This is the 7th day in a row that cooling centers across Jacksonville have been open. The city says they’re open on days where the feels-like temperatures are above 108 degrees.
The city originally said six cooling centers would be open, and it’s been that way all week. But on Sunday, the city only had two of the centers open. They include the Legends Center and the Salvation Army Administrative Office downtown.
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The city tells Action News Jax they admit there was some confusion about which centers would be open, Sunday. When we reached out for clarification – the city said the libraries are not open on Sundays. And they are trying to remain cost neutral while still providing relief. But, the city never announced there would only be two cooling centers open, Sunday.
A spokesperson sent an emailed statement saying quote, “We did not want to mix messaging and confuse people with different location scenarios on the first day of the centers being open.”
They added saying they are constantly assessing the demand.
Red Cross volunteers told Action News Jax, the Salvation Army location had more than 10 people today. While the Legends Center had less than five. However, all six locations were open yesterday, and the red cross spokesperson tells me they had about 130 visitors. The main library had the most visitors with 90 people getting cooled off.
One person I spoke with today said, they are very grateful for the cooling centers because the heat has been miserable for them.
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“It drains you,” Michael Bourn said. “It makes you feel so weak, tired, beat. So that’s about it.”
He said water and Gatorade really help him get through these hot days.
Bourn said a police officer was kind enough to take him from the hospital to this cooling center.
The Red Cross is assisting the city by providing water at these locations. And JTA is providing free bus rides to these centers.
Action News Jax asked the city how much it costs to keep a library open as a cooling center and we are still waiting to hear back.
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