VOLUME 1: ISSUE 6
in thiS ISSUE
Teresa Morgan & Family Share What Makes North Jacksonville Special
New Year, New Healthy You! Pledge To Make Healthier Choices in 2018
Contents
11 Neighbor to
Neighbor
4 Letter from the Mayor 7 Share
Your Square
12 Rethink.
Reset. Recycle.
Floridians are contaminating curbside recycling bins with materials that are not meant to be there. Learn what can and cannot be recycled.
14 We Want Your Feedback!
5 The Benefits of Spay & Neuter
Save lives and help reduce the number of animals that enter shelters.
6 New Year, New Healthier You
Take the Jax Mayorthon Kids Club pledge to make healthier food, exercise and safety choices every day. Good practices today can lead to a lifetime of habits that produce strong, healthy and smart adults.
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Take the Housing & Community Development online survey.
8 Connecting
Neighborhoods to City Resources
14 Online Resources 15 Neighborhood Notes • •
Foreclosure Property Registry: Protecting neighborhoods from becoming blighted Fair Housing: Ensuring human rights and fair housing for all citizens of Jacksonville
Neighborhood Services Office 214 N. HOGAN ST., 5TH FLOOR JACKSONVILLE, FL 32202 (904) 255-8250 STEPHANIE BURCH Director of Neighborhoods stephanieb@coj.net LISA RANSOM Neighborhood Services Manager lransom@coj.net DAN DURBEC Environmental Programs Specialist ddurbec@coj.net MICHELLE GODWIN-WARE Neighborhood Coordinator for Districts 4 and 6 michellegw@coj.net AMY HAYS HOLLIMAN Neighborhood Coordinator for Districts 1 and 5 aholliman@coj.net ROSEMARY WESOLOWSKI Neighborhood Coordinator for Districts 2 and 3 rosemary@coj.net
Get Help City Customer Service (904) 630-CITY (2489) Disabled Services (904) 630-4940 Head Start to Home Ownership (H2H) (904) 255-8231 Housing and Community Development (904) 255-8200 Jacksonville Housing Authority (904) 630-3810 Jacksonville Human Rights Commission (904) 630-4911 JFRD (Non-Emergency) (904) 630-0434 JSO (Non-Emergency) (904) 630-0500 Neighborhoods Department (904) 255-7200
OUR JAX MAGAZINE 3
Letter from the Mayor
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD Dear Citizens,
early learning initiative that provides the inspiring book “What I Can Be From A to It’s been a busy and bold year for the City Z” to all infants born in Duval County. And of Jacksonville. Tremendous progress has we refocused our Summer Jobs program to been made on a number of priorities, better prepare youth for long-term career revealing a brighter future for our citizens success. and communities. We made smart investments in our We solved the pension crisis, for good. economy to increase the momentum we’ve And because of that, we are now in a built in recent years. With 22 economic better position to move forward on much- development projects, we created 7,235 needed investments in partnerships and jobs, $498 million in private capital infrastructure improvements to positively investment, and a $319 million increase impact neighborhoods, communities, and in personal incomes. We welcomed new youth in our city. operations and expansions from companies We made significant investments in public like Macquarie Group, Ernst & Young, safety. With the inclusion of funds to IKEA and Amazon. And we launched our hire 100 new police officers in this year’s Small Business Help Sessions to assist budget, we surpassed my commitment to entrepreneurs in getting their operations replace the 147 officers cut in previous off the ground. years. Since July 2015, we’ve funded an Through all of this progress, we’re laying additional 180 police and 80 community the groundwork upon which we can build service officer positions. With manpower an even stronger future for our city. We’re at appropriate levels, officers will be able continuing to pursue our vision of One City. to engage in practices that build stronger One Jacksonville. and I look forward to relationships with the communities they building on our progress in 2018. serve. We took significant steps to improve Happy New Year! how we serve youth in our city. We consolidated the efforts of the Jax Journey and Children’s Commission, creating the Kids Hope Alliance. We launched an Lenny Curry Mayor 4 OUR JAX MAGAZINE
The Benefits of
Spay & Neuter
Having your pet spayed or neutered is one of the most important gifts you can give your pet, your family and your community. These routine medical procedures help control the population of stray animals in Jacksonville and reduce the number of animals that enter shelters. Additionally, there are many health benefits to sterilizing your pets, including reduced behavioral problems such as mounting, howling and the urge to roam, allowing them to lead a healthier, happier and longer life. Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and mammary cancer in female animals, which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats. Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases, and subsequently, the cost to treat them. In addition to preventing unwanted l i t t e r s , neutering your male pet can prevent testicular cancer. Unneutered dogs and cats tend to demonstrate very aggressive, undesirable behavior that may be frustrating and challenging for pet owners. Neutering
DECREASE OVERPOPULATION
LOWER RISK OF CANCER
reduces this behavior and allows them to become more relaxed and focused on their human families. Spaying and neutering is unlikely to change a pet’s personality, temperament or levels of playfulness and general activity. Pet sterilization directly impacts the number of animals who are euthanized in our nation’s shelters. During fiscal year 2017, Animal Care and Protective Services (ACPS) performed approximately 5,200 sterilization surgeries in an effort to control the pet population. By reducing the number of unwanted litters, it prevented an increased number of stray and homeless pets throughout the city. ACPS has a public/private partnership with First Coast No More Homeless Pets that offers a low-cost spay and neuter program to encourage families to get their pets fixed. A reduced number of pets entering shelters means forever homes are freed up for existing homeless pets already available for adoption. ACPS is challenging the citizens of Jacksonville to become community partners in this effort by having their pets spayed and neutered to prevent a homeless pet crisis and shelter overpopulation. Contact your pet’s veterinarian for more information on pet sterilization.
REDUCE AGGRESION
INCREASE LIFE SPAN 3-5 YEARS OUR JAX MAGAZINE 5
New Year
NEW HEALTHIER YOU! A new year means new opportunities to be a healthier, happier you. Here are a few suggestions to get you started on your New Year’s resolutions:
Eat FIVE or more fruits and vegetables a day by including one serving at every meal
and for snack times in between. If you don’t have access to fresh produce, canned or frozen works too! Look for vegetables with no added salt and choose fruits canned in their own juice, not syrup. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Just because it’s not love at first bite doesn’t mean you should give up. It can take seven to 10 tries to like a new food.
Limit yourself to TWO hours or less of recreational screen time each day.
On average, children spend more than seven hours per day using TVs, computers, phones, and other electronic devices for entertainment. Too much screen time has been linked to obesity, behavioral and social problems, low grades, and reduced physical activity.
involves moving enough to be considered physical activity? That means you need to move more at home and on weekends. Break physical activity down into shorter blocks of time and remember that all movement counts towards your goal—take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk the dog, or turn on your favorite song and dance.
Consume ZERO sugary drinks. Instead,
fuel your body with low-fat milk or water. If you’re not a fan of the way H2O tastes, try adding a slice of citrus fruit or infusing your water with apples, berries, or kiwis. Just cut up your fruit of choice, drop it in a pitcher or a glass of water, and drink. You can also incorporate more water-rich foods into your diet like yogurt, grapefruit, spinach, broccoli and watermelon—all of which have a water content of 85 percent or more.
Now that you’ve set goals for the year ahead, take a moment to look back at the accomplishments and special moments that made 2017 memorable. Download the YEAR IN REVIEW activity sheet at coj.net/ Engage in ONE hour or more of physical kidsclub. Fill it out, snap a photo and email activity every day. Did you know that less it to kidsclub@coj.net to be featured on our than 50 percent of the time spent in sports website. practice, games, and physical education class
Visit COJ.NET/KIDSCLUB to join the jax mayorthon kids club . 6 OUR JAX MAGAZINE
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SHARE YOUR
SQUARE
Jacksonville is BIG. It’s the largest city in the contiguous United States, covering 840 square miles, which means there are many hidden gems like the ones you see here. Can you identify these locations? Better yet, share your own! Show us what you love most about where you live, work, or play by posting your photos on social media with the hashtag #ShareYourSquare.
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Please visit coj.net/ourjaxmagazine to discover the locations of the photos featured above. OUR JAX MAGAZINE 7
neighborhood s
connecting neighborhoo
Lisa Ransom has been the manager of the Neighborhood Services Office (NSO) since it was established in late 2016. With the mission to bridge the gap between the residents of Jacksonville and local government, she leads a team of five who interact daily with citizens and communitybased organizations to provide information about the services available to them. This year, the NSO has been to 204 outreach events spending more than 571 outreach hours in Jacksonville’s neighborhoods. “We engage residents in their own neighborhoods and bring government into the community,” said Ransom. In addition to addressing citizens’ questions and concerns regarding neighborhood matters, Lisa supervises the development and maintenance of several citizen-focused initiatives. Among them, CommUniverCity, a program created to empower communities by training new leaders. “The goal in training citizens is for each new leader to become a trailblazer in their community, and work within or even start new neighborhood organizations. Neighborhood organizations create strong communities and strong communities are the foundation of great cities,” said Ransom.
Possible topics for CommUniverCity courses, scheduled to launch in 2018, include community investment, starting a neighborhood association and Neighborhood Watch Program, public speaking and navigating City resources. 8 OUR JAX MAGAZINE
Lisa Ransom, Neighborhood Services Manager
Lisa and her staff work to provide access to information through electronic resources like the Neighborhood Directory and e-distribution list. The Neighborhood Directory is an electronic archive of organizations in Jacksonville that want to connect with local government. This resource allows citizens to easily find neighborhood organizations in their area. Currently, 180 organizations are registered.
services office
ods with city resources
“
Neighborhood organizations create strong communities and strong communities are the foundation of great cities.
“
While Lisa is thankful for her hardworking team members, she also recognizes the importance of volunteer support, especially for programs like Clean It Up, Green It Up and Citizen’s Planning Advisory Committees (CPACs). The e-distribution list, which includes more than 700 contacts, keeps citizens informed about City news—from road closures and maintenance announcements to parades and office closures. You can register to be added to the notifications list at coj.net/neighborhoodorganizations.
“The work that has been done by our volunteers is very important for our grass-roots efforts,” said Ransom. “The NSO team is very grateful for all of the volunteers that have worked with the City throughout the past year.”
“We understand that some citizens are not able to attend evening meetings. That’s where the electronic outreach comes in handy,” she said.
For more information about the NSO, please call 255-8250 or visit coj.net/ NSO. OUR JAX MAGAZINE 9
Around Town: NORTH JACKSONVILLE
Communication, collaboration and citizen involvement are crucial to the success of Jacksonville’s Citizens Planning Advisory Committees (CPAC).
association representative four years ago. The District 6 boundaries include the Nassau County line to the north and east; the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway tracks to the west; and Garden Street to “CPACs provide diverse communities the the CSX railroad to the Trout and St Johns opportunity to come together and voice rivers to the south. their concerns and work on solutions for their neighborhoods together with the District 6 is experiencing increased City of Jacksonville,” said Rev. Joseph Tate, commercial and residential development, chair of the district 6 North CPAC. “Our and Tate says it’s critical that the community size makes open communication between keeps pace by planning ahead. the citizens and government extremely “With the increased amount of Northside important.” development, naturally an increase in traffic Tate started his term as North CPAC chair has occurred,” said Tate. “We would like to in 2017 but he’s been an active CPAC see more sidewalks and efficient roadways participant since joining put in place before developments are built, as a homeowner versus two or three years after construction. We feel this would benefit the safety and welfare of the neighborhoods.” North CPAC advocates are also pursuing a new Jacksonville Public Library branch in Oceanway. Tate credits collaboration between CPAC members and City Council representatives for winning budget approval for $250,000 for a design and development plan for a future branch. “CPACs are the best forum for providing citizens opportunities to learn what is happening in their communities and to work together with the City to create possible solutions to problems in their neighborhoods,” said Tate. “All meetings are open to the public and I encourage anyone interested in becoming active and engaged in the community to attend.” Get involved in the District 6 CPAC! Visit coj.net/ cpacs, call (904) 255-8250, or email Michelle GodwinWare at michellegw@coj.net. 10 OUR JAX MAGAZINE
NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR
NORTH JAX SPOTLIGHT: TERESA MORGAN & FAMILY
EATS
If you’re feeling hungry, stop by Viva Mexican Restaurant in North Jacksonville. It’s family owned, has a friendly atmosphere, they recognize you when you come in, and the food is absolutely amazing.
area Attractions
One of the best things about our neighborhood is that we’re far enough away from the bustle of downtown to be able to enjoy a bit of “country life” with horses, cows and chickens nearby, but still close enough to pop over to River City Marketplace, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, and the Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve.
Arts & Culture
Hoy es Hoy, the sculpture at the entrance to the Jacksonville International Airport, is one of the area’s most prominent pieces of public art. Every time I drive by it, I try to get a longer look at it because it’s so intriguing.
landmark
We enjoy spending time at Sheffield Memorial Park – it’s new, and there are lots of things to do like basketball, soccer, fishing, and canoeing. There are also swings and slides for the little ones and plenty of room to picnic or play with your dogs.
Entertainment #myonething The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is our top pick for family entertainment— especially their seasonal LED light displays, like Halloween Spooktacular and ZOOLights in the winter.
One thing we love most about Jacksonville is the access to the waterways. You can view a list of JaxParks public launch sites for boating, kayaking and more at coj.net/ wateraccess. OUR JAX MAGAZINE 11
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, approximately 30 percent of all household materials recycled in Florida are not recyclable at curbside, leading to the shutdown of processing centers for hours at a time each day. The “Rethink. Reset. Recycle.” campaign is designed to educate Floridians about curbside recycling, and to remind them about the basics of curbside recycling, which includes clean and dry aluminum and steel cans, plastic bottles and jugs, paper and cardboard. Recyclers often contaminate bins with things that cannot be recycled curbside. such as plastic bags, greasy pizza boxes, and thin plastic packaging. In fact,
nearly one-third of all materials households send to Florida recycling facilities are not recyclable and ruin loads of items that otherwise could be recycled. While the intentions are good, these mistakes are costly and time-consuming. Contamination costs an average of $125 per ton. By eliminating the 30 percent of contaminated materials in curbside recycling bins, Floridians could save up to $100 million in recycling costs in one year. Jacksonville citizens are encouraged to visit coj.net/ curbsiderecycling to learn more about what can and cannot be recycled through the City of Jacksonville’s local recycling program.
THESE ITEMS CANNOT BE RECYCLED CURBSIDE:
Remember, just because an item might contain a recyclable material does not mean it can be recycled. Most recyclable items, including plastics, will be marked with this symbol: 12 OUR JAX MAGAZINE
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Housing & Community Development
WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK!
Jacksonville will possibly receive $83.3 million dollars in funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and State of Florida within the next five years. The City of Jacksonville’s Housing & Community Development Division is seeking community feedback to help determine how this funding should be prioritized. Your input is important and will directly impact the decision making process. Please take a few minutes to take the online survey and make your voice heard.
Take the online survey at TINYURL.COM/HCDSURVEY
ONLINE RESOURCES Don’t miss your next CPAC meeting. Get out your 2018 calendar and start marking dates. The Neighborhood Services Office has all the 2018 meetings dates for your district listed on its website at coj.net/CPACS. Just select your CPAC, then click on 2018 Meeting Dates. See you there! 14 OUR JAX MAGAZINE
FORECLOSURE PROPERTY REGISTRY The Foreclosure Property Registry was established in 2010 to limit and reduce the deterioration of property located within the City of Jacksonville caused by foreclosure, and to create a mechanism to protect neighborhoods from becoming blighted through a lack of adequate maintenance of homes going through the foreclosure process. In 2015 the law was amended to require mortgagees (banks/lending institutions) to register all properties whose mortgages are in default or foreclosure, and pay registration fees. The funds collected through the foreclosure registry are deposited into a special account in the Neighborhoods Department. They are dedicated to the cost of developing community revitalization projects, and to protecting against and removing blight due to real property deterioration. The funds are allocated to projects based on a
three-tier policy. The first tier focuses on reaching homeowners trying to navigate the foreclosure process and provides funding for foreclosure intervention and foreclosure counseling programs. The second tier addresses neighborhoods by providing funds to address blight caused by vacant and abandoned homes, as well as assistance in the creation of affordable housing. The third tier addresses the greater Jacksonville community through the rebirth of the CommUniverCity training program, Neighborhood Matching Grant program and funding for the publication of the Our Jax magazine. The Neighborhoods Department is excited to bring you these programs and looks forward to your feedback. If you have any questions regarding the Foreclosure Property Registry, contact: Housing Property Administration Phone: (904) 255-8197
FAIR HOUSING Fair Housing initiatives seek to eliminate housing discrimination, promote economic opportunity, and achieve diverse, inclusive communities by means of the enforcement, administration, development, and public understanding of federal fair housing policies and laws. Fair Housing policies protect people from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and familial status. In addition, housing providers that receive Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding, and have loans and lenders insured by the Federal
Housing Administration (FHA), may be subject to HUD program regulations intended to ensure equal access of LGBT persons. The Neighborhoods Department’s Housing and Community Development Division has partnered with the Human Rights Commission to ensure Human Rights and Fair Housing for all Jacksonville citizens. If you feel you are a victim of discrimination or want to learn more, visit coj.net/Departments/Neighborhoods/ Housing-and-Community-Development/ Fair-Housing. OUR JAX MAGAZINE 15
small business help sessions Zoning. Permits. Fire Inspections. COU.
where to go when you need to know
Are you starting a business in Jacksonville? Have you selected a location? Is the building or space suitable for your type of business? Schedule a small business help session today!
tOPICS COVERED: • • • •
Permits (Building Inspection Division) Zoning (Planning and Development Department) Certificates of Use (COU) Fire Inspections (Fire and Rescue Department)
by appointment only WWW.ABC EDUCATIONURL.COM
Please register at www.coj.net/smallbizhelp