Councilman Redman wants Metro Park concerts stopped

[stephendare]

He does have one tiny redeeming feature; he supports bicycle projects.  (How's that for damming with faint praise!)

Does anyone remember if he had opposition in his last election or, if so, who it was?

No opposition.

He wouldnt be there if it werent for Suzanne Jenkins and George Banks not being able to come to an accomodation.

The office of district 4 is run by his very capable council assistant, Scott.  Without him, Redman's basic illiteracy and unfamiliarity with the democratic process would have collapsed about 6 months into his term.

Anyone who deals with that office is aware that Scott actually fills the seat, and as long as there is a competent person there to get things done, there hasnt been any event to cause enough constituents to revolt against him.

Most people assume that Scott will actually be running to fill Redman's seat when he term limits, and there was a lot of (apparently unfounded) speculation that he would run against Redman in the last election.

And since I think he is reading this thread, I just wanted to point out that I think this event may be the opening gambit of an effort to get rid of Redman, and assisting the minor league haircutting villain is a good way to get tarred with the same brush.

None of us know his politics, most people associated with the council have the opinion of him as being competent enough to actually run a council district without credit or the corresponding pay, and probably a good person to take the reins in his own name.  But this kind of shenanigan on Redman's part is enough to sink both men.

[Doctor_K]

How about if we draft an email denouncing the football games, fireworks, Monster Jam, et al, in the same vein as he wants to kill Met Park, and bombard his office with said requests?

While we're at it, we can also petition him to champion the removal of all playground equipment from all of the city parks, as they are meant to be oases of quite and reflection rather than swarming with noisy children?

Or would the irony be lost on him/his office?

[BridgeTroll]

How about if we draft an email denouncing the football games, fireworks, Monster Jam, et al, in the same vein as he wants to kill Met Park, and bombard his office with said requests?

While we're at it, we can also petition him to champion the removal of all playground equipment from all of the city parks, as they are meant to be oases of quite and reflection rather than swarming with noisy children?

Or would the irony be lost on him/his office?

Or would the irony be lost on him/his office?

lol...

[stephendare]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/125494244283704/

This is the facebook group that formed this morning that I was asked to join an hour ago.

"Don Redman must go!"

Its already got hundreds of members.

[Ocklawaha]

It's got hundreds + 1 members now!

...Well, either you're closing your eyes
To a situation you do now wish to acknowledge
Or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated
By the presence of a amphitheater in your community.
Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here in River City...

Let's not forget that little Johnny Peyton spoke prior to the charette to decide the fate of the Kids Kampus completely poisoning the process. Peyton's dictation went something like this; "We are very short of 'flex space' for tailgate parties and we simply must clear the park of all of it's space obstructing kiddie junk." Like a herd of lemmings the entire attendance dutifully  wiped out the closest thing to a theme park offered in Jacksonville.

This same crew also wiped out the seating at the end of Hogan Street on the Riverwalk and has pushed to eliminate any other human amenities in downtown. The gaping hole in our foot seems to originate from our own pistol! Could it be that Don Redman is the Antichrist? We have met the enemy and they are us!

[Tacachale]

I'm sure that I've read it on here somewhere before, but didn't the original plans for metropark contain a design for a real amphitheater?

And weren't those original plans deterred by the same people across the river for the same reasons, noise?

Dogwalker, I believe, was part of the group that was against it, but I could be mistaken.

Nope, you are not mistaken about my involvement in stopping the amphitheater.  You are mistaken to think it was a part of the original plan for Metropolitan Park.  It was a scheme cooked up by Rick Mullaney to benefit some friends of his.  He was also going transfer a public park over to ownership by a private corporation.

He was chief of staff to Delaney at the time and got caught hiding some correspondence that he should have revealed to numerous public records requests.  Rather than see him prosecuted, the mayor decided to drop the whole thing.  I think it was a major embarrassment to Delaney.

That's a totally erroneous account of what happened. The amphitheater project wasn't initiated by Rick, though he was a major backer and promoter of it. It was also endorsed by John Delaney, my father, as well as his administration and all those in Jacksonville who wanted a thriving scene for music and culture.

Rick and co identified (correctly) that that kind of structure was becoming the trend in civic concert venues, and felt (correctly) that it would bring dozens of events to the city. Rick did not "hide correspondence", nor was there ever any threat of "prosecution" for anything he (or anyone else) did. You're either misremembering or misrepresenting the situation. It's true, however, that the St. Nicholas noise campaigners and their misinformation campaign were part of the reason the project was killed. However, the only "embarassment" was that a handful of myopic whiners were able to derail a forward-thinking project that was desired by the majority of the city.

As a result, the metro area has missed out on literally hundreds of concerts and cultural events that otherwise would have come here, Downtown lost an opportunity to turn Met Park into a real destination, and the urban core remains silent as a tomb most of the year.

Good work, Dog Walker.

[Tacachale]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/125494244283704/

This is the facebook group that formed this morning that I was asked to join an hour ago.

"Don Redman must go!"

Its already got hundreds of members.

Where were all those people when he ran unopposed?

[Cheshire Cat]

Thanks for correcting the spelling of Don's last name guys.  Realized I spelled it wrong in my sleep last night.  Yes, I was having a nightmare.   lol

[scottwilson]

As Noone says we need to let the legislative process take its course. This is about the decibel level. When residents say they cannot hear their TV in the living room because of music it might be too loud. When these concerts are held I understand they start practicing around 9am and go to 11pm at night. That is a long time to listen to music, especially when you did not request it.

I want to find a solution. Give me your feedback if you want to help.

Would you still attend if the decibel level is a little lower?

Would you attend these events at Cecil Commerce Center?

What would it cost to add temporary sound walls? 

And Thank you for the compliment Stephen.

[tufsu1]

Would you still attend if the decibel level is a little lower?

Would you attend these events at Cecil Commerce Center?

maybe....and NO WAY

[acme54321]

As Noone says we need to let the legislative process take its course. This is about the decibel level. When residents say they cannot hear their TV in the living room because of music it might be too loud. When these concerts are held I understand they start practicing around 9am and go to 11pm at night. That is a long time to listen to music, especially when you did not request it.

I want to find a solution. Give me your feedback if you want to help.

Would you still attend if the decibel level is a little lower?

Would you attend these events at Cecil Commerce Center?

What would it cost to add temporary sound walls? 

And Thank you for the compliment Stephen.

I live in the neighborhood directly accross the water from Met Park.  Yes you can clearly hear the music, sometimes even inside.  On weekend nights... whatever.  I could understand the people's issues if it's still going on at 11pm on a Sunday.  That said, this is rarely an issue.  The only concert that is really noticable has been the big ticket, once a year.  I went this year so I obviously have no problem with it.   So sorry you bough a waterfront house across the river from a concert venue and a stadium, boo hoo life is aweful  .  Do they complain about the noise from Jags games too? 

And no I won't go to anything like this at Cecil.  To give up a great venue location like Met Park for Cecil is ridiculous.

If it's really affecting people's quality of life I will gladly trade my house for any on the St. John's with a great view of downtown, the stadium, and the Hart bridge.

[fsujax]

I dont think too many people would even notice a lower decibel level. Concerts belong downtown not way out in BFE.

[thelakelander]

No way should any events be moved from downtown to Cecil Commerce Center and that includes the fairgrounds, imo.

[scottwilson]

But I am hearing that a lower decibel level could be acceptable.

[Tacachale]

The way we do it at UNF is to run a check beforehand to make sure we're within whatever the proper noise level is. Concerts run until 10 on weekdays and 11 on weekends, after which time we shut them down (we've even pulled the plug before). When we receive noise complaints, my boss, the VP for Student Affairs, sends them a polite response, but make it clear we're not going to do away with concerts (it's a college after all). We've gotten increasing fewer complaints just in the 2 years I've been here, though we've had more events out there.

The restrictions on the Southside are pretty fair and easily followed; one would expect there to be fewer restrictions downtown, especially with the hours.