JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The City of Jacksonville failed to meet key grant requirements and lost a $1,000,000 state reimbursement for improvements to James Weldon Johnson Park, the Office of Inspector General said in a report released Tuesday.
The state awarded the funds to support demolition, redesign and initial construction of park improvements but denied reimbursement after finding a “severe lack of documentation,” missing progress reports and an untimely payment request, the report said.
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The city’s payment request was submitted Feb. 7, 2025 — 222 days after the grant expired on June 30, 2024, the report said.
Background on the grant
The grant was pursued under the previous administration and awarded by the State of Florida in early 2022 for work in James Weldon Johnson Park, including design development, the first phase of construction and removal of the remaining Confederate monument base. In May 2023, the grant expiration date was extended to take place under the current administration.
What the OIG found
The OIG review found the city did not submit required quarterly progress reports, a Final Report within one month of the grant’s end, or sufficient documentation of allowable expenditures through the Division of Arts and Culture’s DOS Grants portal, as required by the Grant Award Agreement.
The contract manager assigned to the project had not received formal training in grant or contract management, the review said, contributing to missed deadlines, confusion about deliverables and improper submission attempts, including emailing documents after being locked out of the state portal.
Email exchange sheds light on confusion
Emails provided by the Parks Department show the city’s grant manager, Lauren Chappell, and state Financial Administrator Teri Abstein had an ongoing back-and-forth about final deliverables in the weeks leading up to the grant’s expiration.
In a July 15, 2024, email — just 15 days after the grant expired on June 30 — Abstein wrote to Chappell: “As long as the expenditures are paid out, we shouldn’t need to do an extension.”
City officials say the grant manager was operating under that direction. The outstanding deliverable — an executed Restrictive Covenant — required legislative approval before it could be filed with the County Clerk, a step Chappell had flagged for the state in her communications.
“I am double checking whether the restrictive covenants are going to have to go through legislation to be signed, and will let you know the timeline on that process,” Chappell wrote to Abstein on July 15, 2024.
The city says that once the legislation was approved, Chappell submitted the final deliverable. However, by that point, the grant’s reimbursement window had long passed.
City’s response
In a written response included with the report, city management said the Parks Department grant manager provided the final deliverable when it became available and was acting on written guidance from the state that a contract extension was not needed.
The city also outlined steps already taken or planned to improve grant oversight. Those steps include requiring formal, documented communications — letters, memos and meeting summaries — rather than relying on email or phone; completing training courses such as the National Recreation and Park Association’s Grant Success: From Application to Award and the U.S. Department of Education’s Discretionary Grants Administration and Allowable Costs and Activities; reviewing the state grants website and tutorial materials annually; entering Outlook calendar reminders for deadlines; and having department management review grant requirements annually.
The transformation of James Weldon Johnson Park continues and is fully budgeted for in the Capital Improvement Plan, the city said.
OIG recommendations
The OIG recommended the city adopt mandatory, standardized training for all personnel who manage grants or contracts, covering reporting obligations, documentation standards, expenditure eligibility and proper use of the DOS Grants portal.
The report (No. 2026-0027) says structured training is needed to reduce the risk of future financial loss and ensure compliance with state and federal requirements.