Jacksonville, Fl — A day before a scheduled community discussion on drowning deaths in retention ponds, a 3-year-old autistic girl drowned on the northside.
City Council Member Reggie Gaffney says Monday’s death is a cruel twist.
“It kind of compounded that effect, we were already scheduled to have a meeting today. It goes to show you we need to create legislation to prevent future tragedies like this from happening again”, Gaffney said.
LISTEN: Council Member Reggie Gaffney Jr. speaks with Rich Jones about community meeting.
Today’s 2:00 pm meeting at city hall will focus on drowning deaths in retention ponds.
Gaffney scheduled it after another the recent death of a 7-year-old in Egret Creek. Both kids had autism.
Gaffney says he wants to partner with organizations like the Autism Society of Florida and pediatric health organizations to seek solutions and potential actions.
Gaffney says he would like to hear from providers and organizations serving children with autism and other developmental disabilities, developers, HOAs, CPACs, representatives from the Water Management District, retention pond and water-safety advocates, and more.
He envisions future conversations and remedies that could be presented to the Office of General Counsel before he files
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