Your Money: New Bill Would Change How Council Approves Large Projects
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- There may soon be more oversight when Jacksonville City Council spends your money on larger projects. The possible change comes after a First Coast News investigation.
In May, we told you about a new synthetic soccer field at Losco Regional Park in Mandarin that cost $660,000. Councilman Art Shad pioneered the project without the thought of saving money and without full council approval.
If Councilman Bill Bishop had a chance to vote on Shad's state-of-the-art soccer field, he said the outcome could have been much different.
"Probably would have voted no, considering that the cost of that project far exceeded anybody's understanding of any sort of rational payback. So I probably would have voted no on that. You could buy a whole lot of sod for what that AstroTurf costs," Bishop said.