Action News Jax Ben Becker has learned that Mayor Donna Deegan and numerous members of the Jacksonville City Council attended an invitation-only “holiday event” on Monday aboard Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s massive Kismet yacht, which is docked downtown .
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Khan, whose soccer team is in the midst of a disappointing 2-10 season, is expected to receive $775 million in public financing as part of a $1.4 billion ($1.25 million plus deferred maintenance) stadium renovation that has been enthusiastically supported by the mayor and approved. by the City Council in June before NFL owners signed it into law in October.
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READ: Mayor Deegan defends the claim of a whopping $26 billion in economic impact on the stadium; ‘Overestimated’, says expert
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The event raises questions as Khan not only has previous cases heard before the council, particularly regarding the stadium and Four Seasons, but also the possibility of future deals, including ‘Lot J 2.0’.
READ: UPDATE: Resolution Lot J rejected by the Jacksonville City Council
Action News Jax Ben Becker first reported in 2020 that Khan hosted numerous council members aboard the Kismet to give them private briefings on the original $200 million-plus Lot J proposal, which ultimately fell one vote short of passing to be adopted by the council.
Florida’s open records laws, known as the “Sunshine Laws,” do not allow council members to speak privately to each other in an uncalled meeting about city business; nor does it prevent them from discussing future legislation with the mayor’s office or lobbyists.
The invitations were not sent by mail or email but were instead sent by text message from longtime Jaguars lobbyist Paul Harden, according to Councilman Matt Carlucci. A source told Becker that the text read: “5:30-7:30, bring socks, no shoes on the boat.”
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While it may be questionable whether the message is considered a public record, it would have been if an invitation had been sent to a city email address.
Action News Jax emailed the mayor and all 19 city council members to ask who attended the event and what its purpose was, as Khan was given the opportunity to get an audience with local leaders, which may not be possible for many others.
Only the mayor and 10 council members responded to Action News Jax Annette Gutierrez.
These are their responses:
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Spokesperson for Mayor Deegan: “Mayor Deegan was invited to a holiday party with a key city partner. She will attend, along with other city leaders who were invited.”
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Michael Boylan: “As you would expect, we receive many invitations to the festive season this time of year and I personally look forward to attending the invitationals when I can. The invitation for this came to me via text, describing it as a “holiday event” from 5:30 to 7:30. Since I have an appointment at 5 p.m., I’ll probably stop by shortly afterward.
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Ken Amaro: “I am not there, I assume it is a holiday for community leaders in the public and private sectors – and I believe it has been vetted by the Office of Ethics, for elected officials, but not 100% certain.”
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Nick Howland’s assistant: “Councilmember Howland was unable to attend this event due to a previously scheduled family commitment.”
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Rory diamond: “I had family matters to take into account.”
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Assistant to Ju’Coby Pittman: “Councilmember Pittman was unable to attend due to a commitment.”
Gutierrez spoke by phone with Matt Carlucci, who said he plans to go with his wife because “in all his years as a council member, he has never done anything like this, and they wanted to take advantage of this unique opportunity.”
In a text message, Jimmy Peluso said he had received an invitation and had no plans to attend.
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Rahman Johnson said he was present and that no business discussion would take place, and if it did, “he’ll be the first to jump ship.”
Mike Gay declined the invitation. He told Action News Jax it “wasn’t a good fit.”
Will Lahnen said he was not present.
Becker emailed the City Council’s head of public information to find out if there was an ethics ruling and texted Harden to ask for an explanation. Becker waits for an answer from both.
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