JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two separate Jacksonville organizations with the same name are trying to ensure Eastside residents get the most out of the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) agreement born out of the $1.4 billion stadium deal.
The deal between the Jaguars and the city includes $75 million from the Jaguars over the next 30 years, plus an additional $40 million from the city through 2032.
The newly passed $2 billion city budget will permit those funds to start rolling out this year.
“It’s gonna be $4 million bucks going directly to the Eastside for these programs that the new board will be able to disperse,” Councilman Jimmy Peluso said.
Travis Williams, CEO of Lift JAX, has been working with a coalition of Eastside leaders and residents since 2023 under a group previously known as Together Eastside Coalition. He said the community involvement throughout the process is his priority.
“We’ve been hosting not just meetings, but workshops, educational opportunities again, since January of 2024,” Williams said. “We hosted eight straight weeks of community as a coalition where we brought in subject matter experts on housing, on city government, on several subjects to educate ourselves, educate the community on what the different aspects could be in a CBA.”
But Latavia Harris, who is part of a different group that officially filed with the state for the name Together Eastside Coalition Inc. as a nonprofit a few months ago, said structure and accountability are what’s needed most.
“The structure came for the transparency and accountability when I noticed that the other entity wouldn’t structure it,” Harris said. “What we’ve been doing is trying to go over the wording and the intent of this ordinance, and the intent of the CBA, and the difference from where the CBA started to where the CBA is now.”
Both agree that the money could reshape the neighborhood, but the question is who will oversee and guide how it’s spent.
“So, there will be an application process just like there is with every board that we have. My goal is that for the first two years, every applicant will go through the full city council process, meaning the City Council will approve of the board appointment,” Peluso said.
“This is a board mainly of Eastsiders, meant for the East Side to help the East Side to make sure that people remain in their homes, prosper in place, make sure we have economic development, and help ensure that the next generation of Eastsiders have the tools needed to make sure that they have a strong, vibrant community,” he said.
Peluso said the nine-member board, a part of a new nonprofit called HERO, could be finalized in the coming months, clearing the way for funds to reach the community.
According to city documents, a previous proposal included a seven-member board of directors with three people from the Eastside, one member designated by the city council, one designated by the Jaguars, one chosen by Mayor Donna Deegan and one unanimously appointed by the other directors.
But according to the minutes from an Aug. 27 meeting, the board will now be comprised of nine voting members: two appointed by the council president and approved by the council, one appointed by the mayor and approved by the council, and one current employee of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who does not require council approval. The council president and mayor’s appointees would serve two terms of two years, but that could be changed by the committee if desired. Hero, Inc. is expected to ensure that the remaining five board members, to the extent possible, reside in or have substantial economic interest in one of the five Eastside neighborhoods, with no more than two from a single neighborhood.
The next CBA meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 8.