JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The fight against a liquor store across from a school on Jacksonville's Northside got bigger Monday night.
Four Jacksonville city council members are in support of neighbors who are against the liquor store.
Reggie Gaffney Jr, Tyrona Clark-Murray, Ju'Coby Pittman, and Al Ferraro are all against the liquor store next to Kipp Voice Academy.
They're working with them to find ways to stop the store from opening.
Council member Ferraro came up with an idea to use money set aside for confederate monument removal to buy back the land the liquor store is on.
"It’s obvious this community does not want it it’s obvious that the community was not aware of all these things that are happening," Ferraro said.
Neighbors say they were never notified about the liquor store before it was approved by the planning commission in 2020.
The city’s attorney told the community there isn’t anything the city can legally do.
While the attorney working for the Metro Gardens Neighborhood Association looks for solutions, council member Ferraro will work on his.
"What we were trying to do is find money that could be used at purchasing this property so that it could be used for a community center or something else,” Ferraro said.
“I think it’s a wonderful solution because when we came the first speak out here at city council no it was the second speak out he was the one that said okay. These people have been out at press conferences now they’re down here at city hall we need to have somebody come out here and talk to them," Lydia Bell, President of the Metro Gardens Neighborhood Association, said.
Ferraro has talked with city auditors about other solutions but said this is the quickest one he came up with.
It went over well with most people at the meeting. Now, it’s a race to see if the solution is approved by those at city hall before the liquor store opens.
“We're going to continue to fight to make sure that liquor store does not sell one bottle of alcohol," Bell said.
Ferraro said he plans to move fast and file his bill asking the mayor’s office to buy the property.
He said it’s too early to tell how much money it could cost.
Mayor Lenny Curry set aside half a million dollars of the city’s budget for monument removal.