City officials said $7,980,286 of unused funding from the 2023-2024 fiscal year was identified during the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee on Monday.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The City of Jacksonville plans to reinvest nearly $8 million that wasn’t used in the previous fiscal year into projects for the University of North Florida and the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, city officials announced Monday.
City officials said $7,980,286 in funding was identified during the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee on Monday.
Of the funding, $4 million will go toward renovating two fire stations, nearly $693,000 to build a personal protective equipment (PPE) wash facility and $3 million to help build an esports arena in UNF’s student union.
“We continue to make investments that create the greatest return for our citizens and these projects are no exception,” said Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan. “The fire station renovations and wash facility will ensure our firefighters have the resources needed to continue keeping citizens safe and insurance rates down. UNF’s esports arena will help us build a next-generation workforce and position Jacksonville as a leader in the fastest growing sports genre nationally and globally.”
Here’s a breakdown of each project:
Fire station renovations
City officials say renovations will happen at Fire Station #45, located at 15725 Sawpit Road, and Fire Station #54, located at 4220 Jones Road.
Fire Station #45 is an old volunteer fire station in need of renovations to support the full-time firefighters working at there, officials said.
Fire Station #54 needs to be remodeled to fit a tanker, which is part of the city’s ISO rating used to determine insurance rates. Officials said the tanker had been permanently assigned to the station.
Firefighter PPE wash facility
The funding will go toward building an PPE wash facility at 2610 Fairfax Street. It will be used to wash and inspect firefighter PPE as required by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Officials added that the facility will be used to store JFRD PPE for emergencies.
UNF esports arena
The funding will go to support the creation of a state-of-the-art esports arena in UNF’s John A. Delaney Student Union, officials say.
Officials believe the facility will assist the university in attracting more students wanting to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, which would bring national competitions and visitors to the campus.
Officials added that the campus addition could promote other economic development and boost university enrollment.
The projects will go to the Jacksonville City Council for review and final approval.
