2026-10-20 - Transportation, Energy & Utilities

00:01Good morning, if our council members

00:04will take their seats, we'll get

00:05started.

00:20All right, it's 9:00. Good morning and

00:22welcome to the TEU committee meeting for

00:25Tuesday, October 20th, uh 2026. We'll

00:29begin with introductions from my left.

00:32>> Good morning, Garrett Dennis,

00:33administration.

00:34>> Stephen Libby, council research.

00:36>> Carla Shell, office of general counsel.

00:39>> Edward Linsky, council auditor's office.

00:41>> Good morning, Monae Holder, at large

00:43group one.

00:45>> Good morning, Matt Carlucci, at large

00:46group four.

00:48>> Ken Amaro, city council district one.

00:51>> Good morning, Jimmy Peluso, district

00:52seven.

00:53>> Good morning, Raul Arias, district 11.

00:55>> Good morning, Reginald Gaffney Jr.,

00:56district eight.

00:57>> Morning, Nick Howland, at large group

00:59three, just popping in for about 15

01:00minutes.

01:01>> Thank you, Mr. President, for visiting.

01:03I

01:04Our vice chair, Ju'Coby Pittman, has

01:06been excused

01:08uh from today's meeting. We have a

01:10couple of actionable items. Item 1,

01:122026-0748.

01:15Uh item 2, 2026-0755.

01:20Uh item 3 and item 4 have been deferred,

01:23and item 5, 6, 7

01:26are on second read.

01:29Uh this morning, we have a presentation

01:31from

01:33uh the UF

01:34folks, University of Florida. As you

01:37know, Jacksonville is now part of the

01:38University of Florida community, and

01:41during their um

01:43ribbon cutting, uh they made a

01:45presentation of Twin Jacks. Um I had the

01:48opportunity to see it. It's very

01:50impressive. It's going to be a uh I

01:52think a very valuable tool

01:56um for the city of Jacksonville as it it

01:58plans its future development. And so I

02:01I asked them to come this morning and

02:03share TwinJax so that we can get kind of

02:07a bird's eye view as to what it is.

02:10Gentlemen, would you

02:11you've got 20 minutes. Please introduce

02:13yourself and make your presentation.

02:20>> Thank you very much uh Mr. Amaro for the

02:22for the invitation. Uh my name's Jeff

02:24Carney. I'm a professor in the school of

02:26architecture and the director of the

02:27Florida Institute for Built Environment

02:28Resilience. My colleague uh Chung-Ho

02:31Chen is a uh professor in um

02:34city and regional planning and a

02:35research faculty member of FIBER as well

02:38at the institute. Um and so we're here

02:40today to introduce the Florida Digital

02:42Twin program and more specifically the

02:44Jax Twin uh that we have built for the

02:46city of Jacksonville.

02:48So real briefly, myself uh Carlos Aldana

02:51Ochoa wasn't able to make uh to be here

02:53today and and Dr. Chen

02:56uh and and our our broader team uh you

02:58can see here. So what is a a a digital

03:01twin? Uh real briefly uh and we'll show

03:04you all of what we've done with

03:05Jacksonville. An urban digital twin is a

03:07living digital model of the city

03:09uh that brings together its buildings,

03:11its infrastructure, its environmental

03:12systems, transportation, all of the data

03:15together uh to really enable us to make

03:17better decisions and to visualize the

03:19relationships across those different

03:21sectors.

03:24And so we've been working uh

03:27on the Jax Twin for about 3 years now.

03:29Really really looking at the the you

03:32know, transformation that the city of

03:34Jacksonville is going through currently

03:35uh through growth uh and and really

03:39um helping hopefully helping to

03:41understand how uh that growth can can't

03:45can happen, how we can become a more

03:46resilient city in the face of uh that

03:49the hazards that we that we face through

03:52um through flooding,

03:54uh through the challenges of

03:55transportation, traffic systems like

03:57that, and how this digital twin can help

03:59us to enable

04:00the future that we're all looking

04:02towards.

04:05So, the platform that we've built

04:08converts a range of different ideas and

04:10really ingest data from a whole range of

04:13sectors, whether it's transportation,

04:16whether it's the physical environment,

04:17the topography, the bathymetry,

04:19uh

04:20uh sea levels,

04:22flood storm surges,

04:24housing information data, demographics.

04:26All of that information, BIM, building

04:28information models, are all pulled

04:30together through through the twin.

04:32Um

04:34And that twin uh really allows for a

04:37kind of legible graphic interface so

04:40that we can not only have the the the

04:42the data and the spreadsheets and and

04:45the information modeling happening, it

04:46actually visualizes that in in real

04:50time.

04:51And so, Changjie's going to walk us

04:53through a couple of the real specific

04:55products that we've developed, a lot of

04:57which is in partnership with JTA. We've

05:00been working with JTA for over a year

05:01now. Jason McCreary, who's joined us

05:03from JTA, on some transportation-related

05:05models.

05:07>> Thank you, Jeff. So, this particular

05:09application you are looking at is a

05:12Gentik AI system that deals with two

05:16sometimes contradicting goals. One is to

05:19serve the community

05:21with like without people without cars or

05:24poverty or uh

05:26doesn't

05:27have a disability to travel by his own

05:29cars.

05:30And then the second is the transit

05:33operation must be

05:35very on-time performance. So, the AI

05:39agents looking at these

05:41different goals and come up with

05:44operations that

05:46and suggestions that could improve the

05:48performance of the

05:51of the transit system.

05:53This second example looking at water

05:57quality in the

05:59river in in the water bodies across

06:01Jacksonville.

06:03We

06:04looking specifically at the E. coli

06:07concentration in the water body

06:09as we know that E. coli is

06:11is a is a bacteria that could cause

06:15gastrointestinal diseases but it

06:18doesn't allow monitor by a sensor. It

06:22only can be counted in the lab. So what

06:25we build with is

06:28machine learning based model that can

06:30use proxy variables such as water

06:32temperature, pH value and salinity to

06:35predict the E. coli concentration. So

06:38this serves as a early warning system

06:41that if there is a potential break we

06:43can be the first to get a notice.

06:47This here looks at how we can create 3D

06:52three-dimensional cities in a more

06:55efficient way utilizing generative AI

06:58models. So here is an example you're

07:01seeing

07:02this is in Cedar Key

07:05but the idea is the same that we can

07:07grab a uh

07:09image from Google Street View and then

07:13utilize the AI model that is on

07:17Hypergator to convert that to a 3D model

07:20and then we can bring that into

07:23geo-referenced base maps so that

07:26every building is located and

07:29correctly scaled

07:32to its real world location.

07:35So here you will see that the models pop

07:38up by this allows us to quickly populate

07:42city big cities like Jacksonville. And

07:45uh we have a comparison side by side

07:47between uh the generative generated

07:50model and uh the uh Google Street View.

07:52You can see it's

07:54closely resemble the uh real condition.

07:57And this last uh case is on uh

08:01uh regionalization. It's a tool allowing

08:04us to do more targeted intervention,

08:07finding the issue

08:09uh whether it's a storm uh related,

08:12flood related, or it's uh bacteria

08:14related.

08:15Uh we can go beyond the traditional

08:18census uh blocks and and census tracts

08:21to better target the region that has a

08:24problem. This utilizes a uh

08:28general uh a machine learning model to

08:31uh look at variables across

08:34uh the different uh

08:36uh

08:37different perspectives to con-

08:39consolidate the the regions together.

08:42Um so here I have uh I'm going to go to

08:47the Jacksonville twin to give you a

08:50quick look at of what

08:53uh

08:54what what it currently uh stands. As

08:56Jeff mentioned, we has we have started

08:59building this system since uh 2020

09:02uh

09:0324.

09:05Uh so there are a lot of

09:06functionalities, but really it is about

09:09how we can uh

09:11engage uh

09:13uh decision-making in a meaningful way

09:15by combining all of these data uh into

09:18this single uh

09:20system so that you have a a single

09:22source of truth to rely on. So we have

09:25uh

09:26a bunch of tools that allows us to do uh

09:30different to look at different locations

09:32of the city where you can see uh the

09:36the

09:37the

09:39the models are photorealistic and take

09:41some time in here for it for it for it

09:43to load, but anyway, we can also

09:45simulate the weather conditions. So, we

09:48can connect the weather forecasting and

09:51prediction data into here. So, it

09:54actually can simulate that

09:57rain or

09:59heat or temperature conditions.

10:02Uh

10:04here anyway.

10:06The

10:07The The map is interactive. We can uh

10:11really look at specific scenarios that

10:15uh

10:16of your interest. So, for example, I can

10:19uh

10:20turn this panel up and go to selection.

10:26And we can select the area of interest.

10:30For example, maybe this corner here,

10:32this intersection here.

10:34Uh So, the interactive selection allows

10:37the information to show up and

10:42look at the specific

10:44uh

10:45pie charts and and statistics

10:48that are of interest. So, every single

10:51building that you see from this we have

10:54covered about 32,000 buildings in

10:57Jacksonville

10:58is has has all attributes attached to

11:01them. Uh for example, if I click on this

11:04building, it should pop up a window

11:07with the parcel ID information, the

11:10justification value,

11:12uh and the year built information.

11:15Um

11:17We also create a new

11:21tool that allows us to

11:23visualize

11:25and analyze the extent of urban heat uh,

11:30heat island effect.

11:32So, let me navigate to the U- US

11:36Jacksonville building,

11:38which, uh, I should be finding it here.

11:42Uh,

11:43so,

11:44we can create an area of interest by

11:50selecting, let's say, I'm just going to

11:52roughly draw this area.

11:56So, what this tool allows us to do is to

12:00simulate the sunlight and that is, uh,

12:03the shadow uh, casted by buildings and

12:06trees to better understand the the

12:09condi- conditions of heat, uh, and

12:12imagining, uh, walking in the downtown

12:14area. Uh, we can also add, uh,

12:17uh, new, uh,

12:19conditions such as building building a

12:21new tree, how that would impact, uh,

12:23the, uh, performance, uh, on the

12:25sidewalk. Uh, last but not least, I just

12:29want to show a, um,

12:32this is, uh, a JTA, uh,

12:34we work with, uh, JTA together utilizing

12:37their data. Uh, one particular case I

12:40want to show is the the mobile app data

12:43from the riders. So, here I can pick a,

12:49uh, particular, uh,

12:51rider. Uh, as you can see, because, uh,

12:53each rider has a different fire app. Uh,

12:57so, we can find, uh, a college students

13:00or, uh,

13:01senior, uh,

13:03rider. And then, these are some, uh,

13:05riders, uh, that are anonymized. And,

13:09uh, let's look at this rider one,

13:11because he, uh, took a lot of, uh,

13:13rides.

13:15And, uh, we can

13:16pick a day and, uh, pick maybe on this

13:20Sunday. And what we can do with this is

13:23to visualize how this individual rider,

13:26uh,

13:27use the system across a day, so that

13:31allows us to better understand, uh, what

13:34is the riders, uh, needs and, uh,

13:37better prepare the service that can take

13:39them to where they need to go. Uh, so

13:42because of the mobile app data is

13:44tracking at each, uh, bus uh, stop and

13:47people people get on and get get off. So

13:50this allows, uh, us to do this kind of

13:53visualization and then zoom in further

13:56to see, for example, in this location

13:59uh, we can see

14:01uh,

14:03that what are the

14:06uh,

14:07potential reasons for people to travel

14:09there, uh, by connecting this data with

14:12the point of interest data. As you can

14:14see here, there are some, uh, health

14:16care, uh, facilities, restaurants, and,

14:19uh, uh,

14:20furniture stores.

14:25>> So,

14:26I'm going to wrap this

14:28wrap this up here pretty quick. Um,

14:33just by stepping back for a second and

14:35then to understand where we're where

14:37we're going with this. Where it came

14:38from was a UF strategic initiative grant

14:403 years ago and that led to the concept

14:43of Florida Digital Twin, which led us

14:45very quickly to focusing on

14:46Jacksonville. Um, we've been continuing

14:49with that work through UF support, uh,

14:51and now we have another grant that, uh,

14:53with the UF Jacks campus. So we have a

14:55lab in the UF Jacks, we have, uh, two

14:57staff full-time staff members working on

14:59this project. And so there's a lot of

15:01energy really focusing in on on

15:03Jacksonville as well as the Florida

15:05Digital Twin. So to put that in the

15:06context and I think this map shows it is

15:08that

15:09Jacks is our is our biggest project by

15:11far, um, now, but we really do see this

15:13as a state-wide effort, uh, eventually.

15:17Um,

15:18the vision for the program is a

15:21state-wide research and development

15:22program integrating the power of AI,

15:25IoT, and sensor networks, geospatial

15:27data, and rapid scenario design.

15:29Really to to transform Florida from a

15:32state at risk

15:34to a state that's really prepared and

15:37for that risk for transformation in a

15:38short amount of time. Um focusing on on

15:42product development, on serving

15:44Florida's communities, Jacksonville

15:46being number one.

15:48And then really how we're measuring that

15:49impact at the university. We're training

15:50students trying to train the next

15:52generation of researchers. Um a lot of

15:55the work is is product development. And

15:58so I'm I'm going to lay this out

16:00specifically in terms of a platform. So

16:01Jax Twin is a platform and since it's

16:03like Microsoft.

16:05It is the platform and itself it doesn't

16:07necessarily solve the problems. It takes

16:09Microsoft Word or Excel to solve the

16:11problems. And so

16:13the partnership with JTA is one of those

16:15products. Right? It's the tool to solve

16:17very specific projects. So what we've

16:20shown you is really the platform. And

16:22what we're looking for now is the the

16:24specific products, the

16:26the specific problems to solve. And so

16:29with this platform we can

16:32think about health, you know, health

16:34impacts or walkability impacts or storm

16:37surge impacts.

16:38Bring the right people together, get the

16:40right data into the twin, and then

16:43analyze and solve those problems. So

16:44that's I think really the next step of

16:47where we are. As I said, we're reaching

16:49communities across the state.

16:52Um and really achieving impact through

16:55through our education programs,

16:57through the work we're doing here at UF

16:59Jacksonville teaching the studio right

17:00now utilizing the digital twin on the

17:03skyway system, reimagining the skyway.

17:06Um

17:08And so some of the future possibilities,

17:10all of these future possibilities are

17:12possible if we have

17:14an interest uh in in getting to these

17:17these these questions, whether it's um

17:19uh modeling very particular specific

17:22what-if scenarios

17:24uh

17:25across a range of topics uh

17:27transportation, housing, uh costs,

17:30flood, green infrastructure, heat island

17:31effect, all of these things. Uh

17:34looking at dynamic weather uh

17:35conditions, uh forecasting temperature

17:38and precipitation. Right now, that is

17:40static data, but we could uh move this

17:43to be a real-time updating system so

17:46that weather events would be reactive

17:48with the the model being reacting in

17:51real time uh to weather conditions at

17:54that moment. Um enhancing exposure

17:56analysis of hazardous storms uh for

17:59efficient emergency preparation. How do

18:01we potentially in a storm event uh

18:03mobilize resources across the city is

18:06something that we absolutely think this

18:07tool could be uh could be used for. Uh

18:10and we really think at at this point

18:12we've done as Chenjie said about 35,000

18:14buildings in the in the mostly the

18:16downtown area. We can see this growing

18:19across the entire city, across Duval

18:20County,

18:21uh and beyond. Um

18:24we think we're really positioned right

18:25now with our move to to Jacksonville.

18:27We're spending a lot of time here. We

18:28have staff here in a space uh lab. Um

18:32our institute fiber is got has

18:34connections across the city and really

18:36hope to to expand that. I think we we're

18:38in a great position to work closely with

18:41the city. We've been working on this for

18:42for a couple years and I think now that

18:44it's a live tool, it's time that that we

18:47really want to get it in your hands. So

18:49so we're really happy for the

18:50opportunity um

18:52to talk today. So I'll leave it that and

18:55and open it to questions.

18:57>> Thank you so much. Um it it again to me

19:00it's very impressive uh with the

19:03problem-solving

19:04attributes that are associated with this

19:07and and the potential of synergizing

19:10uh what it has to offer in those areas

19:13of um

19:14uh construction, transportation,

19:16resiliency, environmental Uh uh it's

19:19just it's the future. And so again,

19:21thank you for uh

19:23uh your presentation this morning. We

19:24have a couple of folks in the queue. We

19:26have uh

19:27Council member uh Carucci.

19:29>> Uh thank you, Mr. Chairman.

19:32Well, you guys are

19:33speaking my language

19:35uh on the resilience.

19:36And uh being with University of Florida,

19:38you're just here.

19:40This is already showing the value of the

19:42partnership and the value of of

19:46of uh partnering in

19:49in the value of the incentive that we um

19:52that we invested to get y'all here. My

19:54big question is

19:56>> [clears throat]

19:58>> resilience to me is the

20:01um

20:02least spoken about but biggest issue

20:05facing uh

20:07the state of Florida, this country.

20:10But locally here Jacksonville, we have

20:121,150

20:13linear miles of coastline

20:16um here [clears throat] in the in just

20:18this city in our in our county city

20:20consolidated.

20:22Have y'all uh

20:24collaborated in in spoken with our

20:26office of resilience in Anne Coglianese?

20:28>> Oh, yes. Yes.

20:29>> Okay. Absolutely.

20:30>> Perfect.

20:30>> I just want to make sure that y'all had

20:32made that connection.

20:33Um

20:34uh this young lady in that office um

20:38have won awards throughout the country

20:40for their work.

20:41>> [snorts]

20:43>> And uh I am real happy to hear that

20:44y'all are working together uh with uh

20:48our office there.

20:49Um

20:51and keep working on it

20:53because

20:54>> [clears throat]

20:56>> I'm in the insurance business.

20:58And

21:00so I'm a one and a half uh I'm I'm I'm a

21:04first and a half responder. So when the

21:06when the storm has gone over, I am out

21:09in it immediately cuz my customers are

21:11flooded.

21:12And with my company, we respond and we

21:15handle claims

21:16from the get-go.

21:19And so,

21:20I'm out in the floods, I'm out in the

21:22water, and helping my policy holders.

21:26And

21:27Matthew and Irma,

21:29we hadn't been [clears throat] flooded

21:32until Matthew and Irma hit.

21:35And it stunned

21:36our community, our city.

21:38It stunned downtown.

21:41And people had, for the most part, no

21:43idea we would get flooded like that.

21:46And

21:47and so,

21:49um

21:50I think what y'all are doing is a great

21:52service.

21:54I think the message though still needs

21:56to penetrate more into our local

21:59community

22:00with the people.

22:02To know even the little things they can

22:04do

22:05to make their homes more resilient.

22:09Um putting air conditioners up on metal

22:11stands,

22:12you know?

22:13Uh and I saw what you you were doing

22:15with the neighborhoods and the homes and

22:17all that.

22:18So, I just want to commend you. It

22:20really

22:21does my heart a lot of good to see

22:24what is happening and how y'all are

22:26already making a difference.

22:28Uh

22:30um

22:31with

22:33joining our community, your college, the

22:34university here.

22:36Uh spoken as a Seminole fan

22:39who supported y'all 150% to be here.

22:43Um congratulations. Thank you for what

22:45you're doing and for making this

22:46presentation. Mr. Chairman, thank you

22:48for having them here this morning.

22:50>> Thank you, Mr. Carlucci.

22:51>> thing and but and what you're going to

22:52do for downtown just

22:54it's all good. All all good things.

22:56Thank you.

22:56>> I want to go to Council President

22:58Howland.

23:01>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate it.

23:03Uh this presentation couldn't come at a

23:05better time for our community. As you

23:07know, uh we're struggling to

23:10pull JTA out of both a financial and

23:12operational uh crisis. And um recently,

23:16as part of their get-well plan for their

23:18financial crisis, they um had to uh

23:21implement a number of measures, one of

23:22which was reducing the fixed route um

23:26bus uh

23:27bus routes. Sorry. Um

23:29and in doing so, uh I wonder, did you um

23:33assist them in optimizing

23:36uh developing a kind of an optimization

23:38plan to reduce costs and yet increase uh

23:41efficiency to get people to their

23:43doctor, to their workplace, um to the

23:45grocery store? Were you involved in that

23:47effort recently in reducing the um fixed

23:51routes for our buses?

23:53>> Yeah, um

23:54we are involved. Uh

23:55we uh

23:57working with the JTA team on

23:59specifically on using utilizing their

24:01data, uh trying to

24:04uh

24:05see what is optimized uh service and uh

24:08uh

24:09particularly around issues that um

24:13like uh

24:14people uh the the their Title VI

24:16analysis that re- need when when a bus

24:20needs to change uh their routes, it's

24:22needs to calculate how does that impact

24:24people without cars, people in poverty,

24:26and people need uh

24:28alternative types of transportation. So,

24:31this tool uh really allows us to see

24:34these different types of users and

24:35making sure that the best uh service is

24:37provided.

24:38>> Thank you. And I not to get in the

24:40weeds, but getting in the weeds is

24:41critically important here in your in

24:42your analysis. In your 32,000 buildings

24:45that you've identified in the downtown

24:47overlay where you optimize bus routes,

24:48do some of those include um critical

24:50infrastructure buildings for

24:52Jacksonville families, like how to get

24:53to hospitals, how to to to grocery

24:55stores, how to get to

24:58um our kind of largest workplaces. Is

25:00that factored into the model?

25:02>> It's definitely

25:03uh we haven't done all of that yet.

25:05>> Yeah, that's I mean but that that's the

25:07kind of specificity that that it can

25:09build towards. I mean right now the

25:1132,000 buildings are

25:13are are are are squares or they're

25:15they're boxes. They have the data from

25:18uh the the city's data sources, but

25:21having specific questions about

25:24that kind of thing and what what

25:25buildings do we need to connect better

25:28uh is exactly the kind of question I

25:29think is

25:30>> Fantastic. And so I imagine that you're

25:32going to be heavily involved with JTA

25:33because this fall they will be working

25:36through their plan for the next budget

25:37year and how to optimize transportation

25:39for Jacksonville residents. So this

25:42council um chaired by uh Chair uh

25:45Councilman Miller here will be look is

25:46hosting a select committee that will

25:48eventually get into probably by

25:50mid-November looking at um optimizing

25:53transportation for Jacksonville,

25:54reopening the local option gas tax

25:56projects, and looking specifically at

25:57where we could um

25:59deliver the best available

26:00transportation for Jacksonville

26:01residents. I I hope you're

26:03actively involved in that conversation

26:05and and um we hope to see you again as

26:07we move forward in that process. Thanks.

26:09>> We hope so, too. Thank you.

26:11>> Thank you, Mr. Howland. Uh Mr. Polluso.

26:15>> Thank you, Chair. Through the Chair to

26:16to the presenters. Thank you so much for

26:17this. Um you know, I've I've had a

26:19number of people talk about uh this kind

26:20of application in other cities and and

26:22other places and I'm grateful that you

26:23did this.

26:24One of my questions about utilities and

26:26the stuff underneath. Um

26:29ATA I'm ATA AT&T you know

26:34Verizon it's just all these different

26:36groups are underground. I

26:38there's even a rumor that there's a

26:40train underneath uh the Wells Fargo

26:42building or the old Independent Life

26:44building.

26:45The question is is I I've heard from a

26:47number of developers and people that the

26:49expectation is okay, there's a certain

26:51plot of land here, but as soon as you

26:52start digging you find

26:54wires and pipe and stuff that that they

26:57didn't expect. Are you working kind of

26:59with the private sector to find out

27:00what's underneath and how that's

27:02properly mapped?

27:03Things like that. I mean, especially as

27:05we develop our downtown area and as UF

27:07comes into fruition in the downtown

27:09area, I'm sure you're going to be

27:11digging up some stuff over by the

27:13the old train station. You're going to

27:15find all sorts of stuff.

27:17Is that is that kind of something you

27:18guys are going to be working on or how

27:19does that work?

27:20>> I think that's a great

27:22That's a That's a great use of the of

27:24the tool of gathering and sifting

27:26through data cuz I can imagine some of

27:28the data is on paper in a basement

27:30somewhere and other parts is in GIS from

27:3315 years ago and I you know, so the tool

27:35has the ability to connect graphic data,

27:38vector data, all all of that together

27:40and sort of ingest it into a a legible

27:43tool. We've talked to

27:46the DIA. We've been talking to

27:49um

27:50different groups to Jax Council,

27:52different groups that are involved in

27:53development. Um

27:55That is I mean, so I think for us is is

27:58is is getting the kind of

27:59coalition together that can advocate for

28:01the use of the tool with those groups.

28:03So, we haven't been talking specifically

28:05about that, but we'd like to go

28:09>> Sure.

28:10Yep. Oh, no, I just had a follow up.

28:12Through the chair. Yeah, and I mean as

28:14as the Gateway project, you know, the

28:16Pearl District is kind of evolving.

28:18You know, I I think that they

28:20dug up some stuff and realized where the

28:22hell does this go? Um and and people

28:24just didn't know what was underneath.

28:25So, even just working directly with some

28:27of these larger developers that we know

28:29we're going to be doing large-scale

28:30developments. Working with the JEA WARS,

28:31right? You know, at some point they're

28:33probably going to be digging up all

28:34sorts of stuff over there and just try

28:36to get as plugged in as you can early, I

28:38would think, to help let us know what's

28:39underneath and I don't know if you got

28:41some some fancy technology that can

28:42hopefully figure out where some of these

28:44these lines and and uh

28:47old utility um

28:49material goes.

28:51You know, that

28:52that would be very beneficial I would

28:54think.

28:54>> I think the one benefit of

28:57working with the UF community is the

29:00expertise across all range of topics.

29:03So,

29:04there are particular

29:06technical sensors built to detect

29:09underground wires and pipes. So, it's

29:12definitely a possibility. I think the

29:14digital twin is the kind of coalescing

29:17platform for the all of these different

29:19data to talk to each other. So, we we

29:22are more informed

29:24in the underground world as well.

29:26>> Thank you, Mr. Arias.

29:29>> All right, thank you, chair. Great

29:31presentation, guys.

29:32I have a few questions similar to Mr.

29:34Peluso. One was JEA and my question

29:37would be this model, can you guys also

29:38replicate it so that we could look at

29:40affordability for when it comes to like

29:42utility consumption for households so we

29:44can also see like a 5-year plan as to

29:46like how we can work with JEA to not

29:48only reduce the the rates but also make

29:50sure that the homes are more efficient

29:52and for the consumer as well.

29:53>> Yeah.

29:54>> Yeah.

29:54>> Yeah, and and we actually have a

29:55parallel project one of our researchers,

29:57Lisa Platt, is working with JEA on their

30:01um

30:02Yeah, it's a DOE grant to reduce

30:05household energy consumption. And so,

30:07we're working at this is the large scale

30:09of what we do. There we have that at the

30:11household scale that she's been working

30:13on. Um household material health related

30:17so that you mean even down to the that

30:20that potential health impacts of natural

30:22ventilation and

30:23a functioning air conditioning system.

30:26So, there's a there's a whole range of

30:28components that are being developed or

30:30we're looking at too.

30:32>> And then bless you.

30:34I'll wrap this up very quick but um

30:36I'm curious to see I mean this this

30:38information is great but obviously it's

30:40based off of what we feed

30:42the agentic agents, right? So, do you

30:45guys have this platform close to only

30:47your team or can one of us also tap into

30:49it or do we have to go to your lab?

30:51Because I'm curious to learn more about

30:53this. I play with I play but I work with

30:55AI

30:56on a daily basis, like 5 hours out of my

30:58day working on different things to

31:00improve my business or whatever the case

31:01is. And this model is pretty

31:03interesting, but do we have access to it

31:05or do we have to go to your lab for

31:06that?

31:07>> It is It is available. It's password

31:10protected right now, so I want to turn

31:12that over. I want When are we going to

31:13make this Or can we share passwords with

31:15particular people?

31:16>> Yeah, yeah, we can we can create access

31:18for you but to log on ask ask them.

31:20>> Sure.

31:22I'll reach out to you guys individually

31:24because when we're looking at JTA,

31:26obviously Council President just spoke

31:28on that, but I'm also looking at ways to

31:30not only um

31:32improve the routes, but also shorten the

31:35time spent. And one of the things that I

31:37saw what that I didn't see was how long

31:39that model that individual you showed,

31:41how long they were waiting at those

31:42stations. That that That person did a

31:44trip 13 times on Sunday, right? I want

31:47to know how long did they spend waiting

31:50for these buses, right? So, um

31:52obviously we shorten the the the routes

31:54because of what's happening, but I also

31:56want to see a model that projects, okay,

31:58this is only a 5-year plan. In 5 years

32:00we should be able to bring these these

32:02routes back and also more, whatever the

32:03case is. So, I want to also project not

32:05just only to to work on what's

32:07happening, but also see what's what's a

32:09good outcome for our city and for our

32:10riders as well, too. So, I'll be working

32:13with you guys on this. So, thank you for

32:14the presentation. Great job, guys.

32:16>> Thank you, Mr. Arias. Just a quick

32:18question for me and it wasn't clear in

32:21reference to the the mobile app for bus

32:24riders. Is that live now or is that in

32:26development?

32:29>> That's the tap. That's how they pay they

32:31get on and when they get on they they

32:33tap.

32:34>> Through the JTA app. Okay.

32:37All righty, thank you again for coming

32:39in this morning with your presentation.

32:41>> Thank you all very much for being here.

32:43Thank you.

32:46>> And while we're turning to our agenda,

32:50I want to congratulate Mr. Patrick

32:53Zalupski, Ken Babbitt,

32:55and all the others that are sharing in

32:58the ownership of the Tampa Bay Rays.

33:01They're heading to the World Series,

33:04which would be nice if they can bring

33:07back that nice piece of Tiffany called

33:09the Commissioner's Trophy.

33:12It would be great for the great state of

33:14Florida. So, congratulations to

33:17the Tampa Bay Rays and

33:20all of their parties.

33:22All right, committee, if we turn to our

33:24agenda, we'll deal with agenda item

33:262026-0748.

33:30Can I get a motion?

33:31>> Move the bill.

33:33>> Any discussion?

33:35>> No.

33:36>> [laughter]

33:37>> Open your ballot and let's vote.

33:50>> Six yays, zero nays.

33:52>> By your actions, you have approved

33:542026-0748.

33:58Item number two, 2026-0755.

34:03Can I get a motion on the amendment?

34:05>> Move the amendment.

34:07>> Can you explain the amendment?

34:09>> Mr. Chair of the committee, the

34:10amendment clarifies that the funds

34:12appropriated pursuant to 2025-186, which

34:14also went to this traffic calming

34:16activity, would be included in this

34:18expanded scope for allowed use.

34:20>> All in favor of the amendment?

34:23>> Aye.

34:23>> Any opposition?

34:25Amendment passes. Can I get a motion on

34:28the bill?

34:30All right, any conversation, any

34:32discussion, open your ballots.

34:45>> Six yes, zero nays.

34:47>> By your action, you've approved 2026

34:500755 as amended.

34:53Item number three has been deferred 2026

34:570777.

34:59I asked Michelle to explain.

35:03>> Through the chair of the committee, this

35:04item is concerns an appeal filed by

35:07Jacksonville homes of a written decision

35:09by the director of public works. There

35:11will be a quasi-judicial hearing at the

35:13next TEU committee meeting.

35:16Um this week I'll send you a memo

35:18outlining this. It'll be very similar to

35:20things that some of you have seen in

35:22LUZ, those types of appeals,

35:24um in which you declare ex parte and all

35:26the regular um

35:28quasi-judicial

35:30procedures will take place. If you have

35:32any questions, please reach out to me

35:33directly. Thank you.

35:35>> Thank you, Michelle. Item number four

35:372026 0779 has been deferred due to the

35:41planning commission. Item number five is

35:44on second 2026 0799.

35:47Item number six 2026 0801 is also on

35:51second.

35:52Item number seven 2026 0803 is on second

35:58and that concludes our agenda. Are there

36:00any comments from committee members?

36:06Go ahead.

36:12I'm sorry, Mr. Carlucci.

36:13>> Okay.

36:14Uh

36:15>> [clears throat]

36:15>> Mr. Chairman, I had um

36:17someone asked me in the audience today

36:19and maybe somebody else here as as well.

36:22Um

36:23if

36:24um about JEA and about the rates and

36:29and they're going up and so forth. And I

36:31know they or I think they've been before

36:33us before talking about that, but

36:36I thought since we are the

36:38appropriate committee,

36:39um,

36:41might not be a bad idea to have them

36:42come before us and just explain again

36:45why the rates are going up and um,

36:49and

36:50>> [clears throat]

36:51>> in relation to the challenges that they

36:53face.

36:54Um,

36:55and um,

36:56and it might be an appropriate time to

36:57do that. Uh, I don't want this to be a

37:01uh,

37:01confrontational thing. Um,

37:04uh, they are an independent authority

37:06and I think it's very important for us

37:07to respect that. Uh, the very reason

37:10they are an independent authority is to

37:12keep the politics out of it. I don't

37:14think the council should

37:16put together any kind of investigatory

37:18committee on it because that just,

37:20particularly at at election time,

37:21because I think that does nothing but

37:24injects politics into it, which was the

37:26very reason the founders of consolidated

37:29government made them an independent

37:31authority so they could make difficult

37:33decisions

37:35um, at difficult times for the right

37:38reasons to keep the authorities afloat.

37:41But I also think

37:43that they uh, it would be well for them

37:46to uh, perhaps give us an explanation so

37:50that the public could understand and

37:52could know.

37:53Uh, I don't think that's a bad idea, but

37:55I'll leave that up to your discretion

37:57because I'm not sure the last time they

37:58came up here.

38:00Uh, but I'm just speaking on behalf of

38:02myself and also some folks that I spoke

38:04to prior to the meeting, Mr. Chair. So,

38:06just wanted to throw that uh, by you for

38:08your judgment. Thank you.

38:10>> Thank you, Mr. Carlucci. We'll complete

38:12the dais before we go to public comment.

38:14Mr. Arias, you're next.

38:17>> All right, Chair. Uh, want to commend

38:19you first of all on a few back-to-back

38:21great meetings you've been having. Uh

38:23the presentations have been awesome. I

38:24I'm learning a lot. Um also to what Mr.

38:27Matt Carlucci just stated, and on one of

38:29the first meetings we had in TU was

38:30talking about JEA, and we said that

38:32we'll bring him back. As Mr. Matt

38:34Carlucci just stated, I think the time

38:35is now. Um obviously being that

38:37everything's happening right now. So, um

38:39I would encourage that, but once again,

38:41I really just wanted to get on the Q2 to

38:42commend you. You're doing a great job.

38:43Thank you.

38:44>> Thank you, sir. Mr. Palumbo.

38:48>> Thank you, Chair. Uh now, I do want to

38:49agree with Council member Carlucci, and

38:51I'm glad Council member Arias kind of

38:52kind of echoed that. Uh I think it would

38:54be wise. Um we did talk about that in

38:56the past. We would have JEA come out

38:57here and kind of properly explain, you

38:59know, what where their logic comes from.

39:00Sometimes I think people don't recognize

39:02the purpose of an invented authority.

39:04Um you know, they have their own board,

39:05everything else. The The other thing I

39:08want to make sure this body knows is we

39:09are filing, myself and Council member

39:12Gaffney, are co-introducing uh an

39:15emergency piece of legislation to

39:16provide additional utility assistance.

39:18Um

39:20the utility assistance is going to help

39:21folks as we're in this very tough

39:23economic time. You know, the the rate

39:25increase, you know, came

39:27because JEA

39:29basically have been telling us for for

39:31quite some time, "Hey, we need to step

39:32up our rates, otherwise we're going to

39:33put ourselves in financial duress."

39:36However, our good friends in in

39:38Washington, D.C. have made sure that

39:40that gas prices go up to such a level

39:42that is really hurting the common

39:43person. And I believe that now's the

39:46time to make sure that we have programs

39:48available to people um where we can

39:50help.

39:51And I think utility assistance is is a

39:53very

39:54easy um an easy one for everyone to

39:57understand. It's something that's in the

39:58purview of this City Council, and and

40:00so, we're going to be filing this bill.

40:02It's going to be putting uh hopefully a

40:04good a good amount of dollars out there

40:06to really help working families right

40:07now in a tough time. So, please um be on

40:10the lookout for that. It will be an

40:11emergency piece of legislation, and it's

40:13going to dollars are coming out of the

40:15reserves. So, it's going to be one of

40:16those things where it could be

40:18contentious, but I I believe that enough

40:20people

40:21um see the value and understand where we

40:23are

40:24uh in this economic state and where we

40:26are in our city to to do something. Um

40:28the last thing I want to bring up is

40:29tonight at 5:30 at the Ritz Theatre,

40:33um UF is going to be hosting

40:35um with the LaVilla Heritage

40:38uh uh group that's a part of the

40:40Downtown Investment Authority. They're

40:41going to be talking about the UF campus.

40:43And so, I still think that there's a

40:45little bit of a

40:46uh conversation that needs to be had

40:48about the LaVilla community and the um

40:51the

40:52the legacy members that uh want to make

40:55sure that this UF campus properly

40:57integrates to the history of LaVilla.

41:00So, if you have time to come, it's 5:30.

41:02I think it'll be a pretty open um

41:05you kind of walk in, you get to see what

41:06the designs look like, and and I just

41:08think some of the community members and

41:09some folks are uh

41:12looking to see something that looks a

41:13little bit more like

41:16it ties into the LaVilla community. So,

41:18if you got time to come by and and check

41:20take a look, it's 5:30 I think to 7:00

41:22over at uh the Ritz Theatre. So, right

41:24down the road. Also, if you haven't been

41:26to the Ritz Theatre in a while, they

41:27they've they've got their exhibit where

41:29they kind of build out um sort of a a

41:31look of what old LaVilla looked like.

41:32It's beautiful. It's great work and uh

41:34obviously a public uh museum. Thanks so

41:37much.

41:38>> Thank you, Mr. Peluso. Uh now to a

41:40public comment, Mr. Carnell Oliver.

41:432 minutes, 30 seconds.

41:45>> Oh, yes. My name is Carnell Oliver. Uh

41:47address is on file. Look, I'm I'm a I'm

41:50a use uh 748 as a talking point for

41:53reconstruction.

41:55Everything is falling apart.

41:58And you know it. The population growth

41:59in this city is just overpowering this

42:02outdated structure of government that we

42:05have. And you know it. And there are old

42:08gatekeepers trying to hold on to this

42:09power structure.

42:11Too much furniture got broke.

42:14You're going out the door.

42:16You ain't going to never get another

42:17chance to have another say in anything.

42:20[clears throat]

42:22But as we go through this power go

42:24through this restructuring process,

42:26there's a couple of things that I got on

42:28got on my mind that's going to

42:30permanently get a lot of people out of

42:31everybody's business. Number one, move

42:34their large seats to the airball

42:36building.

42:37Give you a specific duties and

42:40responsibilities and you're going to

42:42stay in that lane.

42:44Number two, expand these constituencies.

42:47Make them more small smaller. Make them

42:50more responsible to the people that

42:52supposed to represent.

42:54Because I had a conversation with

42:56somebody in district seven on the east

42:58side. You know what they told me? They

43:00pushed

43:02the seventh the the seventh district

43:05over into Riverside.

43:08And the back story behind that, that's

43:11main reason why I can't stand Riverside

43:13right now.

43:13>> Oh.

43:16>> They don't got in everybody's business

43:18in district seven

43:20and they don't pissed off a lot of

43:22people

43:24that I want to isolate you. I want to

43:26put you at

43:27>> [clears throat]

43:27>> I want to put you somewhere

43:29where you don't cause no more harm.

43:33Because that's how you stop a lot of

43:35furniture from being broke.

43:39All you bastard from Ortiga,

43:42Riverside,

43:44Avondale,

43:46you're the reason why this city is

43:48broke.

43:49Your

43:51caused these problems.

43:57And what do you expect me to do?

43:59Everything is coming down here and you

44:02cannot stop

44:04Once I get these old relics out of way,

44:07we're going to do a whole re- all a a

44:09whole re-complete redevelopment project

44:12that's going on right over there with

44:14First Baptist Church.

44:15>> Thank you, Mr. Oliver.

44:19If there's nothing else to come before

44:20the committee, our next scheduled

44:22meeting will be November 4th at 9:00

44:24a.m. We stand adjourned.