JAMESTOWN – Over two dozen different mayoral appointments were approved by the Jamestown City Council during Monday night’s inaugural meeting.
In addition to several re-appointments to the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, the council also approved several appointments to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation (JLDC) board of directors, including one individual to ensure representation by the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier (MAST).
City resident Tim Smeal, who currently serves as Director of Development at Jamestown Community College and previously had served on the mayor’s ad hoc Downtown Parking Committee, was appointed as the MAST representative.
The appointment comes following concerns voiced last month by MAST president Todd Tranum that the board needs to have MAST representation, as outlined in the JLDC Bylaws, following the departure of former MAST representative Justin Hanft, who moved out of the city last year. Tranum said MAST had requested that former BPU chair John Zabrodsky be appointed to replace Hanft, but that request was not acted on and instead, Teresi opted to go with Smeal – who qualifies as MAST representative because of his employment at JCC.
Teresi was allowed to appoint his own MAST representative because of a recent amendment to the JLDC Bylaws that removed the JLDC appointment power from the MAST president. Under JLDC bylaws, the MAST president is to serve on the JLDC only if he is a resident within the city. But because Tranum resides outside of the city, another individual connected to MAST must be appointed in his place.
Other JLDC appointments included:
- Kimberly Ecklund (Jamestown City Council representative);
- Resident Tyler Case (At Large member)
- Russell Diethrick (Chaut. Co. Chamber of Commerce representative)
- John Whittaker (Jamestown Renaissance Corporation representative)
Also on the JLDC board are newly elected council president Marie Carrubba and city council finance chair Tony Dolce, by virtue of their positions on the council.
The JLDC is a not-for-profit corporation created by the Jamestown City Council in April 1981 which serves as the lending agency of the City of Jamestown’s Department of Development. No taxpayer dollars are used as loan money. Jamestown mayor Sam Teresi has also proposed having the agency purchase the city’s wastewater treatment plant in an effort to raise capitol for the city to help pay for infrastructure improvements and equipment purchases, along with going toward a tax stabilization fund.
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