J Magazine Winter 2017

not bear the total burden of flood control
taxes. He suggests a quarter-cent or halfcent
increase in sales taxes for five years.
Richard Birdsall writes that we’ll pay for
sea level rise one way or another. We can
wait for floods and pay later or pay early and
mitigate the damage.
Gil Mayers says Jacksonville can afford a
21st century city. “Refocus on stricter, sensible
building codes for developers, float
an infrastructure bond bill that would help
employ our unemployed and unleash the
multiplier effect with infrastructure jobs in
this city,” he wrote. “We have been starving
our citizens by having companies export
jobs to foreign countries to increase their
bottom line.” He says we can pay for these
changes with government stimulus rather
than tax cuts for the wealthy that never
work.
Peter Baci has lived in Jacksonville since
1981 and has seen flood control “kicked
down the road.”
Actually, the city imposed a stormwater
fee during Mayor John Peyton’s administration.
That fee is funding various stormwater
improvement projects.
The Mayor’s Office provided a list of 18
specific stormwater improvement projects
along with a $125 million overall drainage
system project.
But Jacksonville is a huge city in land
area, rippled by rivers and streams with development
in areas that were once swamps.
The projects are not enough. More funding
is needed.
One positive addition is a proposal led by
City Council Member Lori Boyer that offers
federal buyouts of more than 70 homes in
flood-prone areas. The area is called South
Shores, which is located west of Bishop
Kenny High School near the Southbank.
This is a welcome start to making a difference
in Jacksonville’s flood-prone areas.
Aundra Wallace, CEO of the Downtown
Investment Authority, told the board recently
that he will be talking to representatives
of major riverfront developments like
the District and the Shipyards about dealing
with flooding risks. For example, the Hyatt
Regency Jacksonville Riverfront was closed
to visitors for weeks following the flooding
from Hurricane Irma.
The sad fact is that many solutions to
flooding risks have been staring us in the
face, but Jacksonville has not tackled them.
We know that many areas in Jacksonville
are prone to flooding.
We know that our wonderful tree canopy
causes power blackouts during storms.
But we thought that one direct hit by a
hurricane in over 100 years — Hurricane
Dora in 1964 — made Jacksonville hurricane-proof.
It starts with leadership. In a strong mayor
form of government, that is based in the
Mayor’s Office.
The mayor needs to lead a discussion
of the problems of flooding and overhead
power lines, set priorities and test the community’s
will to spend money to resolve
them.
It can’t be done all at once. But it
shouldn’t be ignored, either.
With a small revenue increase, paired
with grants or federal aid, we can make
progress.
Imagine if this had been started with
consolidation about 50 years ago.
To do nothing would be the greatest sin
to Jacksonville’s residents — present and
future.
MIKE CLARK has been reporting and editing for The
Florida Times-Union and Jacksonville Journal since 1973.
He has been editorial page editor for the last 12 years
following 15 years as reader advocate.
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WINTER 2017-18 | J MAGAZINE 69