Q & A with Jacksonville City Council Member Michael Boylan, District 6

Q: Do you have the date set yet for your January Town Hall meeting?
A: Yes, this meeting, which will have an emphasis on the rezoning application process, will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mandarin Senior Center, 3848 Hartley Road. We will have representatives from the Planning Department discuss criteria they look at to make their recommendations, a neighborhood advocate, a member of the General Counsel’s office from the City of Jacksonville who will speak on the rezoning process, and a developer, who will let attendees know what developers look for to determine if a project is worthy of pursuing. 

Q: Are there some new developments on the horizon that you’d like to point out?
A: There is a proposal for some apartments/condos on Livingston Road, west of Old St. Augustine Road, on some property that is presently a school’s athletic field. The applicant has agreed to defer until we hold a community meeting about the project, which is scheduled for Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. at the Mandarin Senior Center, 3848 Hartley Road. 

Also, there are two smaller proposals coming up, one which is south of Reed Avenue and one which is south of Marbon Road on Aladdin Road. Each is for approximately 20 homes and we might be having a community meeting in the future on these as well.

Q: Can you give an update on the three-way stop at the corner of Flynn Road and Loretto Road?
A: I’ve reached out to the Traffic Department about this intersection and they have requested a month to make their determination about what should be done to improve safety. There are double stop signs on all three corners as well as pavement markings, so there’s not much more that can be done other than a guardrail, which I have requested to be placed on Loretto at the end of Flynn Road. 

My office often hears of intersections like this throughout Mandarin and we work with the Traffic Department to address issues as best we can on a case by case basis.

Q: What’s the latest on the FDOT landscaping work along San Jose Boulevard?
A: FDOT is finally working on medians that are south of Interstate 295, which includes installing a new irrigation system. Separately, FDOT should soon be wrapping up the major landscaping work associated with the construction on the Interstate 295/San Jose Boulevard interchange.

Q: Do you have an update on the work of your Critical Quality of Life committee of the Jacksonville City Council?
A: The final report of this committee was presented at the December City Council meeting. The committee held 19 meetings with an aggregate of 670 participants. There were 30 presentations by subject matter experts. From here, we begin the journey of reviewing recommendations and it’s my intent, as well as the intent of some of my colleagues, to advance legislation on some of the findings in the coming months. It was important for the committee to conclude its work prior to the calendar year end so the findings could be considered by candidates for their platforms in the Spring elections.

Q: What is the best way for our readers to contact you?

A: Community members can email me at MBoylan@coj.net or call (904) 255-5206.