PJ Wendel

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel has declared a State of Emergency that bars housing additional immigrants in the county.

Wendel said the order is in response to New York City’s announced intentions to send migrants and asylum seekers to other counties in the state.

Declaration of State of Emergency

State of Emergency Order

State Senator George Borrello also sent out a statement opposing Governor Kathy Hochul‘s proposal to house migrants at SUNY Schools, saying, “I don’t believe her when the Governor says housing migrants at SUNY campuses is a temporary solution. Migrants processed into the U.S. as asylum seekers earlier this week were given immigration court dates more than a decade away. Once these migrants are brought to SUNY campuses, neither the Governor nor anyone else knows how long they will be there.”

Borrello went on to say that communities that never declared themselves as sanctuary communities shouldn’t be forced to accept migrants.

The County Executive said in a press release, “In December 2016, New York City declared itself a Sanctuary City dedicated to supporting undocumented individuals. Over the past several months, thousands of asylum seekers have been arriving in the City, which is now so overwhelmed that it is trying to move these individuals to other counties that do not have the infrastructure to care for them, especially since social services funding is not available to undocumented individuals. While we support the families who have already migrated to our County, we lack the services and funding required to assist additional individuals.”

The state of emergency was issued Thursday, May 18 and remains in effect for 30 days, at which time it may be extended.

The order prohibits other municipalities from bringing and housing people in the County, prohibits hotels and motels from housing immigrants without a license, and requires any municipalities that might bring migrating or asylum-seeking people into Chautauqua County to ensure they will be fully cared for and paid for.

Chautauqua County joins other counties in New York State with issuing these emergency orders including most of Western New York, excluding Erie County, as well as Broome, Nassau, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Oswego, Rockland, and Suffolk counties.

Jamestown YMCA VP of Operations John Barber presents to Jamestown Local Development Corporation (May 17, 2023)

The Jamestown YMCA is requesting $1 million in American Rescue Plan funds to construct a new facility on Harrison Street.

YMCA Vice President of Operations John Barber and Tom Benson presented to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation on their request of funding from the Non-Profit Business Grant Program.

Benson said the total project cost for the nearly 68,000 square foot facility is $30 million. He said there is currently $4 million committed from local foundations, “But we have three or four other sources of funding lined up, but we have to be able to go back to them and say, ‘Now we’ve got the city commitment, not just with a letter but with skin in the game.’ Go back to the state and try to get the state to commit. Then we have New Market Tax Credits, then we have tax rebond reissuance, then we have the (Ralph C.) Wilson Foundation who told us to come back when we had more commitment.”

Benson said there will come a time when the current East Fourth Street location will not be sustainable.

The new facility will include a childcare center, two pools, group exercise areas, a track for running and walking; gymnasium, and other exercise areas.

The Jamestown YWCA also presented a request of $145,714 for a three-year “Young Women Choosing Action” Program.

The program was developed by the national YWCA and is an “intersectional, culturally responsive, trauma-informed leadership program designed with the unique challenges and opportunities of low-income young women and young women of color, ages 13 to 19.”

Collaborative Children’s Solutions also presented on a request for $96,850 toward a peer-run mental health and substance use group that would be mainly operated at the Northwest Arena.

Wednesday’s presentations were the first three of eight that will come before the JLDC board before they are expected to vote in June on which non-profits will receive funding. The grant program was funded with $1.5 million.

Grants Manager Tim O’Dell said Southern Tier Builders will use the American Rescue Plan funds for a Pre-Apprenticeship Program through the National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCR) for high school, college, and young adults, “So, if you take a look at the curriculum here you will notice that the program introduces training to a large variety of trades. And this is very advantageous because when they go through all of the courses, not all of them are listed here, they will have exposure and dip their feet in, if you will, into multiple trades. So, they can get a very good lay of the landscape of what it’s like to be in the trades and from there they can make more informed decisions of what trade they’d like to participate in for their career.”

O’Dell said the purpose of the program is to establish a pipleine for workforce development where students will have the opportunity to go into a union and start their apprenticeship or to go to trade school.

He added that Southern Tier Builders hopes to receive its accreditation from NCCR by July and start classes in the Fall.

The request will now go before Jamestown City Council for approval on Monday, May 22 as the amount approved is over $100,000.

Jamestown Local Development Corporation meeting (May 17, 2023)

A second round of $35,000 in downtown business grants were approved by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation board on Wednesday.

Grants Manager Tim O’Dell said the awards came from the Downtown Small Business Evolution fund.

He said Nouveau Beauty Aesthetics has been awarded $8,000 toward a $27,000 project to purchase new equipment that the businesses said will help sales increase by 20% based on the new services that will be available to customers.

Lisciandro’s Restaurant will receive $5,000 toward a $15,548 project to put in new floors and booths.

Sandees Bakery will use the $10,000 grant for the $19,760 purchase of a new meatball machine which will help with catering needs.

The Beer Snob has been granted $7,000 toward a $14,900 purchase of a three-door fridge to improve to-go purchases of beverages.

Art Cloth and Craft has received $5,000 toward the $8,000 purchase of sewing machines to use to create goods for the store in addition to use the machines for classes.

The JLDC board also approved three Fund for Downtown Programming requests.

The Reg Lenna Center for the Arts received $21,160 for three summer concert events that include a block party. The concerts receiving support include Lez Zeppelin on June 17, Vixen on July 9, and the block party with Uncle Ben’s Remedy on July 27.

Ballgame Heroes were approved up to $29,500 for a Trading Card Buffalo Bills Signing Show with Andre Reed. The event would include a VIP party on September 15 followed by a signing event on September 16. Owner Starr Ryder said the funds would be used toward Mr. Reed’s talent fee as well as to purchase merchandise that attendees could buy to have signed.

Collaborative Children’s Solutions also was approved $15,000 for a Winterfest event that will take place from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m., Saturday, December 2 ahead of the annual Christmas parade. Organizer Pat Smeraldo said he’s working out details still but the event could include an outdoor synthetic ice rink, live music, Christmas village, ice sculptures, and more.

The event will take place from 8:00 a.m. to noon. People interested in helping should meet on Tracy Plaza next to the Municipal Building at 200 East Third Street.

You can register in advance for the clean-up by visiting jamestownny.gov.

Audubon Community Nature Center plant exchange and sale

The Audubon Community Nature Center will hold its annual Plant Exchange and Sale this Saturday.

The event will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

People are invited to trade their own potted plants in exchange for new ones or purchase plants outright. There will be a large number of native plants, as well as annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs.

Local nurseries will be on hand selling plants, including natives, as well as a sale of gently used garden equipment and décor, tools, pots, and more.

Plants will be accepted for exchange until noon.

Audubon reserves the right to reject invasive species, unpotted plants, those in poor condition, plants in multi-species pots or ones that seem to be infested with weeds or jumping worms.

This event is outdoors and takes place rain or shine

1061 Allen Street (January 2023)

Two men have been arrested on burglary charges at the former Crawford Furniture Building in Jamestown.

The Chautauqua County District Attorney’s office said that 37-year old Robert Clark of Conewango Valley and 33-year old Justin Myers of Jamestown have been indicted on 3rd Degree Burglary, 3rd Degree Attempted Grand Larceny, and two counts of 5th Degree Conspiracy.

According to the indictment, the two men were arrested in an incident at 1061 Allen Street on, or about November 16, 2022. This is the same time period as the fire that destroyed the former factory.

Clark and Myers have both been arraigned and have May 31 set as their their next appearance in Chautauqua County court.

Jamestown High School Resource Officer Jeremy Maggio presents to Jamestown School Board (May 17, 2023)

The Jamestown School Board has approved hiring a company to perform a security vulnerability assessment of school buildings.

Jamestown High School Resource Officer Jeremy Maggio presented to the board on the resolution.

He said the district’s Safety and Security Committee, which he is part of, recommended Amoured One to do the assessment after several weeks of research, “Armoured One is a company that is nation-wide. They currently go to every active shooting that has happened across our nation. Whenever one happens, as soon as they find out that something is going on, they’re currently getting an airline ticket and flying to that spot, or driving to that spot to assess what had happened, how do they fix an active shooter situation or a mass casualty situation.”

Maggio said the company will look for vulnerabilities and weaknesses as well as what’s done well, “They will then grade and rate each business or school based on a nationwide category. They look at myself, as being an SRO, to make sure things are being done properly.”

Maggio said the time estimate for when Amoured One could do the assessment is sometime in June or July. Board President Paul Abbott said his preference is that they do it as soon as possible so that the assessment happens while classes are in session.

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said the cost estimate for the assessment is between $17,250 and $19,000. Once the assessment is done, a report will be given to the Superintendent, the Safety and Security Committee, as well as the School Board.

Architect Chris Cooke presents on Prendergast Landing Project to Jamestown Planning Commission (May 16, 2023)

The Jamestown Planning Commission received an update on the Shawbucks and Prendergast Landing projects at their monthly meeting.

Project Architect Chris Cooke presented on the Prendergast Landing project which is located at the corner of Fairmount Avenue and West Eighth Street. The property was formerly owned by The Resource Center before being purchased in November 2021 by Rahsaan Graham under Jade Empire LLC.

Cooke said the first floor will be retail and mixed use space, “..with a cafe in the back corner. This office level here on the second floor will be a WeWork kind of model, which is small offices for start-up businesses. The third floor will be three apartments there used for a mix of short-term and long-term rentals.”

Cooke said an elevator and ramp entry will be added to the back of the building for accessibility. He said Jade Empire is the developer of the project and that they have already worked with the New York State Historic Preservation Office to find information on the building which was built in the 1880s.

Shawbucks owner Kurt Johnson provided an update on his project to renovate the existing restaurant and bar.

Johnson said he was approved to purchase a 25-foot sidewalk owned by the city in August 2021 so that he could build a three-story balcony on the West Second Street side of the building, “Phase one is moving the bathrooms to the back of the building so that the front of the building is visible. We’ll be leaving eight feet of sidewalk on the front and the sides of the building, which is more space between the buildings than the ones around us. So, right now we’ve started relocating the bathrooms into the back of the building. We’ve got our permit, our first inspection.”

Johnson also plans to build an elevator to increase access to all floors of the building. He said the second floor will include event space, restrooms, and a second kitchen. Johnson added that a future phase of the project would be to turn the rooftop into a green space.

Both projects will likely come back before the Planning Commission in June for site plan approval.

Jamestown BPU General Manager Dave Leathers speaks with Jamestown City Council (May 15, 2023)

Jamestown Board of Public Utilities‘ General Manager doesn’t see a proposal to register Jamestown as a Climate Smart Community as negatively impacting the utility’s operations.

Dave Leathers met with Jamestown City Council Monday to give his thoughts on a resolution that would register the city as a Climate Smart Community in New York State.

Leathers said the BPU is very focused on clean energy standards and the Climate Leadership and Protection Act, “Those are state mandates, state laws that are focused on significant changes in the New York State economy related to greenhouse gas emissions and green energy as well as transportation, and buildings, and agriculture, and waste, and industry. So, that’s really where all of our efforts and all of of our focus are.”

Leathers said he sees the Climate pledge as a municipal effort and that it’s up to the City administration and Council to decide what they want to pursue, “Approving a resolution to take the pledge, I don’t see it as some huge, significant step. And I definitely don’t see it as anything that’s going to impact the BPU operations.”

Under the Climate Smart Community certification, local governments accumulate points for planning and implementation actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resilience to the worsening impacts of climate change.

Certified communities can take part in the Climate Smart Communities Grant Program, which is a competitive 50/50 matching grant program for municipalities to implement projects focused on climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation.

Leathers said the pledge doesn’t commit the city to anything hard, “If in a year from now, you’ve gone into this and you decide you want to rescind that resolution for some reason, you could do that. There are items in the list of potential tasks that the BPU staff would be involved in and would be supportive.”

He said if the city has been certified as a Climate Smart community it could gain the city extra points when applying for grants.

Climate Smart Guidelines include:

1)    Build a climate-smart community.
2)    Inventory emissions, set goals, and plan for climate action.
3)    Decrease energy use.
4)    Shift to clean, renewable energy.
5)    Use climate-smart materials management.
6)    Implement climate-smart land use.
7)    Enhance community resilience to climate change.
8)    Support a green innovation economy.
9)    Inform and inspire the public.
10)    Engage in an evolving process of climate action.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said if the pledge was adopted that she could see the city’s Principal Planner acting as the required Coordinator for the program with the Planning Commission serving as the Task Force.

Council member at large Kim Ecklund asked for information on any upfront costs that might be involved with the city taking the pledge.