Councilmember Gaffney pushes for Lot J to move forward

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — City Council goes back into session next week, meaning that there will be more debate over the Lot J Development plan.

Councilmember Reggie Gaffney called for a press conference Wednesday morning with councilmembers Sam Newby, Ju’Coby Pittman, and Brenda Priestly-Jackson, to affirm their commitments to not only their communities, but also to black-owned local businesses.

For Gaffney, that commitment includes passing the Lot J bill. Gaffney, a long-time supporter of the project, believes that the Lot J development could impact Districts 7, 8, 9, and 10 positively. He said that the development would bring in over $100 million to the communities.

“In my opinion this could singly be one of the greatest opportunities I have seen in Jacksonville in my lifetime,” Gaffney said. “To pass this up would be a huge failure to the leadership and this city.”

Throughout December, several groups have been outspoken against the project.

One of those groups include the Jacksonville Chapter of the NAACP. They wrote a letter first to Mayor Curry and the Council, and then a second letter to the NFL - both encouraging the dismissal of the bill.

“It is frustrating to witness the latest attempt to enrich millionaires and billionaires with taxpayer dollars while many Jacksonville residents live in poverty, fear for their safety, and suffer disproportionate impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lot J redevelopment plan strips Jacksonville of hundred of millions of dollars needed to keep vulnerable families in their housing during the pandemic, and to combat our city’s chronic unemployment and homelessness challenges.”

—  Isaiah Rumlin, the President of the Jacksonville Branch NAACP, wrote to the Commissioner of the NFL.

Our Jax, a watchdog group which has previously criticized the JEA Scandal of 2019, wrote a letter Monday to Council President Tommy Hazouri, asking for the city to start the deal over.

“We all know that there is no pressing deadline for LOT J. The Jaguars are bound to a lease that extends through 2030. In addition, the environmental cleanup alone is expected to take three years with project completion scheduled for 2028. Again, we question City Council’s hasty approval schedule. We urge you to scrap the Lot J deal, and in the coming months, follow established processes and taxpayer protections to engage in a thoughtful and mutually beneficial conversation with the Jaguars about what a long-term partnership should look like."

—  Michael Ward, President of OurJax, to Council President Tommy Hazouri

Priestly-Jackson said during the press conference today that the idea of the Jaguars owner, Shad Khan, taking money from taxpayers, is not representative of the deal.

“I don’t believe that there is any real financial incentive for Shad Khan for Lot J. He is a multibillionaire and that’s separate from saying, I think it’s the best interests of the city if we tap all of our resources,” Priestly-Jackson said. “So I’m a little troubled when folks think that a half million, half billion dollar development, some kind of way on Earth to the financial benefit of a multibillionaire, that’s just kind of a misaligned, I think, analogy going forward.”

The next committee meeting on the development project is scheduled for January 7. Three amendments have been proposed so far, ranging from commitment from the Jaguars to ethical statutes, but they will all have to be discussed at the meeting. The goal for supporters of the bill is for the committee to vote on the entire bill during that meeting.

“My hope is that others who may have some concern, other of my colleagues may have some concerns, will continue to have dialog with the Jaguars as well with the city administration,” Gaffney said. “So we can get to a point where come January 7th, we are ready to vote up or down. I don’t want to see us kick it down the curb.”

Newby agreed with Gaffney.

“I think by January 7 that either we need to vote it up or down,” Newby said.

Pittman never said what her full stance was, but she was supportive of what Lot J could do - bring business and jobs to local businesses.

“As you all know, we’ve had several meetings over the last couple of months and we will not, you know, make any decisions until we feel comfortable, as our colleagues have said,” Pittman said.

Priestly-Jackson on the other hand was not fully certain on where she will land next Thursday.

“I need to feel that there’s a certain level of confidence that they have that was going forward and I need to feel more importantly, that we are not saddling and burdening future generations by bad decisions today,” Priestly-Jackson said. “And I’m just going to be quite candid. That challenge for me is because we kicked the pension liability down the road and it’s going to be my grandchildren and children who pay for that. So in many ways, I don’t want to have a repeat of that.”

Cox Media Group