JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There’s a new push to clean up and better protect Five Points, with the ultimate aim of helping the local business community.
For Five Points business owners like Waffle Cone Jax’s Seth Darmata, blight and security are a big cost of doing business.
“I mean, I would like to stay open later at night. I don’t do that because I want to keep my staff safe,” said Darmata.
But new local legislation would create a special business district to allow businesses like Darmata’s to share the cost burden.
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The bill will start moving through committees next week, and Councilman Jimmy Peluso (D-District 7), who represents Five Points, is leading the charge.
“This is something that the businesses kind of came to me with, the merchants came to me with. How do we make sure we are getting more services that are needed to make sure we maintain the area in the correct way?” said Peluso.
The bill would establish the special district and a board made up of local business owners and residents to oversee it.
Businesses would pay into a fund through a special assessment and the board would have the power to use those funds to make improvements to the area.
Peluso argued litter clean up, security and landscaping are top concerns in Five Points that could easily be addressed if his legislation is approved.
“Now people won’t need to put as much money into maybe hiring an officer themselves or making sure that they have, you know, folks that are removing graffiti. It’s going to be a collaborative effort,” said Peluso.
And for business owners like Darmata, their ultimate hope is the potential improvements that could come from establishing a special district will also address another top concern in the area: empty storefronts.
“It’s a lot easier to move into a business when it looks nice outside, the sidewalks are clean and there’s security,” said Darmata.
If passed, the special district would not start collecting assessments until next November.
To help kickstart things ahead of time, Peluso said he plans to direct a portion of the $1 million his district is receiving through the Community Benefits Agreement towards the special district fund.
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