Daily Record Financial News &
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Vol. 105, No. 064 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
City’s top attorney: Voter approval not needed to sell JEA
Hedge fund buys more land in St. Johns Rayonier has sold total of 11,000 acres for $39.8 million. The New York-based hedge fund sponsor that bought about 7,000 acres from Rayonier Inc. last week was expanding its St. Johns County land portfolio because it also acquired about 4,000 acres from the Yulee-based company in December. The 11,000 acres sold are classified as timberland. All is in southern St. Johns County. The company paid more than $39.8 million for the property, which works out to about $3,622 an acre. Alejandro Barbero, Rayonier director of strategic development and communications, said Wednesday the land was around Pedro Menendez High School. The December sale was land in St. Augustine and Hastings, according to property records. First Coast Land and Timber LLC. paid $14.6 million on Dec. 1 for about 4,000 acres in southern St. Johns County. The land is between Interstate 95 and U.S. 1, southwest of St. Augustine. It is south of County Road 207 and north of Florida 206. First Coast Land and Timber bought the land from Raydient Mathis
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JEA headquarters at 21 W. Church St. Downtown. A financial audit has been prepared to look at the potential sale of the city-owned utility. Photo by Monty Zickuhr
A supermajority of council members needed to sell utility, he says in memo. By David Cawton Staff Writer A voter referendum would not be required if the city decides to sell JEA, its public utility company, to a private buyer, according to the city’s top attorney. General Counsel Jason Gabriel offered the opinion in a six-page memo sent to City Council members and Mayor Lenny Curry’s office Tuesday outlining how to navigate a potential sale of JEA.
Gabriel
The memo came the day before a special joint meeting between council members and the JEA board of directors to discuss the findings of a financial audit being prepared by the utility’s finan-
cial adviser. Gabriel’s memorandum said selling JEA and its assets requires a supermajority of
council members to approve amending or repealing a section of the city Charter. That’s 13 of the 19 council members. Article 21 of the Charter outlines JEA’s authority with Section 21.04, stating that JEA cannot “transfer any function or operation which comprises more than ten percent of the total of the utilities system by sale, lease or otherwise to any other utility, public or private without JEA
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EverBank sign coming down, but replacement still pending TIAA bought Jacksonville-based bank in June. By David Cawton Staff Writer A new sign is pending for the 30-story EverBank Center Downtown, but there’s no new name yet announced. Whatever it is, it might be one letter more, according to the application.
The Downtown Development Review Board is scheduled to review today the design concepts for new signs on the top of the building at 301 W. Bay St. Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America bought Jacksonville-based EverBank EverBank
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Special to the Daily Record
A rendering for the new sign atop the EverBank Center building Downtown doesn’t include the name. The logo resembles that of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, which bought EverBank in June.
The Cawton Report: Rutherford on budget, immigration Jacksonville lawmaker tells Meninak Club why he voted for the latest spending bill. Public
legal notices begin on page
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