JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Months after the mayor and City Council chose to end the city's contract with Friends of Hemming Park, it appears the group and the city are friends again.
READ: Friends of Hemming Park legislation documents
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Questionable spending and poor bookkeeping by the group, which had managed the city-owned park since September 2014, led city leaders to say last November that they would not be renewing the contract, which was set to expire at the end of March.
But Mayor Lenny Curry introduced legislation to the council that calls for extending the contract into next year.
"Hemming Park -- the agreement was reached by a previous administration. It’s been widely reported, there were issues with accountability and results there. So I looked at this months ago. We took a serious look as a city at taking back operation of Hemming Park," Curry told News4Jax on Friday. "We’ve agreed to give them an extension. There will be clear metrics we’ve laid out. We expect results. There will be reporting. And we will be monitoring it."
The legislation also calls for nearly half a million dollars in improvements for the park and funds that would go to the group to handle programs at the park.
The bill will be introduced to City Council next week.