JEA Board ends invitation to negotiate; estimate of $10 million spent on process

Jacksonville, FL — Six months after opening up a controversial process called Invitation to Negotiate, the JEA Board has voted unanimously to end the process entirely.

The Board started the ITN process in July, and almost immediately it has been mired in controversy including a now-scrapped bonus plan that could have resulted in a payoff worth millions of dollars depending on the price of a sale.

Interim CEO Melissa Dykes said a lot of important work has been done through the ITN process.

“What began for the right reasons has become a very divisive issue”, Dykes said before the Board voted. When asked how much the ITN process has cost the government-owned utility, Dykes estimated over $10 million, but said she still has more investigating to do.

Board member Fred Newbill claimed that politics muddied the overall message of what JEA has been seeking to accomplish. “We know how we started. We’ve never in no meeting and you’ve got public records you could pull it, every board meeting, we’ve never talked about selling JEA”, said Newbill.  He argued that the Board was asked to consider looking at the value of JEA by outgoing Board Chair Tom Petway.

“That’s why the public is confused. They’re not confused because they saw JEA board meetings. They’re confused because people have taken information out of whack”, Newbill said.

WOKV reported last week when the JEA Board voted to remove CEO Aaron Zahn.  At least two Jacksonville City Council Members, Ron Salem and Matt Carlucci, openly called for Zahn to be fired with cause in public comments before the JEA Board vote.

Council Member Garrett Dennis credited the JEA Board with taking what he calls the first of many steps to right the wrongs. He said the current leadership structure should not rebuild the trust. “I think it’s time for a fresh start”, said Dennis.

Council Member Brenda Priestly-Jackson argued that this issue is part of the soul of our community. “The public trust has been eroded and violated”, said Priestly-Jackson.

JEA Board Chair April Green said they are committed to transparency and to regaining the trust of JEA employees and the community.

“We know we have a lot of work ahead of us. $10 million is a lot of money. Our work now is to make sure that that money was not spent in vain”, Green said.

This a developing story. Refresh for updates.

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