MELISSA DYKES

After eight days of testimony, it will now be up to a judge to weigh whether or not federal prosecutors used off-limits statements to build their case against two former JEA executives charged with conspiracy and wire fraud.

Amid the ongoing grand jury investigation into the failed sale of JEA, the utility’s former interim chief operating officer made an appearance Thursday in federal court downtown.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville voters have spoken, and they want the City Council to have a say in who sits on the board of directors for JEA. The majority of voters approved an amendment to the city’s charter that empowers the City Council to appoint and remove four members of the city-owned utility’s board of directors. Previously, the charter held that it was up to the mayor to appoint all seven board members and the council confirmed those appointments. Duval County Referendum - JEA board member appointment “Shall the Jacksonville charter be amended ... to (1) grant to City Council the executive power to appoint and remove four members of the JEA Board and (2) amend the qualifications of board members?" The abandoned plan to find suitors for the utility is under investigation by both the City Council and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – During a Monday night special meeting, the JEA board picked Jay Stowe as the next CEO of the utility. Stowe is the chief executive officer and founder of Stowe Utility Group LLC, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was chosen over the two other finalists -- John Lewis Hairston, the chief operating officer of Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Oregon, and Morgan K. O’Brien, the former chief executive officer and president of Peoples Gas. Stowe will take over for Paul McElroy who was called in to replace Melissa Dykes, who herself replaced embattled former CEO Aaron Zahn. Zahn was fired by a different JEA board in January following his role in the controversial failed plan to sell the city-owned utility.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA is one step closer to finding its next CEO. On Tuesday, the JEA board of directors interviewed the three finalists for the utility’s open CEO position. Zahn was fired by a different JEA board in January following his role in the controversial failed plan to sell the city-owned utility. “I think we have a tough decision,” said John Baker, JEA Board Chairman. They will then turn in their rankings sometime in the next two days and the board will look to make its final decision on a CEO by Friday.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A bill that would have given Jacksonville City Council the power to approve or deny bonus or incentive programs for JEA employees has been withdrawn from consideration. The bill, which had been part of the consent agenda for Tuesday night’s council meeting, basically said any incentive plans going forward would have to be approved by both the JEA Board and the City Council. But Councilman Ron Salem told News4Jax he worked out an agreement with JEA officials instead and decided to withdraw the bill. Despite the ongoing inquiries, the JEA Board of Directors approved a new employee incentive plan in June as part of its budget request to City Council. The previous incentive plan was put on pause for 2020 amid the controversy over the PUP.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A City Council investigative committee looking into the failed bid to sell JEA revealed new information on Monday about an interview with a former member of the leadership team at the city-owned utility. According to its investigation, crucial information may have been intentionally destroyed on the personal device of the former JEA Chief Operating Officer. Some council members like Rory Diamond said that is criminal. Former JEA Chief Information Officer admits to intentionally putting the wrong password into then-Chief Operating Officer Melissa Dykes tablet destroying all documents there on. The JEA investigative committee plans to issue subpoenas Baker, Mousa, former JEA board member Alan Howard and Michael Munz, an executive at the Dalton Agency, to testify in the investigation.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA employees are once again in line for a bonus after the city-owned utility’s board of directors approved a measure Tuesday restoring an incentive plan that was put on pause for 2020. The bonus structure the old JEA board approved last came under scrutiny because of a separate Performance Unit Plan, or PUP, that would basically have been a stock purchase plan that could have financially benefited executives and others in the event that JEA was sold. The plan and the effort to sell the utility sparked controversy last fall and JEA is now under city and federal investigations. Besides Zahn, it led to the resignation of former Chief Legal Officer Lynne Rhode and the dismissal of former CFO Ryan Wannemacher. In April, the Board’s replacements voted unanimously to remove interim CEO Melissa Dykes, a longtime executive who served as chief operating officer during Zahn’s stint running JEA.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mayor Lenny Curry on Monday responded to the latest information released on the investigation into the scuttled attempt to sell JEA. NextEra, which is the parent company of Florida Power & Light, handed over the information after getting a subpoena from a special Jacksonville City Council committee investigating the negotiations. Also on the list of those who worked on the negotiations was Bold City Strategic Partners, run by Tim Baker. The special City Council committee investigating JEA is due to meet Tuesday, May 26. A federal grand jury has also issued a subpoena for records related to the attempted sale of the city-owned utility.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Interim CEO and former JEA President Melissa Dykes was fired Tuesday in the first meeting of the agency’s new Board of Directors. "I think it’s made worse by the fact that the FBI has decided to dig into an investigation of JEA and that past administration. Dykes, an employee of JEA for eight years, was fired without cause meaning she will receive 20 weeks severance pay totaling $162,132. Former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn was paid approximately $2,000 a day on administrative leave, according to JEA spokeswoman Gina Kyle, as city attorneys investigated whether they had evidence to fire him with cause. Baker said he will appoint the current Vice President of Energy, Caren Anders, to take over as interim JEA CEO while the board begins its search for a new permanent CEO.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena to JEA, seeking records related to the scuttled attempt to sell the city-owned utility. DOCUMENT: Read a copy of the federal subpoena issued to JEAThe performance unit plan, or PUP, would have acted like a stock purchase plan. Curry said he learned of the subpoena Wednesday evening from the city’s Office of General Counsel. Diamond told News4Jax on Thursday that it’s clear the federal subpoena is zeroing in on JEA’s senior leadership team. City attorneys said they found 24 causes to fire Zahn, including evidence he altered a PowerPoint from a consultant.

Committee Chairman Diamond said from the beginning of the probe earlier this year he planned to subpoena the bidders and find out who their lobbyists were. Meeting via a Zoom video conference on Tuesday, The Rules Committee unanimously approved issuing 22 subpoenas. The Rules Committee UNANIMOUSLY approved 22 subpoenas to the JEA bidders and investment banks. “Honest to God, this is embarrassing to you and JEA,” DeFoor said last month. The committee plan to look through documents to see if JEA leadership started looking into the potential privatization of the city-owned utility before it was approved by the JEA Board of Directors.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville City Council members leading an investigation into JEA’s failed bid to sell the city-owned utility kicked off the special investigating committee meeting on Monday by calling out delays in public records requests sent to JEA. Councilmembers Rory Diamond, Randy DeFoor and Brenda Priestly Jackson all expressed their frustration to JEA lawyers that their public records requests from more than a month ago have produced zero documents so far. The committee plan to look through documents to see if JEA leadership started looking into the potential privatization of the city-owned utility before it was approved by the JEA Board of Directors. The committee also heard from former JEA executive Mike Brost and current Vice President Steven McInall. The committee wants to know more.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA Interim Managing Director and CEO Melissa Dykes sent a letter to Jacksonville City Council members Friday asserting that JEA should remain owned by the city. “Based on all we have learned through the past year, it is my strong belief and will be my recommendation to the JEA Board at our January meeting that JEA best serves the community by remaining owned by the City of Jacksonville,” Dykes said in the email. Dykes went on to say that the other scenarios in play for JEA — going public with an initial public offering (IPO) or reorganizing as a utility cooperative — were also not in the best interest of the community. “To ensure we are operating transparently I believe the information should be reviewed openly, not as a path forward but to determine if there are lessons in the work that will help make our government-owned utility even better,” Dykes said. Dykes was named interim CEO after Zahn was ousted Dec. 17 but will not seek the permanent CEO job.

That’s the total amount of money the city would have had to pay senior JEA officials if they were all fired after the sale of JEA. This all comes as the JEA chairman and City Ethics Director call for senior-level executives to voluntarily give up their hefty termination benefits. Letter from City Ethics Director Carla Miller to interim JEA CEO Melissa Dykes. (News4Jax)Letter from City Ethics Director Carla Miller to interim JEA CEO Melissa Dykes. RELATED: Interim JEA CEO welcomes federal investigation | Attorney: Ex-CEO Zahn ‘scapegoated’ for JEA’s woesBut City Ethics Director Carla Miller is shining a light on the more than a dozen other golden parachute contracts within JEA.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A day after the State Attorney’s Office announced the federal government will take over the investigation of issues connected to the potential privatization of JEA, interim CEO Melissa Dykes said she welcomes the scrutiny. “That allows me during this transition time to lead with the community’s best interest in mind,” she said. Otherwise, my leadership has been focused on being an independent leader,” Dykes said. "And I have to do what’s in the best interest of JEA and the community and I hope to do that with the support of all of our political stakeholders. It’s one of the reasons that our board chair and I have been meeting independently with each City Council member.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Federal investigators will take over the investigation of issues connected to the privatization of JEA, State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced Monday. “After thorough review, the State Attorney’s Office has determined that the appropriate venue to continue this investigation is the federal justice system. We have referred our investigation to our federal partners, who will take the lead moving forward and have the full support of this office," Nelson wrote. Diamond said he feels there should be a City Council-led investigation so that the public can see what’s happening every step of the way. “I think we need to have a thorough City Council-led investigation out in the sunshine.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Melissa Dykes, the interim chief executive officer for JEA, will not seek the permanent job when the utility’s board of directors looks to fill the position, a JEA spokesperson confirmed Monday. Dykes, JEA’s chief operating officer and former chief financial officer, was selected to lead the city-owned utility on a temporary basis when the board removed former CEO Aaron Zahn last month. Dykes made the short list of candidates vying for the top job at JEA before it was ultimately awarded to Zahn in November 2018, despite his lack of experience compared to more qualified candidates. Dykes says she plans to continue in her interim role until a new CEO is selected by the board. It’s unclear when the board will begin its search for his permanent replacement.

Duke Energy planned to make JEA a subsidiary. Emera Incorporated is a publicly-traded energy company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada that serves almost 400,000 gas customers across the state and 764,000 electric customers in the Tampa Bay area. The JEA Public Power Partners proposal involves JEA and the city entering into a 30-year agreement with JEA Public Power Partners who would implement a tax-exempt debt financing structure by issuing bonds to meet JEA and the City’s needs. IFM Investors PTY LTD , which is owned by 27 not-for-profit pension funds from around the world, planned to purchase JEA assets. A JEA spokesperson said the two companies filed “timely objections” to the release of documents provided to the city.

“You have to talk to (JEA spokeswoman) Gina Kyle,” JEA Chief Operating Officer Melissa Dykes said. On Thursday, Councilwoman Brenda Priestly Jackson said she was filing an emergency resolution asking that JEA to stop plans to privatize. Her concern is when the talk of a sale started, City Council was not notified in a timely manner, which she believes that should void the entire deal. The full council could vote Tuesday night on the resolution calling for the end to the process. JEA did ask us not to air that exchange with Dykes after the meeting, saying it would make her available later.

VIDEO: Jennifer Waugh sits down with Melissa Dykes to talk about how JEA is preparing for Hurricane Dorian. Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

VIDEO: Jennifer Waugh sits down with Melissa Dykes to talk about how JEA is preparing for Hurricane Dorian.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Two days after the JEA Board of Directors voted to explore the idea of privatization or the possibility of a sale of the city-owned utility, JEA hired high-powered consultants to help find potential suitors. After the JEA Board of Directors moved forward Tuesday with plans to explore privatization, News4Jax received numerous emails and website comments about the role voters will have if JEA privatizes or sells. So while it is not legally required, I do think there is a political commitment that youre going to see a voter referendum. But currently, there is no legal requirement to have a voter referendum to sell JEA." JEA board members emphasized the vote Tuesday was not one to sell the utility.

The JEA's second in command, Chief Operating Officer Melissa Dykes, did speak with News4Jax to offer some insight into the process.Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - One day after the JEA's board of directors voted to pursue privatization, there are many questions and few answers. Any kind of privatization would encumber some type of compensation, which is a sale in any other sense of the word, Henry said. Privatization. In the end, any change in JEA would have to be approved by the Jacksonville City Council. And right now, I think its keeping the JEA as a public utility," Carlucci said.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - One day after the JEA's board of directors voted to pursue privatization, there are many questions and few answers. Any kind of privatization would encumber some type of compensation, which is a sale in any other sense of the word, Henry said. Privatization. In the end, any change in JEA would have to be approved by the Jacksonville City Council. And right now, I think its keeping the JEA as a public utility," Carlucci said.