Daily Record Financial News &
Friday, June 26, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 160 • One Section
New day for council
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Private Downtown investment fund near
Initial focus would likely be Northbank By Karen Brune Mathis Managing Editor
City Council President Greg Anderson shares a kiss with his wife, Beville, during Thursday’s installation ceremony. At right is Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper. Below, Margaret Butler sings the National Anthem at the beginning of the event.
Anderson, Boyer ready to lead
Today’s a new day. The line was prevalent in the closing performance by Meachum L. Clark & True Purpose on Thursday. The song itself had an uplifting vibe, one that led City Council members and their guests to stand in unison. It was a new day for them and for Jacksonville. Not even an hour before, the eight returning members and 11 newcomers had been sworn in to help lead the city the next four years. It was a new day for Greg Anderson and Lori Boyer. The two will lead the group over the next year, Anderson as president, Boyer as vice president. Anderson compared the council journey to that of one of his favorite advertisements, that
of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s recruiting volunteers for a trek through the Antarctic Circle in 1914. Hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. For new members, he said he hoped their bags were packed and they were ready to compromise. He also said that “enough is enough” when it came to issues like crime. “It’s time to turn the tide,” he said, before indicating he was in support of additional police officers on the street. Another goal of his will be continued economic development. To that end, he wants to see updated incentive packages approved, results a group led by council member John Crescimbeni forged. Council continued on Page A-3
Photos by Fran Ruchalski
By David Chapman Staff Writer
As Downtown Investment Authority CEO Aundra Wallace was asked Thursday about the potential for a private funding source to spark progress, a buzz erupted. It culminated with a succinct pronouncement from one of the mayoral transition subcommittee members. “It exists,” said Steve Crosby, president of CSX Real Property and the executive working to make such a fund a reality. Crosby said after the meeting the fund should be formed by the end of summer and will model those in Cincinnati and Detroit. It will then be “going about the business of both raising investment funds and finding the right kinds of projects to Crosby invest in,” he said. He said there was no target amount of money to be raised and that more details would be shared later. Crosby has been on loan since last fall to the private Jacksonville Civic Council and JAX Chamber to design the fund. He also is a member of Downtown Vision Inc.’s board of directors. “Bringing patient private capital is what it’s all about,” Crosby said after the meeting. “The whole reason for doing this is to help projects happen that otherwise might not,” he said, and to provide capital that is more flexible than what the market would provide. Such capital is privately raised and invested for the long term with no expectation of turning a quick profit. In this case, it would be directed at first toward Downtown development. The fund was not discussed further during the fourth of eight scheduled meetings of Mayor-elect Lenny Curry’s 18-member Mathis
continued on
Page A-2
‘From managing survival to managing growth’
Survey shows small business indicators trending upward By Max Marbut Staff Writer
Donaldson
Public
If you own a small business in Florida, chances are your sales are up, you might add employees in the next six months and you expect the economy to continue to improve in the next year. That’s according to a survey of small business owners released Wednesday by the Florida Chamber Small Business Council. The survey was conducted May 4-22 via email and social media.
legal notices begin on page
A-10
Sixty-two percent of respondents reported higher sales in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period last year, with only 14 percent reporting lower sales. In addition, 57 percent of business owners said their business is better off than it was six months ago. In the expansion and job-creation categories, 45 percent of respondents said they plan to hire personnel over the next six months; only 4 percent expect
to lay off employees in the same period. Increasing investment in plants and equipment is planned by 39 percent of those responding. Plant expansion or equipment purchase in the next six months is expected by 21 percent of respondents, 13 percent plan to invest within the year and 5 percent said their expansion plans are at least 12 months away. Twenty-six percent said they have no plans to expand infrastructure or purchase equipment.
Published
for
26,682
A slight improvement in the economy in the next 12 months is anticipated by 60 of respondents and 9 percent are looking forward to a significant improvement. Asked how they think sales are likely to change in the next three months, 55 percent expect an increase, 34 percent said “unchanged” and 7 percent expect to see sales decline. Projecting sales over the next 12 months, 76 percent said they expect an Survey
continued on
Page A-4
consecutive weekdays