Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 252 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Candidate to lead pension drops out
10 years, 8 million patrons
Pension fund chair says critical report led to change of heart
This mural by Lee Adams depicts the arrival in North Florida of explorer Jean Ribault. It’s on permanent exhibit on the fourth floor in the Special Collections Department.
Main Library throwing a party to celebrate decade
By Max Marbut Staff Writer It won’t be the first, but it’s planned to be the biggest. The 10th anniversary of the Main Library Downtown will be celebrated Saturday with authors, live entertainment and guided tours. Jacksonville Public Library Director Barbara Gubbin said since October 2014, six branches have marked 10 years of opening or reopening due to the Better Jacksonville Plan’s funding for library system improvement. It’s fitting that the largest and busiest library should have the largest celebration of the first decade. “We’ve been honing our skills for a year and we’ve been planning this celebration for a year. We want people to come to the Main Library and have a fun day,” said Gubbin. Former Mayor John Delaney, who was in office when Library continued on Page A-3
The Map Room on the fourth floor displays the Morris Ansbacher Collection of historic Florida cartography.
Photos by Max Marbut
By David Chapman Staff Writer
Disagreement was expected after a highly critical report on the Police and Fire Pension Fund. “Just a bunch of personal opinions” that lacked evidence, says the fund’s board chair. Real issues that need answers, countered the City Council member who spearheaded the review. Yet, despite the disagreements on display Monday during a public meeting, one detail emerged that could have immediate consequences — and has both sides working together. After an hour-long discussion about the $85,000 report, Chief Larry Schmitt dropped some unexpected news. The report, said the fund’s board chair, was the “main reason” the top choice to replace retired fund administrator John Keane was backing away. Lynn Wenguer, head of the Fort Lauderdale Police and Fire Retirement System, had been offered a five-year, $200,000 annual contract for the position. Details had been ironed out and all that was needed was Wenguer’s OK. “She called me this morning,” Schmitt told council member Bill Gulliford and others. “She … saw no need to put herself in the middle of all of this.” It was an announcement that surprised those around the table and resulted in a full-court press to fix it. Gulliford said he’d reach out to talk to her. So did council member Tommy Hazouri, the board’s liaison. Bill Scheu, the newest of the five-member board, also said he wanted to speak with her. Schmitt said he’d give it a couple of days before reaching back out. A message left for Wenguer on Monday evening seeking comment wasn’t returned. Gulliford said after the meeting the development was disappointing but hoped further conversation could change the outcome. Pension continued on Page A-2
Publix tosses salad plant into Jacksonville mix Publix Super Markets Inc. is considering construction of a production plant for salads in West Jacksonville near its distribution center. It could be a big one, or at least part of the more than 600,000 square feet of development rights the Lakeland-based supermarket chain has on the almost 34-acre vacant site along West Beaver Street. Publix wanted to build a dairy products manufacturing facility on the land, which it bought in late 2012. The market changed that decision. “Declining consumer demand and preferences have obviated
Public
the need for the contemplated dairy facility,” says a proposed city ordinance to extend Publix’s development agreement on the property until Sept. 7, 2020. Ordinance 2015-746 also amends the calculation of the annual renewal fee for reserving traffic circulation capacity. Plans include building a facility for the production and packaging of ready-to-serve salads, such as mixed green salads, potato salads, coleslaw and fruit salads. Publix seeks approval from the city for the five-year extension “to continue its good faith efforts to develop the remaining capacity” under the agreement.
legal notices begin on page
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That amount is 603,683 square feet of enclosed space, although there is no statement that a new plant would be that size. According to the agreement those reserved rights expired, without extension, on Sept. 7. Publix submitted its request for the extension Aug. 24, according to the ordinance. Publix spokesman Dwaine Stevens said Publix had nothing to
announce. “There’s not a status change,” he said. District City Council member Doyle Carter said Tuesday that Publix has not given him a timeline on construction. “I would think if it’s something they are in need of, they would be doing it pretty quickly, hopefully,” he said. He said the ready-to-serve salad preparation must be a lucrative function. Publix serves its 1,106 stores across six Southeastern states with eight distribution centers and 10 manufacturing facilities, according to publix.com. Its larg-
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est market is Florida, with 764 stores. Seven of the eight distribution centers are in Florida and the other is in Lawrenceville, Ga. The Jacksonville center is at 9786 and 9800 W. Beaver St. In Jacksonville, it maintains a distribution plant as well as a fresh-foods facility, one of four such operations in its system. The others are in Lakeland and Deerfield Beach in Florida and in Lawrenceville, Ga. kmathis@jaxdailyrecord.com @MathisKb (904) 356-2466
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