
Duval County Courthouse - Not Started
Laura Street Lighting Plan - Not Started - No intentions
Jacksonville Landing Redevelopment - Not Started
Friendship Fountain Repair and Redevelopment - Not Started
Northbank Riverwalk - Closed and in disrepair for a year
Southbank Riverwalk - $800,000 study to determine state of rotten wood
Homeless Issues - No resolution. Key figure resigns.
Illegal City Contracts to friends - Complete
Budget Overruns - Complete
Parking Garage Contracts guaranteeing a profit - Complete
Snyder Memorial Church - Empty and future victim of Demolition by Neglect
FSU Medical Center - Unaware and Not Pursued
Cecil Field - Boeing Promised - Tire Warehouse landed for this prime industrial site
Main Street Bridge pedestrian walk - Not StartedHold taxpayer funded "Day of Faith" and get sued - Complete
Greening of Main - Under Construction (including ill-advised pocket park)
Metropolitan Park converted to flex space for "next Super Bowl" - Not Started
Establish new fees to cover budget problems - In Progress
Place unqualified friends at the head of every city department - Nearing Completion
Destroy old Fuller Warren Bridge and its public pier potential - Complete
Convert parks from Biggest to Best - Increased size of park system and fired the Parks Director.
Allow city departments to spend money without oversight - Complete
Let's take a short trip back in time to April of 2006.
The Cast:
Alan Mosley, City Chief Operating Officer
Ron Barton, JEDC Executive Director
Mike Saylor, Planning Department Director
John Peyton, Mayor
Their roles:
Peyton: Plans to move the planning department and JEDC -- located at City Hall Annex several blocks from City Hall -- under one roof at the old Haverty's building adjacent to City Hall. The building is undergoing extensive renovations.
Mosley: Within the next 30 days, Mosley said a new public works director should be chosen. The applicant pool has been narrowed to one out-of-towner and two locals.
Barton: Will be busy updating the Downtown master plan and implementing the changes. Four task forces led by JEDC commissioners or industry experts will focus on different areas of the master plan for Downtown and will have six months to outline a comprehensive approach.
Saylor: Is focusing on mapping out the next five years -- every week of them to help prevent the group from jumping too far too fast with their ideas for Downtown development. A true engineer, he said planning Downtown development needs to be approached like building a tall structure: build the base first, understanding everything that goes into development and matching it with budget constraints.
The Script:
"We're evolving out of that start-up mode," Barton said. "We're about to hit our stride in terms of executing. That's the fun part anyway."
"We came together out of necessity," Saylor said. "We just formed this little tribunal -- the 'Alan, Ron and Mike Show.' "
Saylor's open mind, Mosley's sense of humor and can-do personality and Peyton's goal of getting the best people and letting them do their jobs helped them immediately gel as a team, Barton said.
Peyton keeps the team moving. He is aggressive in maintaining momentum and implementing change, Saylor said.
Mission Accomplished.

Ocklawaha
September 26, 2007, 08:24:41 AMWasn't Peytons Grandpa a cigar smoker, that once worked in that fiber drying plant downtown? As I recall that was about 1901?
Ocklawaha
copperfiend
September 26, 2007, 10:54:18 AMI wish the citizens of Jacksonville cared. Unfortunately, I don't think most of them do.
RiversideGator
September 26, 2007, 11:02:36 AMPeyton's incompetence knows no bounds. This does go to prove that you can be a totally inept and visionless leader but with lots of campaign cash and the right amount of BS you can still get elected twice.
Charleston native
September 26, 2007, 01:33:46 PM^ Well, this is the SOP for most government officials. More bureaucracy, less accomplished, and continuation of power. When will we realize that the only thing government does very well is inhibit and prevent progress?
Jason
September 26, 2007, 04:31:55 PMHA!!! That could explain a lot!
downtownparks
September 26, 2007, 06:36:35 PMOh, come on guys, you almost make this too easy... You are essentially saying "the Peyton family has made history"... its all in how you spin it my friends...
dv8
September 28, 2007, 07:38:34 AMyou forgot
lots of pictures with 4 year olds so you look like a big man.
raheem942
November 02, 2007, 11:11:26 AMTimkin
April 09, 2011, 12:36:55 AMgood riddance
Garden guy
April 09, 2011, 07:29:53 AMI don't see a big differance between what payton did to our city and what ever other republican would do...it was'nt him...it was he and his party and their ideas...not just him.
tufsu1
April 09, 2011, 07:59:01 AMcareful GG...you may have to rethink some things soon
Garden guy
April 09, 2011, 08:09:07 AMjcjohnpaint
April 09, 2011, 09:06:54 AMI think that is funny because all of the positive things that Payton did were not funded by the private sector...Courthouse (I know ), Laura Street, Friendship Fountain, street beautification, etc.... and I still don't see the private sector running to the rescue. I guess it does not benefit their profit margin.
Jimmy
April 09, 2011, 09:13:40 AMTimkin
April 09, 2011, 12:41:22 PMI did actually, Jimmy.. just conveying that I am glad the Peyton years are ending.
By the way... what became of Riverside Gator??
stephendare
April 09, 2011, 12:43:11 PMApparently the site is too liberal. Simply over run with left wingers.
Timkin
April 09, 2011, 12:44:00 PM*giggles
stephendare
April 09, 2011, 12:53:20 PMThat, and despite his very condescending pronouncements, there werent any WMDs in Iraq, it did become a quagmire, Barak Obama was not brought down by his shadowy Rezko connections, Nancy Pelosi was not impeached for disrespecting the nation's capitol, The economy did crash, real estate still hasnt hit bottom, Barak Obama actually did get elected, and John McCain did not, turns out there are problems with Deep Sea Drilling and the entire gulf was poisoned by the results, Silver and Gold were actuallly much safer investments than pricey real estate (at the time, Silver was at 8 dollars an ounce, it is presently at 40) Wachovia did crash and was absorbed by Wells Fargo, Health Care passed, Barak Obama didnt turn out to be a socialist. The United States did not immediately withdraw from the middle east and institute Sharia law for all Christians, Ayn Rand is presently considered the archetypal "Conservative" and no one remembers who Bill Buckley is, The Republican Party badly lost the 2008 elections, splintered, and is being held hostage by the Tea Party, and most recently it turns out that Nuclear Power Plants arent really so safe, as evidenced by the Japanese disaster.
To be honest, the man was cursed by the gods. Everything he ever posted ended up being a reverse prophesy of what actually happened, and to be honest, several of us are relieved he isnt continuing to draw the laughter of the Gods with his reverse prophesy power.
At least he didnt weigh in on the 2012 nonsense and started no threads about an asteroid hitting St. Louis.
If he were still on here, who knows what evil fortune might befall a weary planet?
I actually do miss him though.
Timkin
April 09, 2011, 12:56:17 PMOMG Stephen !!! ROFLMAO
buckethead
April 09, 2011, 01:12:09 PMI remeber a dood named William F Buckley Jr! Same dood?
He used to smoke weed and stuff. My, how conservatism has "evolved".
What would Bill be saying about my kindred spirits in the Tea Party? hmmm.