Guest Series: JAX Chamber's President Wally Lee

[Tacachale]

It's true these are many of the same folks who propagated the Southside developments. But it's also true that the Chamber is taking a strong pro-Downtown stance that wasn't there before. That's a definite improvement over the situation 10 years ago, not to mention 20.

[mtraininjax]

It's true these are many of the same folks who propagated the Southside developments. But it's also true that the Chamber is taking a strong pro-Downtown stance that wasn't there before. That's a definite improvement over the situation 10 years ago, not to mention 20.

My main point was that the Chamber has no backbone, they blow in the direction of the prevailing wind. So if the Mayor says Jump 10 feet, they Jump 10 feet. They are farmers, not hunters and the longevity of Mallot and Lee reflect the need for new leadership at the top. These are not the hunters to bring in new meat to our city.

[dougskiles]

If the Chamber is serious about a stronger focus on the urban core, are they willing to publicly support the Mobility Plan as a means for funding the infrastructure a vibrant core needs?

The Mobility Plan provides funding for:

• Streetcar from Park & King to DT
• Streetcar from Springfield/Shands to DT
• Streetcar from Sports Complex to DT
• 3 commuter rail lines between DT and suburbs

None of which require an increase in property or sales taxes.

Let's hear some cheerleading for these projects!

[rafael2]

Downtown revitalization is the pet project of the Jacksonville Civic Council, a private group that put together the Downtown Improvement Plan, promoted and got a Mayor that favored that plan elected. I may be new at Metrojacksonville.com but have lived in the area since 1975. Many of those that took the old vibrant downtown Jacksonville and moved out to the suburbs, now want to reverse engineer that move. IF Jacksonville does indeed want a new downtown, start with a UN-biased improvement report, take it to it's citizens and vote on it. The Chamber has no backbone because many of its members are also on that civic council that rules Jacksonville or their tokens. The Downtown Improvement Authority will be stacked by members or cronies of the civic council. Note that a lot of Jacksonville's DIP was base on the revitalization of downtown Kansas City, which to date is not doing so well. I am not so stupid to believe that moving 1500 Everbank employees from the southside to Downtown will not effect those who rent them office space and the vendors that count on them, like restaurants and bars and so on. Everyone comes up with a great plan, funding is the issue, and Garbage/Storm Water Fee's, are not property taxes, but they do appear on your tax bill. Don't forget everytime you pump gas in Duval country 5 cents of each
Gallon goes to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, so the it Ain't going to cost you nothing on the mobility plan is wrong.

[simms3]

The Chamber has its own separate councils and some very influential local business leaders serving on the board or as chairs, but I just get so jaded when it sounds like everyone is singing the same damn [boring] tune and nothing is really happening.

I just compared to a few other chambers, and actually Jacksonville's seems to be very comparable in its board composition, mission and size to Nashville's and Charlotte's.  Charlotte Chamber's president has spent his career serving the chamber and Nashville Chamber's president is new as of 2006 (though these guys seem to be in for a long time).

I had to look at my own chamber and it's just a whole different ballgame, with its president spending most of his career as a partner in John Portman's development firm, and has an educational pedigree (Georgia Tech and Harvard B School).  The actual mission statement of our regional chamber involves 2 parts:

creating jobs and boosting the region's quality of life by finding solutions in the areas of transportation, education and the environment.

Chamber works with many partners to recruit companies and headquarters...by focusing its marketing strategy on the logistics, high-tech and biomedical sectors and on global trade. Brazil, Russia, India and China are major global markets currently being pursued in this effort.

By contrast Jacksonville Chamber's mission:

The JAX Chamber is the business membership organization dedicated to driving quality economic growth in Northeast Florida to make this region the best place to work, live and play. Membership provides the opportunity to connect with and buy from other Chamber members. The connections result in business growth and a more prosperous economy.

A theme recently exploding in talking points in Jacksonville's case is "public-private" partnerships, but I'm trying to find examples to date.  I know in our chamber's case they came to the rescue with the $3.2B sewer debacle, they helped raise $300M to keep the largest public hospital open, they helped guide the infrastructure improvements for the Olympics and now they are pushing the transit tax referendum.


It's probably inappropriate for any chamber to only focus on one area like downtown, but my frustration with Jacksonville's chamber and the Civic Council and with business leaders in the city in general is that it's hard to track real tangible accomplishments outside of the Jaguars expansion team in the early 90s.  Perhaps BJP was an accomplishment under Delaney's public leadership, and he was able to rally support from those who are active with the Chamber and in the business community, but I don't see individual leadership on the private sector side like I do in other peer cities.  Heck - outside of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund where are the foundations in Jacksonville making a difference?

[cline]

If the Chamber is serious about a stronger focus on the urban core, are they willing to publicly support the Mobility Plan as a means for funding the infrastructure a vibrant core needs?

The Mobility Plan provides funding for:

• Streetcar from Park & King to DT

• Streetcar from Springfield/Shands to DT
• Streetcar from Sports Complex to DT
• 3 commuter rail lines between DT and suburbs

None of which require an increase in property or sales taxes.

Let's hear some cheerleading for these projects!

I have a feeling it will be a cold day in hell before the Chamber supports the Mobility Plan.

[simms3]

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-may-cooling-the-long-hot-era

Good example of leadership.

[dougskiles]

Ditto on the welcome to MJ.

Don't forget everytime you pump gas in Duval country 5 cents of each
Gallon goes to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, so the it Ain't going to cost you nothing on the mobility plan is wrong.

Unless you are applying for a building permit, you won't pay a penny of mobility fees.  The plan was crafted so that new development projects will pay to cover the costs associated with public infrastructure (that makes any development possible).  Predictably, there has been push back by the development industry because of what it was feared would happen to their bottom line.  The counter to that argument is St Johns County - one of the hottest development markets in the state with some pretty high impact fees.  They never waived their fees, and things are doing just fine.  Most of the same people who fought to do away with the fees in Duval, haven't stopped building in St Johns County yet.

If there was ever anything for someone who is 'anti-tax' to get behind, it is the Mobility Plan.  I sincerely hope you take the time to understand it.

[simms3]

Development patterns are not beholden to fees and are a reaction to market fundamentals, population/job growth, and other external factors.  Where there is a demand there will be construction - no matter what.

There is not as much development in Duval because that is not where people want to be in NE FL.


Again, the Chamber's members/board members could have an impact here by fostering and fueling conditions whereby people would rather be in Duval.  The only difference between Duval and SJC is quality of public schools.  Housing costs are slightly more expensive in SJC.  Taxes are virtually the same.  Traffic is not horrendous in either county.

For Duval to attract families it needs better schools.  For Duval to attract young professionals it needs better jobs and it needs better places to live and mingle.  Both come about through civic and private sector leadership, and unfortunately there is not much of that in Jax.

Young people like a bit of culture, grit and walkability, as well as diversity, but they also want to live in clean and safe environments and intown Jacksonville does not appear clean and its reputation does not include safety (whether that's all perception or not).  These are areas where those in the chamber can step in...why aren't they?

Foster streetscapes sponsored by foundations or BIDs/CIDs or slush funds.  Advertise to the young professional and quit worrying about the families so much.  Host events.  Create endowments for individual city assets (like the Emerald necklace dividing downtown and Springfield).  There is so much that can be copied from other cities and one doesn't need trips to KC or Indy to know/do this.

Again...the city hasn't and won't step in.  Many cities actually don't, so it's up to organizations like the Chamber to make it happen via its member companies and leaders.

[cline]

Development patterns are not beholden to fees and are a reaction to market fundamentals, population/job growth, and other external factors. 

While this is true, the City, through its land use policies, made it far too easy for development patterns to move to greenfields in the suburbs rather than promoting infill development.  They could have done more.  Now we're left with a wasteland downtown and a traffic cluster at I-95 and JTB- which by the way, taxpayers will eventually have to foot the bill for a major improvement there.

[simms3]

From last week's Jacksonville Business Journal (theme appeared to revolve around improving education).

PONTE VEDRA BEACH — The Northeast Florida business leaders crusading for education reform are taking a cue from a public-private partnership tackling the same issue in Charlotte, N.C.

Gary Chartrand, chairman of the board of directors for Acosta Sales & Marketing Inc., said May 8 that a group of business leaders and private nonprofits have raised $15 million to form the Fund for Quality Education. The fund is already paying for an independent study of Duval County Public Schools    Duval County Public Schools Latest from The Business Journals Acosta's Chartrand announces million education fund at The PlayersJacksonville businesses, nonprofit tackle school dropout ratePersonal service key for Software Integration Follow this company , to determine the most effective ways to infuse the education system with private money.

This needs to be more commonplace, and it needs to be replicated not just on the education front but also the community improvement front.  This is the sort of thing that sets cities apart in the long run when growth spurts end and cities mature (for good or for bad).  Kudos to Gary Chartrand and all of those involved.  I would suggest considering the following for a possible idea (from today):

The Atlanta CEO Council plans to help Junior Achievement of Georgia build an educational, simulation center for the area’s middle school students. JA Finance Park and JA BizTown would be located in the Georgia World Congress Center.

As first reported by Atlanta Business Chronicle on April 20, the lead investment for the project comes from the S. Truett Cathy Foundation, which agreed to underwrite the pre-planning, operating and space costs to launch the new JA initiatives.

Nationally, Junior Achievement already has established 25 JA Finance Parks and JA BizTowns in communities across the country.

Something that has been harped on over and over again on this board is the general lack of money in Jacksonville.  And that is a true disadvantage when comparing to Charlotte or Austin or elsewhere in Florida, but there also seems to be a lack of activity in proportion to the amount of money Jacksonville does have.  I could probably recall nearly all of Jacksonville's major philanthropic or community investors at the top of my head, which is partially because Jacksonville is small, partially because there aren't that many people with money, but also partially because there is just less activity proportionate to the amount of people who do have money.

This is my beef with the Chamber...it's mainly because its members rest on their laurels.  I fully expect the City of Jacksonville, including our mayor (who hasn't impressed me) to rest on its laurels or screw something up.  I want to believe that the private sector leaders will be there to come to the rescue and then to go beyond the call of duty and pull the city forward.

1) Why is there not an endowment to maintain the Riverwalk?

2) Why is there not an endowment to maintain the Emerald Necklace?

3) We're good at the Cummer (could always be better) and at MOCA, but where are the donors for MOSH?

4) Why does the city look like crap right in the backyards of some of the wealthiest people in the area?  Man that would bother me if I were a successful leader in Jacksonville.  I would find a way myself to get some better landscaping, smoother streets, wider sidewalks and buried utilities where cost effective (FTR Preston Haskell streetscaped his own street and personally worked on the project onsite).

5) Friendship Fountain sounds like it could use a hero as by now it's obvious the city can't truly maintain it like it needs to be maintained.

6) If Jacksonville wants a streetcar, it's going to take a Herculean campaign by local business leaders, which doesn't seem to have kicked off yet.

7) Why does nobody challenge Mr. Brinton (and everyone knows Mr. Brinton).  Is it to keep the local "network" without conflict?


Love what a few folks around town have done on the public cultural/education front (and now I have to include Gary Chartrand), but the city has to be touched by more people on all sorts of different levels.


This is where the Chamber needs to go beyond just networking and filling in as corporate welcoming party for potential relocations/expansions.  It needs to be a platform for local businesses and their leaders to come together to solve Jacksonville's problems and make it a better place...and that's what will attract the people and businesses we want (I know that's in the mission...but where's the evidence that happens?).

[Ocklawaha]

Don't forget everytime you pump gas in Duval country 5 cents of each Gallon goes to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, so the it Ain't going to cost you nothing on the mobility plan is wrong.

The 5 cent gas tax is not part of the mobility plan. Gas taxes are generally used for funding daily operations, the mobility plan addresses major infrastructure improvements.

OCKLAWAHA

[vicupstate]

Maybe I have forgotten, but who is Mr. Brinton and why is he so important.

I definitely agree that the private sector has to do more, much more.  It truly separates the 'have' and the 'have nots' among cities.

[tufsu1]

^ he fights the proliferation of billboards