Daily Record FINANCIAL NEWS &
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 243 • Two SecTioNS
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
JEA learns lessons from storm Overpromising restoration of service led to greatest outcry By Max Marbut, Staff Writer Lessons learned. That was the theme of the presentation by JEA CEO Paul McElroy to the utility’s board of directors Tuesday. The subject of the presentation was Hurricane Matthew and JEA’s efforts to respond when more than 250,000 electric customers — about 60 percent of the utility’s total base –– lost power due to the storm. “Many things went right. Some
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Authority plans to revamp the river
did not,” said McElroy. The big issue in the “did not” category was related to a news release issued at 4:45 p.m. Sunday — about 36 hours after the hurricane had passed. It stated that, with the help of repair crews from other utilities, JEA would “substantially complete our service restoration work for our customers able to receive power by (11:59) midnight Monday, Oct. 10.” At the deadline, about 48,000 customers still were without
electricity. “In hindsight, we should have held back on that call,” said McElroy, who apologized for the confusion and frustration caused by missing the self-imposed deadline. He said one of the lessons learned is JEA should improve communication with customers and better manage their expectations. By midnight Friday, six days after the storm, electricity still was out at about 102 addresses.
“We thank our customers for the patience they demonstrated,” McElroy said. He reported the mobilization of outside utility workers who came to Jacksonville — many before the hurricane arrived — to help restore utility service was the largest in JEA history by a factor of two. More than 400 visiting workers were housed, fed and shuttled from hotels to staging areas during the restoration. JEA
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DIA, Boyer embark on ways to enhance waterway The St. Johns River appears headed for a makeover. The Downtown Investment Authority is gearing up to hire a consultant to develop a riverfront design and investment strategy within its Downtown borders. It’s a multifaceted step that will include a plan for underused and underdeveloped riverfront properties, identifying opportunities for attractions and public places, and improving wayfinding signage between the river and other Downtown areas. “The one thing that we need to spend much more time on, that we didn’t do in my first three years, is riverfront activation, attraction, public space and design guidelines,” said authority CEO Aundra Wallace. Authority Chair Jim Bailey, publisher of the Daily Record, called the riverfront push “one of the biggest, strongest statements” the organization could make for the city. The board in its Community Redevelopment Area meeting before the regular meeting approved a scope of services for the consultancy request for proposal that Wallace said will be ready for procurement by December and receive bids by January. Wallace said his hope is to have the consultant in place by March. He declined to say what the budget for the project would be, but said the funding would come from within the authority’s administrative budget as well as the Southbank Tax Increment Financing fund. “There’s a lot of momentum happening along the riverfront,” said Wallace. There is, but not just Downtown. City Council President Lori Boyer told Wallace and the board she has been meeting with a number of people and organizations over the past few months who have an interest in improving the river. DIA
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Photos by Fran Ruchalski
By David Chapman Staff Writer
Michael Bump sits on the padded bench across from the Bistro Aix pastry area, which is reflected in the mirror. Bump is executive pastry chef for Forking Amazing Restaurants.
Purple cake leads to sweet job Executive pastry chef left Midwest for new adventure
By Fran Ruchalski Contributing Writer
Bump dips deep-fried beignets in Vietnamese cinnamon sugar as a final step in preparation.
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In October 2007, Michael Bump vented on MySpace about someone not appreciating the birthday cake he’d made for her. To his surprise, he received a message from a Jacksonville woman who said she’d be very happy if he would bake her a cake. “Yeah, but you’re in Florida and I’m in Kansas City,” he thought to himself. He and Melissa soon began a long-distance conversation. When she invited him to come to Jacksonville, Bump felt nothing holding him in Kansas City and he was tired of being in the
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Midwest. So he picked up and headed South in June 2008. Melissa later became the mother of his now 7-year-old son, Myles. And it is Myles who is Bump’s sole reason for getting up in the morning and going to work. “Everything I do is for him, to better him in some way or another,” Bump said. As long as his son is in Jacksonville, Bump will be, too. In July, he left Restaurant Orsay after eight years to become the executive pastry chef for the Forking Amazing Restaurants group, which includes Bistro Aix, Ovinté, Il Desco and the Cowford WORKSPACE CONTINUED ON PAGE A-7
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