As well as the humor about blogging and being online.

I know that in the olden days, and for people who are caught in them, that there were a bunch of people who could only access their dial up web while sitting stationarily at home, and a lot of humor about all that was passed around.  This amazing thing happened about ten years ago though, at least to the younger generations and many 'liberals'.

It was called 'wireless'.  And there are 'wifi' zones almost everywhere.  Not just in those 'hipster' coffeehouses.

Let me help you out here.  Imagine a CB Radio, but with pictures.  Remember how you guys from the Cannonball Run generation could both travel and communicate at the same time?  I imagine that you have worked with similar technology at your job.

But imagine that instead of truckers and dispatchers, professionals and 'yuppies' are using it instead.

Its amazing, but being online in these newfangled times means that I can actually go sit in a restaurant, go to committee meetings (which I do a lot) sit in on lectures, go out to building sites, participate in planning sessions, and have an active life all at the same time that I am using this amazing technology.

It leaves me even freer to experience the world first hand than it would for someone locked in an office staring at the walls for 8 hours at a time, trying to grok the world outside via tv and a landline.



nowuttimean?

Why do you assume that I am older than you?  (Although I am, but just a little.)  And you assume that my knowledge of the digital age is lacking?  Why?  And what does all of this have to do with improper assumptions, inaccurate descriptions, and just plain ignorance on your part while pontificating about the Mayors job?  Try to FOCUS on the subject.  I know it is tough for a man of your years.  

And although I don't have the free time that YOU obviously have... I am lucky enough in life not to be trapped in an office on my job.  Although my experiences in life have been FAR different from yours, and it appears that they continue to be different (Thank God).

[Ocklawaha]

StephenDare!,

I would agree at least in theory on many of your points, but I must throw in the proverbial wrench for you to chew on:

If I was Mayor, I would immediately do the following.......

Create a partnership to implement rail based transit and finally extend the skyway to the stadium, san marco, riverside and Shands.

This is the ridiculous part.  To build and operate this, there is already the money set aside, and the savings derived from an efficient well organized transit system would pay for the whole thing within a couple of years even if there WERENT a hundred million dollars lying around from the Better Jacksonville Plan.

How much money do you think it would take to extend the skyway to the stadium, san marco, riverside, and Shands?  Do you think a hundred million would cover the infrastructure and trains?  Are you aware that Better Jacksonville Plan money can not be spent as the mayor chooses?  And where did you get the "hundred million dollar" figure?

There was a $100 Million set=aside in the BJP for Mass Transit Right Of Way, and it was agreed by several council members that the wording could be changed to include complete systems.  As for the costs, no more then $90 Million for the 3 missing miles, including stations and cars. (and YES, this is real and recent)

Personally use a sawsall and cut up every single parking meter in the downtown.   Send a 'your fired' note to everyone in the department.

One Sawsall (I bet I could borrow one for free) and would free up a department worth of savings (600,000 per year)

Cute.  What is the income from the meters?  What is the cost of collection and enforcement?  Don't tell me about lost business and how much we will make in the future, what is the CURRENT income and costs?  How do you propose to handle abandoned/overstay/complaints of blocking business autos?  How do you propose to pay for the separation packages for the employees that agree to leave?  How do you propose to pay for the legal fees and settlement for the other civil service employees that will sue the city?

From 1,448 meters, the income is: $664,280 for 2009

Garage revenue is double this figure just on the Northbank.

Hiring Ennis Davis and Bob Mann to do this could be funded by eliminating the Parking Enforcement Department

AIMO's?  Really?  Can we for once just hire the most qualified people rather than cronies?  See above about funding from eliminating parking enforcement.

Ohhh I LIKE this one! Wanna bet how long it will take me to get fired?

Put an immediate end to the dynamiting of the historic buildings.  Send Jack Dynamite a 'thanks for all your service" note.

Less than 15 dollars, depending on the stationary.

Umm, I can tell that you are an Obama man.  Three words...private, property, rights.  Who says what buildings are historic?  You?  But the stationary is on the taxpayers.

Sorry boss, just as Arlington National Cemetery was seized property, home of Robert E. Lee's family, and is now considered a national treasure, the Republican's have been at this for over 150 years too. There is no "Obama" in Lincoln's mass confication of Southern Property, much of it park land today. Likewise, there is no harm done in enacting laws to protect uniquely Jacksonville, sights and buildings. We don't have to bury dead Yankee's on the grounds to make it "okay", in fact we could create a package of perks that would make any destruction INSANE!

Take away all cars from JTA administrators until their damned system worked.

This could be accomplished by hiring an army of volunteers, comprised entirely of disgruntled JTA passengers to follow administration around with b. b. guns.

OK, it is REALLY hard to defend JTA.  But the JTA is an independent authority, created by state statute.  All the Mayor can do is appoint board members.  Shouldn't a mayoral candidate know that?

What Stephen is hinting at here isn't a State Agency or a "highway builder", rather it is a new and effective JACKSONVILLE TRANSIT AUTHORITY or AGENCY.  JTA can build roads, and a REAL transit authority can operate mass transit.

Ponte Vedra would pay through its ass to use duval county roads, as would all the rest of the tax avoiders who relocated on the other side of duval county borders in order to enjoy our services without having to pay a dime for them.

Pursue Smart, rail based growth policies and retrofit all of our building codes to deal with an enhanced possibility of flooding.

Specifically how would you make Ponte Vedra "pay through is ass" to use Duval County roads without impacting all of us?  Which specific "rail based policies" are you suggesting?  How would you pay for this?

PVB? Chicago uses toll roads out of Wisconsin, with booths sitting on the border. Just as there are a 1,000 ways to die! There are also a 1,000 ways to fund rail... JTA has looked at two or three. Hey, wait a minute, I LIVE IN WGV! Ouch! Tell you what, I'll ride the commuter train and go AROUND your toll booth. THAT WILL TEACH YOU STEPHEN! (Not to mention put enough riders on the trains and expanded bus services so we won't need more roads... HEE HEE!)

Retrofitting the building codes would be the most expensive of these proposals.   This would have to be done through a millage rate tied to the application of new construction outside the floodproof zones.  Again, this would be Ennis Davis and Bob Mann's problem.

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Dona, Hurricane Dora



OCKLAWAHA

[NotNow]

StephenDare!,

I would agree at least in theory on many of your points, but I must throw in the proverbial wrench for you to chew on:

If I was Mayor, I would immediately do the following.......

Create a partnership to implement rail based transit and finally extend the skyway to the stadium, san marco, riverside and Shands.

This is the ridiculous part.  To build and operate this, there is already the money set aside, and the savings derived from an efficient well organized transit system would pay for the whole thing within a couple of years even if there WERENT a hundred million dollars lying around from the Better Jacksonville Plan.

How much money do you think it would take to extend the skyway to the stadium, san marco, riverside, and Shands?  Do you think a hundred million would cover the infrastructure and trains?  Are you aware that Better Jacksonville Plan money can not be spent as the mayor chooses?  And where did you get the "hundred million dollar" figure?

The Mayor has a large influence on the Board of the JTA because of the mayoral appointments, notnow.  If the mayor wants something done through that board, its a question of making good choices as to the city's representatives.  Weve done some pretty exhaustive articles on this exact subject, and the primary cost of the system was simply getting it started.  We do have pretty good figures on the costs of a citywide system.  The 100million dollars set aside for Mass Transit in the Better Jacksonville Plan has not been disbursed yet, and using less than this we could get a trolley system up and running in the the city limits and connect Downtown, Riverside, San Marco, Durkeeville and Riverside Avondale.

Trolley?  I thought you suggested extending the skyway.  If you are talking a separate system, how would you connect them?   Where are your estimates?  As I previously pointed out, the $100M that you state is there is allocated already (if it is a federal grant) and can not be reallocated by the Mayor.  As for the JTA and the Mayor's influence...well, it hasn't worked that way in real life.

Personally use a sawsall and cut up every single parking meter in the downtown.   Send a 'your fired' note to everyone in the department.

One Sawsall (I bet I could borrow one for free) and would free up a department worth of savings (600,000 per year)

Cute.  What is the income from the meters?  What is the cost of collection and enforcement?  Don't tell me about lost business and how much we will make in the future, what is the CURRENT income and costs?  How do you propose to handle abandoned/overstay/complaints of blocking business autos?  How do you propose to pay for the separation packages for the employees that agree to leave?  How do you propose to pay for the legal fees and settlement for the other civil service employees that will sue the city?

The Parking Commission has an annual revenue source of about 1.2 million.  Half from tickets and half from meters.  It costs about 600k a year for the parking enforcement in labor and benefits.  One third of the tickets are given to the Police and Firemen's Pension, and the rest of the money is spent on maintenance of the garage debt and the antique meters. There is still a need to monitor parking, and the employees would be retrained to provide a service instead of a punitive deterrent.  Enable people to park in the parking lots, and return to a chalk based system.

Most importantly there is another cost to the present system that we have with the meters.  In Downtown's case they are shop killers.  Ive been doing business in the city core for 20 some odd years, and have known many if not most of the people who owned and operated stores, or tried to open businesses in the core.  Meters and parking are far and away the number one reason that shopping customers cannot be brought in from the suburbs, and the aggregate cost of these things in terms of lost businesses, lost sales tax, lost customers is staggering.

OK, so you will give up the $1.2M in revenue and keep the $600K in labor expense.  Where will you get the $1.2M that you just gave up?  How will you pay the parking folks?  What do you see is the difference between a "chalk based system" and meters except the need for MORE labor and no revenue?  What time period would you place on the signage for parking and for the parking folks to enforce with chalk?  How will you pay for the signage?  Has any other city given up meters and gone to a "chalk based system"?  How did it work out for them?

Open up the St Johns River to sports recreation and fishing.

A couple of hours arguing with the state and whatever locals oppose it, plus simply opening the riverfront to the free market.

Perhaps it could take more than a couple of hours.  You are wanting to change state LAWS.  You are talking about environmental concerns that extend to authorities far beyond the city.  I don't believe it is possible in todays world to just say "screw the manatees, let's ski/tube/fish!"  I would be interested in hearing a more detailed plan.

I totally agree with you here.  My grandfather was a fisherman, and thats a pretty low impact sport.  Finding green ways to participate on the water isnt that difficult a proposition, as Im sure you would agree.  Citizen Councils and environmental engineers.

OK, it appears that you would encourage fishing.  How?  What "green ways" are you talking about?  How much will it cost to lobby the state legislature and change the use of the river in the DT and surrounding areas?

Repair the port and open trade embassies, beg John Delaney to partner UNF with the Port to create a logistics partnership without paralell in the southeast.  Return Jacksonville to a shipping powerhouse.   Have weekly cabinet meetings on the issue.

Federal Monies available under the short sea shipping act,  and the benefits available to UNF would be immediately apparent to John.

What repairs are you talking about?  Can you give me an example of a "trade embassy" that you would like to have here and what the cost to Jax would be?  The Short Sea Shipping Act is a Republican sponsored tax cut on shipping between US ports and Canadian ports.  It is only in committee, and has little chance of passage in this congress.  I see no provisions for such funds.  Can you tell me where that is in the bill?  What benefits would be "immediately apparent" to "John".

Actually you would be quite surprised at the upgrades that the Port really needs.  Lunican, Ock and myself went on an extremely thorough tour of the facility a month or so ago, and trust me there is plenty to do.  For one, the bulkheads are in serious need of some attention and repair, and there is additional freighting and rail work that needs to be done if we are going to accomodated federal plans of Jacksonville being a superport on the east coast.  Rail connections to the westside, and freeing up the near monopoly of CSX to the port are among the first that leap to mind.  In meetings with JTA we have actually suggested the construction of a municipal short line to this effect.  

Also its pretty apparent that the delegation that the Port has to create new contracts and business needs to be beefed up seriously.  There is a dearth of people who can speak in foreign languages to facilitate in negotiations or proposals, and the present strategy is to fund and send two employees to all the trade conventions to be available for business.  Basically if there were one real criticism that I would have of the Port Administration itself at this point, it would be this passive approach to business development.  I think there is something to be gained to be proactively seeking new business, and I don't think that only having two english speaking guys 'available' at conventions is very aggressive.

Short Sea Shipping is more than just a trade agreement between canada and the US, notnow.  Its the removal of interport tariffs on freight tonnage in this country.  Sea Shipping is one of the cheapest ways to move any kind of freight, until you have to pay tariff's in every port that you go to, repeatedly on the same tonnage.  It creates a real economic reason for sea shippers to offload cargo at a single port and transfer to rail.

Removing those tariffs makes it possible for a sea ship to be able to stop in every port from miami to new york without being repeatedly taxed on the same tonnage at each port.

Having an active 'hands on' logistics program operating out of the University of North Florida in partnership with the Port would be a very attractive offering to students looking to go into those fields.  The real time experience would be a tremendous benefit to the students.  And John has all the connections to make that kind of partnership happen.

Which facility did you tour?  I'm assuming Talleyrand, since it is the only one which needs pier work.  The JPA is also an independent authority which the Mayor has no control of.  What is the cost of the rail connections that you are proposing and how will you pay for that?  Your proposing that the CITY compete with CSX for rail?  REALLY? Who did you talk to?  JPA would never suggest that.  How did you get the impression that "two english speaking guys go to trade conventions"?  You think Hanjin walked up to JPA at a trade convention?  I think you are getting false or incomplete information.

I didn't say Short Sea Shipping was a trade agreement, I said it was a tax break.  Ships are not taxed on their cargo at each port, but on cargo loaded and offloaded.  There are no revenues from this act (again, only in committee and not likely to pass this Democratic congress) to use as you state.  See the text of the act here:

Congressional Research Service Summary
The following summary was written by the Congressional Research Service, a well-respected nonpartisan arm of the Library of Congress. GovTrack did not write and has no control over these summaries.

1/14/2009--Introduced.
Short Sea Shipping Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the harbor maintenance tax commercial cargo (other than bulk cargo) loaded at: (1) a port in the U.S. mainland and unloaded at another such port after transport solely by coastal route or river or unloaded at a port in Canada located in the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System; or (2) such a port in Canada and unloaded at a port in the U.S. mainland.
Defines the "Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway System" as the waterway between Duluth, Minnesota, and Nova Scotia, encompassing the five Great Lakes, their connecting channels, and the Saint Lawrence River.

As for the UNF connection, how would you propose that it work?  The JPA is actually a very small organization and could not handle having many students or apprentices around.  Perhaps they  could work something our with the major tenants like Crowley or Trapac.  Is there any kind of "logistics" curriculim at UNF now?

Reconnect and reopen all the east side of downtown so that the financial center of the city and the source of raw wealth represented at the port were a cohesive unit.

This is as simple as unblocking the access points that were re routed to seperate the races and classes during the 50-through the 70s, instituting a facade program, and putting the cities attention towards spreading the Springfield miracle eastward.

Exactly which "access points" do you mean?  How much would this cost?  Where would you get the money?  What "facade" program are you describing?  How much would that cost?  Where would you get the money?  What "Springfield miracle" are you talking about?  What historically valuble properties exist East of Phoenix?

This answer, even more than the other questions you have asked would literally take pages to finish. Let me work on a substantive response.

OK

Sell the empty buildings presently crumbling to dust under the city's terrible stewardship

This requires no funds, but would instead generate revenue.

Which buildings do you mean?  How much will it cost to get them in saleable condition?  Where would you get the money?

Buildings like the Historic Snyder Memorial Church, and a good number of downtown buildings, including the former city hall and Courthouse.  At the time I wrote this originally, the city still had the historic laura trio as well.

OK, so the only real vacant building is Snyder.  We are still using the other two.  I'm good with putting Snyder on the market.  How much did it cost us?  What do you want to sell it for?  Does it need any work to sell?

Abolish the Downtown Traffic Loop and return Main Street to Two Way Traffic.

Less than a million dollars, funded through the sale of one of the buildings.

What traffic study are you basing this on?  What advangtages do you expect from this?  What is your education and background in traffic management?

Again, we actually posted a fairly lengthy article on the implementation of the double traffic loop downtown.  The traffic loop was instituted originally as a way to enclose the downtown from the surrounding 'blighted' areas.  

One of the greatest advantages is to simply make navigation of downtown easier for newcomers and customers alike.

The Loop wasnt made at the recommendation of a traffic study, it came out of a downtown redevelopment proposal that anticipated four very large parking garages which were never built, serving as the parking anchors for the five million square feet of retail based around Hemming Park, which collapsed largely as a result of the 'imporvements' that were supposed to accompany this plan.

OK, no traffic studies by anyone.  Let's just spend the money and go with it, right?  Can I suggest letting a professional look at our downtown traffic, explain what our goals are, and let him/her design something for us?

Implement green initiatives in every department possible.

This would not represent an increase in spending nor would it need to be funded.  Just decisions made during the budgeting process.  

Exactly which "green initiatives" do you mean?

Energy saving, carbon neutral, paperless offices.  The list is endless and could be fairly creative.

Which of these cost nothing?  Turn the thermostat up in the summer and down in the winter?  Turn off the lights?  Cut down working hours/days?  Paperless offices cost money to start (digital systems).  How would you propose "carbon neutral" office conversion?

[NotNow]

I assume that you posted the above while I was responding to your post.

I wonder.  Do you read the other parts of the website besides the political forums and the parts pertaining to police work?

And while you might accuse me of many things, I think the worst you might be able to say is that I am either wrong or mistaken. Having been actively engaged in the community(ies) that Ive lived in for 30 years now, Im not a master, but neither am I ignorant of these issues either.

Although I tire of the Springfield arguments, I do read other parts of the forum.  Please don't take offense at my use of the word "ignorant".  I mean no disrespect.  I simply mean that it is obvious that you are unaware of some facts.  As we all are in different subjects.

AIMO = assistant information management officers = non civil service positions appointed at the will of the mayor/elected official who have no written job description or salary range.  Often political/family/friends.   The city currently employs about $1.2 or so million dollars a year worth.

;DYou just don't know it!

[NotNow]

Open the Mayor's Office to the public, step away from the imperial mayordom, pull a John Delaney and talk to the crazy rasta white boy with the bullhorn trying to legalize pot ever now and then.

Free.

Umm, OK.  Why?

Because I believe thats what our democracy and our government is based on.  You should have the same access as a cop to the mayor that a man who wants a political favor has.


Its a question of style I suppose.  And faith that the people on the streets and the front lines of any situation probably know more about it than the out of town consultants.

OK.  But in the real world, you wouldn't have time to listen to that kids rant.  Mayor is a time consuming job.

Demand that the Sheriff come hang out with me after nightfall in unmarked ways in the bloody block and the crime terrorized neighborhoods.

Also Free.   Maybe a cup of coffee, and some pastries.   Then dinner for the Sheriff's family in return from depriving them of his company for the evenings.   I could keep it under a couple of hundred.

I'm pretty sure that the Sheriff is not home on most nights now.  The Sheriff, John Rutherford has not always been the bespectacled gray haired man you see in uniform now.  He has more experience in "bloody blocks", "crime terrorized neighborhoods", and actual direct confrontation with criminals than you will ever know.  I was riding a beat in Springfield when your business was there and when it was downtown.  You overblow your crimefighting experience.  Although I must say, you do have some good ideas on the subject.

Thanks, NotNow.  But it might not always be Rutherford, who is a pretty smart guy and a decent man.

Well, we'll just have to see who you can educate.

Revisit the Masterplan and make sure that it is in keeping with a smarter growth intent.

Hiring Ennis Davis and Bob Mann to do this could be funded by eliminating the Parking Enforcement Department

AIMO's?  Really?  Can we for once just hire the most qualified people rather than cronies?  See above about funding from eliminating parking enforcement.

Bob Mann has designed a national rail system worked in transportation for 30 years, and written several of the history books about rail.

Ennis Davis is an architect, land planner, and new urbanist with four years of daily engagement on the planning issues of the city.  He is currently the person responsible for designing a transit intensive mobility plan for the planning firm retained by this city.

Both of them are eminently qualified, and given the passion put into the work by both of these men, without pay for four years in Ennis' case, and 20 years, in Bob's case, I believe they literally are the best qualified people for the job.

I'm sure they are good men.  But this city has a history of hiring friends.  I would suggest just carrying out an honest search and hire based on qualifications.  Kind of like we hire cops!

Put an immediate end to the dynamiting of the historic buildings.  Send Jack Dynamite a 'thanks for all your service" note.

Less than 15 dollars, depending on the stationary.

Umm, I can tell that you are an Obama man.  Three words...private, property, rights.  Who says what buildings are historic?  You?  But the stationary is on the taxpayers.

Again, one of the many many meetings on the subject over the past 25 years.  Jack Diamond put together the original masterplan for the city which required the demolition of hundreds of the downtown buildings.  He was an exciting figure in the 70s and 80s, but the policies he backed ended up in the blasted wastelands that cover most of the downtown in the present.

Much of this was done by design of a government backed board.  Not private citizens.  And I personally think the best thing to happen to the downtown in decades was Peyton cancelling the Downtown Development Authority.  Im actually the opposite of your assumption on this issue.

Historic structures actually have a national definition, NotNow.  I worked on the Historic Preservation Task Force committees for Council President Matt Carlucci in 2000.  Its a process and not all buildings qualify.

I also renovated and restored a number of Historic structures in Muncie Indiana and qualified for the historic tax credits, working within federal guidelines, not to mention being a past Board Member of SPAR, back when it was still committed to historic preservation.

I am aware of the standards for historical structures, but I admit I am not as experienced in this area.  I am just stating that the Mayor can not "declare" historic value.  And I believe in property rights.

Take away all cars from JTA administrators until their damned system worked.

This could be accomplished by hiring an army of volunteers, comprised entirely of disgruntled JTA passengers to follow administration around with b. b. guns.

OK, it is REALLY hard to defend JTA.  But the JTA is an independent authority, created by state statute.  All the Mayor can do is appoint board members.  Shouldn't a mayoral candidate know that?

Hang out with Al Letson in the Mayors office, Put Tiffany Duhart in charge of the the City's Marketing and Promotions.

No additional funding necessary.

You can "hang out" with whoever you want.  More AIMO's?  You know it cost money to hire friends, right?

Al Letson went on to become one of the new voices at NPR, At the time, he was one of the most nationally recognized poets in the united states, with a series of performances along the east coast, and appearances on HBO.  He is an old friend, but the point was merely an example.  I think that the thinkers and the artists, and the musicians should be honored by our city.  Not ignored.    Tiffany Duhart is one of the more savvy businesswomen in her field in the state.  She is nationally connected and the suggestion is based on her merits not her friendship.

Again, I am sure that you are all good friends and that they are good people.  I still suggest an honest candidate search for employees.

Actively preserve the cool history along fort caroline and Arlington.

This could be funded by the addition a proper signage and the resulting increase in admission prices to the various points of interest.

Are these city owned sites?  Which sites are you referring to?  Where will you get the money for "proper signage"?

Make sure that Harriet Beecher Stowe, Stephen Crane, and Zora Neal Hurston were appropriately honored out in Mandarin.

This too is already funded.   The Art in Public Places fund is an ongoing fund replenished by new construction.

So you will "pressure" those folks to buy art honoring these luminaries?  The Art in Public Places fund:

Jacksonville’s Art in Public Places Program (APPP) uses designated funds from city construction and renovation projects to purchase works of public art to display in the community. The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville administers the APPP on behalf of the City of Jacksonville. For more information, contact Allison Graff at 904.358.3600.

How much do you think they have on hand?  How much influence do you think the  Mayor has on this and what specifically are you proposing?

The Art in Public Places Program is one that I worked on as a citizen in committee, actually.  It takes a small percentage of the public buildings and commits that money for public art, exactly as described.  As a matter of fact, when I got back to downtown in 2000, I discovered (accidentally) that the ordinance was originally written with a sunset date that was about to elapse---shortly before the funding of the Better Jacksonville Plan building projects.   Councilman Jim Overton came to the rescue (my hair was pretty much on fire over it) and the ordinance was established in perpetuity.

One of the public art works that was paid for by the fund was the spike commemorating the Great Fire on the North Bank Riverwalk, and its a tremendous asset to be used by the local arts community.  For example, by law, the Courthouse will have provided 2% of the entire budget to be contributed to the fund.  6 Million dollars for public art from that building alone.

Nice story.  What exactly are you proposing?

Encourage Green Industry to relocate to Jacksonville's North and Southside.

This would involve Appointing Audrey Moran, Suzanne Jenkins, Susan Grandin, and Michael Llewyn to a newly prioritized JEDC.

I'll just classify this as the usual unicorn story and name dropping.  Let us know when real, profitable businesses are ready to go.

Long response to this one as well.  What on earth do you mean 'unicorn story' anyways?

Do you know who any of these people are?  Again my point isnt to 'name drop', but to recognise the interests of the people.

Unicorn story = no basis in reality...all butterflys and light

I know who they are.  Why do you  think they are qualified to recruit "green" businesses?

Fund the Arts and the Cultural Life of the City.

Accomplished through the restructuring of the Parks and Recreation Department and the Office of Special Events in addition to self funding models being propagated by the city as a requirement for grant monies.   In other words, the institutions would be required to put in place self sufficiency devices to augment funding.   By not funding administrative fat, the reach of each dollar would be extended. Finally the addition of 50 cents to sporting arena tickets to go to the cultural council.

How would you "restructure" those departments?  What "self funding models" and what "grant monies" are you specifically talking about?  You expect Parks and Recreation and Special Events to be self sufficient?  You had better start now telling us which Park and Recreation programs you will cancel and which events the City will no longer sponsor, specifically.  I understand the new tax.  I am surprised this is the first one mentioned, but your not really in office, are you?

Im not a huge advocate of tax spending, actually, NotNow.

I think the arts should be partially self funding, and Ive been involved with a large project recently that has confirmed this in full gorge rising detail for me.  I cant discuss the details just yet, but if you are interested I will tell you about it later.

This is a very very long answer, and Im more than glad to go into detail about it.  Its something that Ive been working on and personally demonstrated a few times over the past 20 years, of having a self funding arts venue.

I don't remember your "self funding arts venues" lasting very long.  No offense intended.  Not many have here in Jax.  I'll wait to hear of your enterprise.

Look at the writing on the wall and encourage the four beaches communities to go full steam ahead with their chosen directions:   Full Scale condo development of the beach in Jax Beach, Uppity residential in Atlantic.  Working class residential in Neptune.

Setting the developers free.  Obviously.   Make sure they comply with the environs and regulatory agencies, but STRONGLY discourage the political pissing matches that are poisoning the groundwater for everyone out there.

The Mayor of Jax has no control over the beaches cities.  How exactly would you strongly discourage the political pissing matches?  How would you convince all of us that you would not be the KING of political pissing matches?

The mayor is also the Chief Commissioner of the County according to our Consolidated Government.  And I think I have demonstrated by bladder capacity for pissing matches pretty well in any case.

Ponte Vedra would pay through its ass to use duval county roads, as would all the rest of the tax avoiders who relocated on the other side of duval county borders in order to enjoy our services without having to pay a dime for them.

Pursue Smart, rail based growth policies and retrofit all of our building codes to deal with an enhanced possibility of flooding.

Specifically how would you make Ponte Vedra "pay through is ass" to use Duval County roads without impacting all of us?  Which specific "rail based policies" are you suggesting?  How would you pay for this?

Retrofitting the building codes would be the most expensive of these proposals.   This would have to be done through a millage rate tied to the application of new construction outside the floodproof zones.  Again, this would be Ennis Davis and Bobb Mann's problem.

No more duval county infrastructure would be spent to aid PonteVedra Development, and heavy tolls would be placed on the roads to mitigate the costs of building them as well as their impact on the city's infrastructure sprawl.

Heavy tolls?  Good luck with that.  I live in Duval.  And I drive JTB to A1A and Guana and beyond quite often.  I don't want to pay a toll.

Exactly how would you propose "retrofitting" our building codes and exactly what "flooding" are you speaking of?  How high would you propose the new property tax be?  AIMO's again?

Long Answer, and I would probably favor density based land taxation.

Again, good luck with that.

Again, StephenDare!, I actually agree with some of your proposals "in principle".  My real intention here is to point out how easy it is to sit in a coffee shop/dark room/momma's basement and solve all of the problems that others can't.      

[/quote]

[NotNow]

This thread was not started by me, but by StephenDare!  The index is misleading.  I am not free to offer a countering opinion on this site.  If I mention "moderator action", then my posts are deleted again. 

[NotNow]

Your actions continue to be inappropriate.  Childish and immature behavior.  I am not surprised.  This the only method you have left to answer opposing ideas.  Despotism is a wonderful thing, isn't it?