Jamestown Local Development Corporation Board meeting
The Jamestown Local Development Corporation board has approved downtown programming funds for several events, including the four proposed by Collaborative Children’s Solutions.
CCS Director Patrick Smeraldo requested $40,000 for four events that would span seven days.
The events that would take place include a children’s carnival downtown followed by a Tarp Skunks game at Diethrick Stadium on June 24; a Christmas in July event downtown on July 22 and possibly a three-on-three basketball tournament downtown followed by a Tarp Skunks game on July 23; a beer tasting event downtown on September 3 and the Labor Day Fest at Bergman Park on September 4; and an event around a scheduled hockey tournament at the Northwest Arena on December 2 with the downtown holiday parade on December 3. All four events would include fireworks.
Smeraldo said the events are designed to be for kids and families and that he’s not trying to make a profit on them, “I mean, we can put on these events for kids and then take the funds that are raised through grants and things like that or agencies coming in and then put on a Chris Heron, who came here and spoke to the kids at Jamestown High School. That’s the intent. To feed the money back into the kids and see how we can draw and create opportunities for them.”
Mayor Eddie Sundquist informed the JLDC board members that Smeraldo has been working with city staff to ensure the proposed events are in compliance.
The Board of Public Utilities had requested $50,000 in programming funds for a Climate Technology Conference. This conference is being funded in part by a NYSERDA grant received by the BPU that had a required match by the City of Jamestown. The two-day event is scheduled to take place October 18 and 19, 2022 and would tentatively utilize the Northwest Arena, Doubletree Hotel, and several other ancillary spaces downtown. JLDC approved the request contingent on approval by Corporation Counsel on the legality of a city entity using the program funds as the match.
The third proposal approved was a $6,000 request by Doug Sitler for a 10,000 Maniacs concert. The event had previously been awarded $25,000 in downtown programming funds but hadn’t included a request for sound and lighting. The total now approved for the event is $31,000.
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