Carlucci hits the ground running in District 5
Councilman for District 5 Joe Carlucci has already started working on a personal project to help improve the city and continue to move it forward. He has been working with Pastor Carl Patterson of St. Nicholas Bethel Baptist Church to help restore a historic cemetery. “The cemetery was originally dedicated to African American soldiers who fought in WWII,” Carlucci said. “It is a landlocked parcel and has very limited access, but we have begun to clear trees and debris and have made tremendous progress.”
The plan is to rededicate the ceremony once work is completed. He intends to seek out state-funding programs that might be available for the project. “This is truly becoming a great initiative with lots of community support and bipartisan political support,” he added.
He believes his experience, work ethic and desire to help the community are what got him elected. He served as president of the San Marco Merchants Association and was a voting member of a citizen oversight committee for Duval County Public Schools. He plans to bring that experience into several projects, including improving the city’s public parks and Southbank Riverwalk. He has already commissioned an audit of the parks’ system.
“This will show my staff and I exactly which parks need the most attention,” Carlucci said. “We are evaluating landscaping, hardscaping, safety items, playground equipment, etc. I want our parks to stand out for being family friendly and aesthetically inviting — not for being unsafe and rundown.”
Carlucci doesn’t see any issue in working across the aisle with members of the opposing party. “At the local level, everyone is generally working together to accomplish the same goal,” he said. Either way, Carlucci said he will handle any disagreements with patience. “Most issues can be resolved with intentional listening and clear communication,” he added.
Carlucci will also be working alongside his father, Matt Carlucci Sr., who is an at-large councilman and was re-elected unopposed. He is the third generation to serve on the city council. His grandfather, Joe Carlucci, served on the city council and state legislature.
Another project he would like to see to fruition is the splashpad at the Friendship Fountain, which was initiated by previous City Councilwoman Lori Boyer. The project has stalled and Carlucci hopes to get it back up and running.
Another area he plans to focus on is crime within the city. Carlucci sees crime as the No. 1 problem in the city. One way to address this problem is with mentorship programs and high school workforce certification programs, he said.
“Those are proven to work,” Carlucci said. “DCPS has had success in their first year with their Ready to Work program, which helps prepare our students for entering the workforce right out of high school.”
He also plans to support the sheriff in his initiatives for community policing and increased patrol officers.
His thoughts on the “Stadium of the Future?” Carlucci believes the Jacksonville Jaguars setting up community meetings around town to get feedback from citizens on the new plan is a good start. “I attended the huddle located in District 5 and was impressed by how thorough the design was,” Carlucci said. “Most people there were excited about the project and seemed eager to continue the process of negotiation.”
And what about the potential $1 billion the city and taxpayers would pay toward the new plan? “We own the stadium, so I believe we carry a certain level of responsibility to take care of one of our most valuable assets,” Carlucci said. “And we are very fortunate to have the Jaguars as our flagship tenant.”
He sees concessions on both sides but hopes the Jaguars will continue to use the stadium well into the future. “I cannot picture our city without them,” he added.
Carlucci plans to always be available for his constituents. He can be reached by phone at 904-859-5141 or by email at [email protected].
By Jennifer Jensen
Resident Community News
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