JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 The Eastside is one step closer to finally getting the first installment of the $115 million Community Benefits Agreement.<\/p>\n
The CBA was passed alongside the stadium renovation deal, and there\u2019s already $4 million in the current budget ready to be spent on affordable and workforce housing, homelessness, and economic development on the Eastside.<\/p>\n
But until the Jacksonville City Council agrees on who will be in charge of spending it, that money will sit unspent.<\/p>\n
The CBA Special Committee pushed forward a plan on Wednesday to establish a nonprofit through the city that would take on that responsibility.<\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/a><\/p>\n Chair Raul Arias (R-District 11) explained it was a compromise after two factions in the community emerged.<\/p>\n One group had pushed for a city board that would eventually transition into a nonprofit, and the other preferred a privately established nonprofit to oversee Eastside CBA dollars from the jump.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we decided to go that route to ensure both parts of the community know that they should trust each other and work together,\u201d said Arias.<\/p>\n But the committee also changed who would control appointments to the nine-member nonprofit board, giving the mayor and Council President four appointments each and the Jags one.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve all seen now that the appointment process can become very political,\u201d said Leslie Scott Jean-Bart, an attorney representing Together Eastside Coalition Inc.<\/p>\n The coalition had been pushing for what it described as a hybrid model, where city leaders would make initial appointments to a city board overseeing the Eastside CBA dollars.<\/p>\n After a set period of time, that city board would have transitioned into a nonprofit, whose board would be able to pick five of its own members from the community.<\/p>\n