07:25 PM EST Share “I think it’s a trail of tears, the whole report. I don’t think we’ve found the end of the trail yet,” Council president Tommy Hazouri says.
Brenda Priestly Jackson, the City Council’s JEA investigatory committee chair, says the results of the probe into the attempt to sell Jacksonville’s municipal utility proved her theory.
“My overarching belief was there was an attempt, with a lack of transparency, a lack of adherence to the (city) charter and Florida statues, to engage in a sale of our municipal utility,” she said in an interview Jan. 5.
The watchdog group OurJax on Tuesday urged City Council to reject the proposed Lot J development, calling it a rigged deal that should be scrapped so negotiations can start over with the usual vetting for downtown developments that seek taxpayer subsidies.
OurJax joined the Jacksonville branch of the NAACP in coming out strongly against the proposed terms for one of the biggest development deals in city history.
The NAACP ramped up its opposition by sending a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell saying the NFL should intervene against the proposed deal between the city and the development team of Jaguars owner Shad Khan and The Cordish Companies.