Jacksonville has formally entered its 10-year agreement with the Jax Riverfront Alliance, moving the organization from planning into its publicly funded startup phase. City Council approved the agreement on August 11, and Mayor Donna Deegan signed it on August 20. The final agreement also reduced the amount of money going directly to the Alliance from the figure originally proposed.

Jacksonville Reduced the Riverfront Alliance’s Initial Funding

The original legislation proposed giving the Jax Riverfront Alliance $682,318, accompanied by another $1 million for enhanced downtown park maintenance. The enacted ordinance reduced the Alliance’s allocation to $570,159, a decrease of $112,159, or approximately 16.4%. The separate $1 million allocation for maintenance through the city remained in place.

The city authorized the Alliance funding through two advance payments. That includes $277,737 associated with fiscal year 2025–26 and another $292,422 for fiscal year 2026–27. The city waived its normal prohibition against advancing public money so the newly professionalized organization could begin hiring employees and building its operating systems.

The City and Riverfront Alliance Have Divided Their Initial Responsibilities

Although the agreement gives the Riverfront Alliance a broad long-term role, the initial arrangement is not a complete transfer of the riverfront parks. Jacksonville Parks, Recreation and Community Services Director Daryl Joseph told a City Council committee that the Alliance would initially concentrate on programming and private fundraising. JaxParks will remain responsible for park maintenance during this opening phase.

The Alliance describes the arrangement as a phased transition. It expects to assume broader operational responsibility for its first park assets during 2027, beginning with Riverfront Plaza and the Riverfront Music Garden. Its responsibilities are then expected to expand to additional parks, public spaces and portions of the Northbank and Southbank riverwalks.

Riverfront Alliance Job Descriptions Reveal a Larger Operating Role

The Riverfront Alliance closed applications September 11 for a Programming and Events Director and a Marketing and Communications Manager. The programming position offered an annual salary of $75,000 to $110,000, while the marketing position advertised a range of $70,000 to $85,000. These positions are part of what the Alliance calls an “aggressive scaling-up phase” ahead of its planned 2027 operational expansion.

The Programming and Events Director’s duties extend well beyond organizing occasional festivals. The position is expected to develop a year-round programming calendar, recruit outside vendors, pursue event sponsorships, supervise temporary food and beverage operations and examine opportunities for alcohol sales. The director would also oversee an expedited permitting process for Alliance-led events and produce monthly reports measuring attendance, public feedback and program performance.

Those responsibilities show how much influence the Alliance could eventually exercise over the use and commercial activation of publicly owned riverfront spaces. Questions about vendor selection, sponsorship visibility, alcohol sales, concession agreements and permitting transparency will become more important as the organization’s programming expands.

Linzee Ott Remains Interim Director While the CEO Search Continues

Linzee Ott remains the Alliance’s interim director and continues serving as chair of Jacksonville’s Downtown Development Review Board. The Alliance’s website currently lists Ott and Executive Assistant Brittney Hutkay-Moore as its staff. No selections for the programming or marketing positions have been publicly announced on the organization’s website.

The nationwide search for a permanent founding CEO also remains unresolved. The position carries an advertised annual salary of $190,000 to $250,000, plus benefits. The Alliance expects to install the permanent executive by early 2027.

The eventual selection deserves close attention. The CEO will help choose staff, develop the private fundraising strategy, manage relationships with city agencies and developers, and oversee the gradual expansion of Alliance authority across the riverfront.

New Details Explain How the Public-Private Partnership Was Built

An October account from Sondra Fetner, director of placemaking for the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and a Riverfront Alliance board member, offers additional details about the partnership’s development. Fetner wrote that the duPont Fund served as a long-term convener while civic, philanthropic and government representatives developed the operating model.

The former Riverfront Parks Conservancy agreed to merge its existing nonprofit organization into the new structure, allowing the Alliance to begin with an established tax-exempt entity. Daniel Balmori, who helped develop the operating agreement for Miami’s Underline, reportedly prepared the first draft of Jacksonville’s agreement on a pro bono basis. The Alliance board also includes three voting city representatives: a City Council designee, the city parks director and the Downtown Investment Authority’s CEO.

The Next Accountability Test Will Be Private Fundraising

Jacksonville has now supplied the startup funding, approved advance payments and waived competitive grant requirements to establish the Alliance. The next test is whether the organization produces the private financial support used to justify the public-private model.

Future reporting should compare public appropriations with private contributions, sponsorship revenue and earned income from concessions or events. It should also track personnel costs, programming expenditures, attendance, vendor selection and measurable improvements in the parks placed under the Alliance’s stewardship.

The Riverfront Alliance is no longer simply a volunteer conservancy advocating for better public spaces. It is becoming a professionally staffed institution with public funding, access to valuable city property and a growing role in determining how Jacksonville’s downtown riverfront is programmed, marketed and experienced.

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