Jacksonville has entered into a potentially 10-year, noncompetitive agreement with a private nonprofit to help operate and maintain its new Downtown riverfront parks.

But the bigger question may not be why the Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance didn't have to compete for the City's business.

It's whether the private companies it may hire will have to compete for the Alliance's.

That's particularly relevant because JRA Vice Chairman Mike Zaffaroni owns Liberty Landscape Supply, an existing City landscaping contractor. And landscaping isn't peripheral to JRA's mission.

Jacksonville is spending hundreds of millions of dollars creating new riverfront parks filled with lawns, trees, planting beds, irrigation systems and other landscape features requiring continual maintenance. Someone will mow those lawns, maintain the irrigation, provide trees, plants, mulch and other materials. And someone will ultimately decide who gets that work.

When Jacksonville moves taxpayer dollars and responsibility for public services through a private nonprofit, do the City's protections for taxpayers and competing businesses follow the money?

That's the question at the center of this first installment of The Public Money Pipeline.

How JRA Got the City's Business

The City did not competitively select the Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance.

Ordinance 2026-552, introduced at the request of Mayor Donna Deegan's administration on June 23, specifically waived the requirement that nonprofits receiving this type of City funding go through a competitive evaluated award process.

The legislation states the reason plainly: to allow a "direct contract" with the Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance.

The arrangement appropriated approximately $682,000 to JRA and another $1 million for maintenance of Downtown parks while authorizing an agreement involving the operation and management of riverfront public spaces and the maintenance and programming of City-owned park assets.

Oversight was assigned to the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department.

Jacksonville's use of direct agreements isn't new. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have used exemptions from competitive solicitation, particularly when funding nonprofits to provide specific community programs and services. So the fact that JRA received a direct agreement isn't, by itself, particularly extraordinary.

What makes this arrangement worth examining is what comes after the direct agreement.

If Jacksonville gives a private nonprofit responsibility for maintaining public property, and that organization subsequently hires private businesses to perform portions of that work, what procurement rules govern those transactions?

Does the City's competitive procurement system still apply? Does JRA have its own competitive bidding requirements? Or can JRA select private vendors under different rules?

Those distinctions matter because this isn't simply a one-time nonprofit grant for a community program.

Jacksonville is establishing a relationship that could last a decade and involve the ongoing operation and maintenance of major public assets.

And that's where the story of the Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance — and Liberty Landscape Supply — becomes particularly relevant.

From Riverfront Conservancy to Riverfront Operator

The Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance isn't technically a new corporation.

It was established in 2021 as the Riverfront Parks Conservancy.

Its name formally changed to Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance in September 2025.

But what happened during 2025 was considerably more important than a name change.

The organization was being transformed from a riverfront advocacy and stewardship organization into something substantially more operational.

JRA was being positioned to become a long-term partner with Jacksonville in maintaining, programming and activating the City's new riverfront parks.

Its first staff hire was Linzee Ott, now interim director.

The Downtown Investment Authority says Ott is building JRA's "operational architecture from the ground up" as the organization prepares to steward Jacksonville's riverfront.

The DIA describes the Alliance as a public-private partnership intended to ensure high-quality maintenance, programming and activation of those spaces.

That word — maintenance — becomes particularly important to what happens next.

Landscaping Isn't Peripheral to This Story

Jacksonville isn't simply asking JRA to organize concerts and community events.

The City's agreement involves operation and management of riverfront public spaces and specifically references maintenance and programming of City-owned park assets.

And Jacksonville's new riverfront parks aren't simply concrete plazas.

They are highly designed public landscapes.

Lawns need mowing. Trees require care. Plant beds need maintenance. Irrigation systems require inspection and repair. Plants eventually need replacement. Fertilization, pest management, mulch and other landscape materials become recurring expenses.

Someone ultimately has to provide those products and services.

Which makes one member of JRA's leadership particularly relevant.

The Landscape Expert at the Table

Mike Zaffaroni is vice chairman of the Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance.

He is also the owner of Liberty Landscape Supply.

There is nothing inherently concerning about having someone with landscaping expertise helping an organization responsible for maintaining major public landscapes.

Quite the opposite.

Someone who understands plants, materials, irrigation, contractors, labor and the costs associated with maintaining large landscapes could provide exactly the expertise JRA needs.

Successful businesspeople serving on civic boards can benefit Jacksonville.

And Liberty isn't a company that suddenly appeared during the Deegan administration.

Its City landscaping and tree work predates Deegan and extends into the Curry administration.

That's important context, but so is another principle:

Expertise and financial interest can exist at the same time.

Good governance doesn't necessarily require excluding knowledgeable businesspeople.

It requires establishing boundaries when civic responsibilities overlap with commercial interests.

The Liberty Connections

Zaffaroni wasn't listed among the officers and directors of the Riverfront Parks Conservancy in its March 2025 annual filing. By August 2025, however, he was publicly identified as vice chairman of the emerging Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance.

There is another Liberty connection inside City Hall. Kelli O'Leary worked for Liberty Landscape Supply before Mayor Deegan selected her as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer in 2023.

O'Leary remains in that position today.

Again, none of that establishes wrongdoing, but the timing is worth disclosing.

On June 23, 2026, the Deegan administration introduced the legislation authorizing the direct JRA agreement. Seven days later, on June 30, Fernandina Mulch & Stone — doing business as Liberty Landscape Supply — contributed $1,000 to Deegan's reelection campaign.

Liberty's political activity isn't exclusively Democratic.

The company's related political giving has included Republican candidates as well, including a $1,000 contribution to Daniel Davis, Deegan's Republican opponent in the 2023 mayoral election.

That makes the broader point more useful than a partisan one.

Businesspeople participate in civic affairs.

They serve on boards.

They contribute to campaigns.

They develop relationships with government officials.

Those activities can benefit the community.

They can also create business opportunities.

That's precisely why public procurement safeguards matter.

Competition Protects the Public

Jacksonville says its procurement system is built around accountability, ethics, impartiality and transparency, along with the fair and equitable acquisition of goods and services.

Competition isn't simply about finding the cheapest contractor.

Lowest price isn't always best value. Experience matters. Qualifications matter. Reliability and service matter. But competitive procurement serves another purpose.

It protects the public process.

Competition gives qualified businesses an opportunity to pursue work funded with public money.

It allows government to compare qualifications, pricing and proposed services.

It makes it more difficult for relationships alone to determine who receives taxpayer-funded work.

And it creates a record explaining why one company was selected over another.

That protects taxpayers.

It also protects Jacksonville businesses.

The View From the Landscape Industry

Jacksonville has numerous qualified landscape maintenance companies, irrigation contractors, tree-care businesses and landscape suppliers. Under traditional City procurement, companies know when an opportunity exists. They can review the specifications. They decide whether they're qualified to perform the work. They submit proposals. Their competitors can do the same.

Someone evaluates those proposals, and one company wins. That's the marketplace.

But does the same opportunity exist when responsibility for purchasing the service moves outside City government?

The Second Layer

Consider two procurement paths.

The traditional path looks something like this:

Taxpayer → City → Competitive Procurement → Private Contractor

But a nonprofit intermediary potentially creates another:

Taxpayer → City → Direct Nonprofit Agreement → Nonprofit → ? → Private Contractor

That question mark is important.

Does Jacksonville's Procurement Code still apply?

Does JRA have to advertise significant landscaping opportunities?

Must it obtain multiple proposals?

Can JRA purchase plants, trees or landscaping materials directly?

Does the City approve contractors?

Are JRA vendor proposals public?

Are contracts periodically rebid?

Can companies affiliated with JRA board members compete?

And if so, what disclosure and recusal requirements apply?

We have not established the answers to those questions.

That's important too.

It would be premature to say JRA is circumventing City procurement or that Liberty will receive JRA work.

But determining whether it could is a legitimate public procurement question that we’ve asked JRA Interum Director Ott and are waiting for her response.

Competition Would Protect Liberty Too

There's an irony here.

A strong competitive procurement system wouldn't merely protect Liberty's competitors.

It could protect Liberty and Zaffaroni as well.

Suppose Liberty eventually provides materials or services associated with the riverfront.

If the opportunity was openly advertised, multiple companies competed, Zaffaroni recused himself entirely and an independent evaluation determined Liberty offered the best combination of qualifications and value, the procurement record would help demonstrate that Liberty earned the business.

Without competition, even an otherwise legitimate transaction could create questions that an open process might have avoided.

So this isn't an argument that Liberty shouldn't be allowed to compete.

It's an argument that every qualified business should have a fair opportunity to compete.

And that principle extends well beyond landscaping. Whenever taxpayer-funded work is being performed by private companies, the public has an interest in knowing how those companies were selected.

$27.7 Million in Mowing and Landscaping

Mayor Deegan's proposed FY 2026-27 budget contains approximately $27.67 million for mowing and landscaping citywide — $1.94 million more than the previous year. And mowing/landscaping is especially interesting because its ~7.5% growth rate is nearly seven times the General Fund's overall 1.1% growth rate.

To be clear: That is not JRA's landscaping budget, but the number demonstrates the larger point.

Landscaping is a substantial recurring municipal service. And JRA is being positioned specifically around the stewardship and maintenance of some of Jacksonville's highest-profile landscaped public spaces. So who buys those services matters. Who evaluates them matters. And whether other qualified companies get an opportunity to compete matters.

Who Checks the Price?

Private property managers and homeowners associations deal with this issue routinely.

An HOA may be perfectly satisfied with its landscape contractor. But responsible boards still review scope, performance and price. They may periodically seek competing proposals. Not necessarily because the incumbent is performing poorly. They need to know whether the agreement continues to represent good value. Labor prices change. Material costs change. Service expectations change. Competitors improve. Periodically testing the marketplace protects the organization paying the bill.

Publicly funded landscapes deserve at least the same discipline.

If the organization evaluating performance is also selecting contractors — and someone involved in that organization has a financial interest in the industry — the independence of that review becomes even more important.

Who writes the specifications?

Who evaluates performance?

Who decides whether a contract gets renewed?

Who determines whether the price remains competitive?

And who decides when it's time to ask the marketplace again?

We Asked JRA

Linzee Ott is particularly well positioned to explain how these safeguards will work.

The DIA identifies Ott as JRA's interim director and its first hire, responsible for establishing the organization's operating structure. Ott also chairs Jacksonville's Downtown Development Review Board. Interestingly, the DIA publishes a Gmail address — rather than a City or JRA organizational address — as her contact email. We contacted Ott at the email address provided on the DIA website.

We asked about JRA's authority to select contractors and suppliers, competitive bidding requirements, board-member conflicts and recusals, and whether companies affiliated with JRA directors — including Liberty Landscape Supply — would be eligible for JRA-related work.

As of this writing, we have not received a response. We welcome one.

The answers could substantially clarify the story.

If the City retains procurement authority over these services, that's important. If JRA independently procures them but follows competitive procedures comparable to Jacksonville's, that's important.

If businesses associated with JRA directors are prohibited from receiving JRA-controlled work, that's important.

And if those businesses can participate under established disclosure, recusal and competitive safeguards, those safeguards deserve to be explained.

But if public money can move through JRA to private companies without comparable competition or transparency, taxpayers and competing businesses deserve to understand that too.

No Bid, Then What?

Jacksonville has used direct agreements with nonprofits under multiple administrations.

That isn't the discovery.

Nor is nonprofit involvement in government inherently problematic.

Nonprofits can provide expertise, flexibility, philanthropic support and community involvement that government sometimes cannot provide as efficiently on its own.

The bigger question is what happens when a nonprofit moves beyond providing a charitable program and begins participating in an ongoing municipal function.

Jacksonville directly selected JRA.

Now JRA will participate in maintaining and operating public assets.

What happens when fulfilling that responsibility requires purchasing private goods and services?

Do Jacksonville's procurement protections follow Jacksonville's taxpayer dollars?

Or do some of those protections stop when the money leaves City Hall?

Public procurement isn't only about getting the lowest price.

It's about protecting the public, providing transparency and accountability, and making sure qualified businesses have a fair opportunity to compete for public money.

The Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance offers a timely opportunity to assess how well those principles hold up when public services are delivered through private nonprofit organizations.

And JRA is only the beginning.

The Public Money Pipeline Part IV

The Public Money Pipeline Part III

The Public Money Pipeline Part II

The Public Money Pipeline Part I