Parks Manager Dan Stone discussed proposed splash pad at Jackson-Taylor Park (April 11, 2023)

A handful of people attended a public meeting Tuesday night to learn more about the proposed splash pad for Jackson-Taylor Park.

Parks Manager Dan Stone led the meeting that was held on the former skate park pad, which is where the splash pad is proposed to be located.

Jamestown City Council required that further engineering studies be done at the park to determine if the soil condition can support the concrete pad and equipment.

Stone said the skate park pad is the most suitable location in Jackson-Taylor park, “Because this blacktop has been in place for over 20 years now and it’s really in good shape compared to everything else. It used to have big pieces of metal skate equipment on it. You can still see where it was. And honestly, that’s the only thing I can remember repairing in the last 18 years where it dug into (the pavement) on a hot summer or something like that.”

Stone said the splash area would be in the center of the pad with other amenities, like benches, on the edges. He said more trees would be planted on the outside of the existing fence around the pad to help provide shade.

At City Council’s work session Monday night, Council members raised questions about whether the equipment for the splash pads should be purchased before the engineering report is completed.

The equipment will cost $135,000 and would be purchased from Aquatix by Landscape Structures for both Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks. The total amount approved for the project was $400,000, which is being funded with American Rescue Plan monies.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said regardless of where the splash pad is located the city will still need the equipment. He said if the city didn’t order it now, they probably couldn’t do the project this year.

The city is working with engineering firm, GPI, who had previously done engineering and soil samples for Jackson-Taylor Park for a recent project.

Should the study determine that the soil structure cannot support the splash pad, the resolution passed by City Council in March would then move the splash pad to Roseland Park.

Stone said that if the equipment purchase is approved this month, it’ll take six to eight weeks for delivery with construction potentially being completed at both parks by the end of summer.

Easter Egg Hunt at Allen Park in 2017

The City of Jamestown Parks Department will hold its Annual Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday in Allen Park.

The free event is for children ages 12 and under and will take place at 11:00 a.m. in the upper level of the park where the playgrounds are located.

Parks Manager Dan Stone said the event will have three different areas for kids to look for eggs, “The younger kids, 2 through 4, will be over on the kitchen side of the park where our big pavilion is and the smaller playground. And then across the street from that is the big playground and baseball field area. We’ll have the 5 to 8 year old group and the 9 to 12 year old group.”

Stone said the various city unions sponsored the event, “Our rock and our pillar of the community, the Allen Park Women’s Club, also will be there for the festivities and donated some prizes and candy, along with the Frewsburg Soccer Club. And this year, Pro Hardware, that is down on Fluvanna Avenue, will provide us with bikes to give to the middle aged kids group this year.”

Stone said the Jamestown Fire Department will be bringing the Easter Bunny to the park for the event and they will be joined by Wiffy the Tarp Skunk.

If weather conditions do not allow the event to take place outside, the event be moved inside the Allen Park Rink.

No registration is necessary for the event.

Jamestown City Council voting session (March 27, 2023)

Jamestown City Council has approved moving forward with two splash pads in city parks with the requirement that more engineering work be completed on Jackson-Taylor Park.

Council member at Large Jeff Russell cited his concerns about Jackson-Taylor Park being the best place to locate a splash pad from a safety standpoint, “There’s a lot more traffic down there now with places like Tim Horton’s there. Obviously, we’re putting a new facility (DPW Central Garage) in down there with large trucks. My ultimate fear is that a child is going to be crossing that roadway, unsupervised possibly, and is going to be struck by a vehicle and killed. That is my ultimate concern with it being down there.”

Russell also expressed concern over the soil stability and that he had asked Parks Manager Dan Stone if other locations in the park could be used, “He said there’s really no other place to put it because of the instability of some of the soil down there and really the only logical place is the old skatepark is, where the blacktop is. And it’s even questionable whether it can be placed there. What I would hate to see is to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars putting the splash pad in that location and then have it fail a couple of years down the line and pretty much be a waste of money.”

Russell made a motion to drop the amount of the project funded with American Rescue Plan monies from $500,000 to $400,000, citing $100,000 in state funds that Mayor Eddie Sundquist said were supposed to be approved. The motion also included that the city hire a private engineering firm to look at the soil stability of Jackson-Taylor Park for the splash pad. If the study determined the site was not suitable, the motion further said that the splash pad should be moved to Roseland Park with the proposed pickleball court for that location being relocated to the Jackson-Taylor Park skate pad.

The motion passed unanimously, with the amended resolution passing 8 to 1. Council member Bill Reynolds was the only no vote, citing other priorities that should be funded.

Two community engagement meetings will be held on the splash pads with the first taking place this Thursday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m. at the Allen Park Rink. The second will be held at the Jackson-Taylor Park large pavilion at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 11. Mayor Sundquist said that community meeting will also be combined with the HUD Action Plan community input meeting.

Jamestown City Council

The City of Jamestown received $1.8 million in Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program funds for the eight positions, but council members have raised concerns about having to lay off those positions once grant funds run out in three years.

Also on tonight’s voting agenda is a resolution to use $500,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for the construction of Splash Pads at Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks. Council also will vote on a total of $221,000 in requests using ARP funds to add a playground at Willard Park, a pickleball court at Roseland Park, repave basketball courts, and buy 18 new planters for downtown.

A proposal to stabilize the banks of the Chadakoin River in the south basin and between the Warner Dam and North Main Street bridge is up for Council approval.

The allocation of $327,925 in ARP to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy had been approved by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation, but as the request is over the $100,000 threshold, it requires Council approval. Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District would be contracted to do the work.

Council also will review a local law to increase the mayor’s salary to $82,000 and increase city council member’s salaries to $7,000 with council president receiving an additional $1,000.

A second law pertaining to increasing elected officials’ salaries has also been filed per the request of Council Member Bill Reynolds that includes the original recommendation from the Jamestown Salary Review Commission. This local law would increase City Council members’ salaries from $5,000 to $7,500 while increasing the Council President’s salary from $6,000 to $9,000. It also recommends increasing the Mayor’s salary from $72,000 to $82,000.

Both local laws will be tabled for 30 days and be voted on at the April voting session. If approved, the salary increases would not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

A school bus stop arm camera program contract with BusPatrol and a contract with Bird Bike to bring an ebike and escooter program to Jamestown are also up for consideration.

A work session will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the fourth floor Police Training room with the voting session starting at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall. Both are open to the public with the voting session being livestreamed at jamestownny.gov.

Jamestown City Council

Five of the positions will fill current and anticipated vacancies in the Jamestown Fire Department. Funding is included in the 2023 City Budget for these positions. The other eight positions also will fill vacancies and are being funded through the 2021 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program.

Council also will review a proposal to replace the Assistant Corporation Counsel position with hiring an Ombudsman. Ben Haskins, who is the current Assistant, is leaving City Government for a different job.

A resolution to use $500,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for the construction of Splash Pads at Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks is now officially on the agenda. Council had heard a presentation on proposed projects earlier this month.

Council also will review a local law to increase the mayor’s salary to $82,000 and increase city council member’s salaries to $7,000 with council president receiving an additional $1,000. These salary increases were recommended by the Jamestown Salary Review Commission and, if approved, would not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

They also will review an amendment to the Jamestown City Code to change the number of appointments to the Human Rights Commission from 12 to 9 members.

Council will review a American Rescue Plan allocation of $327,925 to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation for Chadakoin River bank stabilization work. As the request is over the $100,000 threshold, it requires Council approval.

Council also will review a resolution to accept a $50,000 from the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth for a one year tourism and marketing campaign.

The Housing Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight and their agenda includes continuing a discussion on lead issues. The Finance Committee, which meets at 7:00 p.m., will hear a report on a National League of Cities grant.

Other committee meetings will start at 7:00 p.m. with the full work session taking place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. All meetings are open to the public with the full work session being livestreamed at jamestownny.gov.

Parks Manager Dan Stone presents on proposed park improvements to City Council (March 6, 2023)

Several ARP-funded parks projects have been given the go-ahead in committee by Jamestown City Council.

Parks Manager Dan Stone presented to Council about projects that would utilize $221,000 of American Rescue Plan funds.

Stone said the playground at Roseland was built on top of the old tennis courts, which helped make it handicapped accessible. He said, however, with everything being blacktop and with few areas to plant trees, the playground gets hot very quickly in the summer, “So, we’d like to go in and remove all existing blacktop and then pour a new path that goes around completely. It’ll be handicapped accessible all throughout and a lot more green space in there along with a shade structure. And then in the front part parking lot area, we’ll create two new pickle ball courts, a small parking area with handicapped parking right up to the fence as well.”

The Roseland Park project is projected to cost $120,000.

Stone said long overdue upgrades are proposed for Willard Park, “We run into some difficulties with this park. This has been one that’s been talked about for a long time. You see in the picture on the left there’s a nice chunk of concrete right there. There’s a foundation from the old school house all throughout that upper park. Then it drops off quite severe, heading down the hill even as you see at the top part it goes all the way down. And it continues except for the nice flat area we have here, which the kids love to use that wide, flat open area for football, baseball, things like that.”

Stone said the Parks Department is requesting $72,000 to put in a new swing set and playground set. He said they also plan to install a volleyball court following many requests for one in the parks.

Stone said the City has also had talks with the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District about planting a fruit tree orchard on the steep slope of the park that’s not as conducive for play.

Two other proposals include allocating $15,000 toward resurfacing basketball courts at Jackson-Taylor, Allen, and Bergman Parks and $14,000 toward the purchase of 18 self-watering flower pots for the downtown area.

Jamestown City Council hears presentation on Splash Pads (March 6, 2023)

Jamestown City Council learned more about the two proposed Splash Pads for Jamestown Parks at their work session Monday night.

Both splash pads proposed for Jackson-Taylor and Allen Parks are estimated to cost $250,000 each which includes contingency funds.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the location for the pad at Jackson-Taylor Park would be on the current skate park pad, “We picked that spot, we looked at a couple different spots, in fact, at Jackson-Taylor Park. That one has probably the best surface that we could apply it to. As you know, Jackson-Taylor Park tends to sink when we install things. So we were really looking for surface quality, soil quality as part of it as well as location to bathrooms and other required amenities and obviously water lines.”

Sundquist said the water flow rate is 45-gallons per minute, with the play structures operating on a timed button system where users have to push a button for water to flow out. He said both splash pads would not have a circulating water system, “Circulating water system means we have a set amount of water that would be in there, that would continue to circulate back and forth. We would then require New York State testing. We’d have to have a bunch of additional staff in order to maintain it and manage it. In talking with the engineers for this, they actually recommended that we go with a fresh water system. So, it would be water that you would see from your tap coming through whenever you pressed the button.”

Sundquist said the water then drains out with no standing water. He added they’d work with the Board of Public Utilities to not get charged double for water use.

Council President Tony Dolce questioned if the push button system for the Splash Pad could be turned off, for example, at night or other times.

Parks Manager Dan Stone replied that everything is on a timer, “Everything runs on a timer and that would be based off of.. we haven’t gotten into big talks about that yet.. but it would be based on the season, obviously, but also maybe what’s going on the weekends, week day, activities in the park, those kind of things.”

Stone said the Splash Pad can be shut down on colder summer days to avoid water waste. He said the structures can be covered or even removed during the winter.

Sundquist said the Allen Park splash pad will be located at the corner of West Virginia Boulevard and Elizabeth Avenue due to availability of water lines, soil conditions, and its proximity to restrooms and parking.

He added that both splash pads would be ADA compliant. Sundquist said park staff will be trained by the company that installs to system on how to manage the pad.

Stone said trees will be able to provide shade for the pads. He said while the Jackson-Taylor location already has a fence, they haven’t discussed a fence for the Allen Park site yet.

Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund asked if maintenance was built into the cost and expressed concerns about vandalism.

Stone replied that they don’t have funds budgeted for maintenance once the pads are constructed, “I don’t think that’s stopped us on any project we’ve ever done since I’ve been in the Parks. That just means I keep coming at you for more Parks employees. Concrete is what it’s going to be. So it’s a concrete pad. Other than maybe getting dinged up by something, it shouldn’t really be an issue. It’s at least four inches thick, I think the specs call for. Vandalism, it doesn’t matter what we do, right? It doesn’t matter where it’s at. Stuff is going to get vandalized.”
While the total cost of the project would be $500,000, Sundquist said there is a $100,000 grant they’re waiting to hear on which would help offset the amount needed from American Rescue Plan funds.

Two community engagement meetings will be held to get input from the public on the two Splash Pads. The first will be held at the Allen Park Ice Rink at 6:00 p.m., Thursday, March 30. The second will be held at the Jackson-Taylor Park large pavilion at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 11. Sundquist said that community meeting will also be combined with the HUD Action Plan community input meeting.

If Council signs off on funding the project this month, Sundquist said engineers have told him the splash pads could be constructed and in operation by sometime in July 2023.

Drawings of proposed Splash Pads at Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks (provided by Parkitects)

Jamestown City Council will hear a presentation on $721,000 worth of American Rescue Plan funded parks projects that include two Splash Pads at its work session tonight.

Resolutions pre-filed include $500,000 toward the construction of splash pads at Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks. The staff report said the City anticipates grant funding could cover a significant amount of the project and that unspent funds will be returned to the ARPA funds. They said while they anticipate water usage costs will increase, it can be absorbed in the Parks Department budget.

The pads would be ADA compliant and, based on drawings provided by Parkitects in the staff report, be located on the current skatepark pad at Jackson-Taylor Park and near the corner of West Virginia Blvd and Elizabeth Avenue in Allen Park.

Another resolution allocates $120,000 toward improvements at Roseland Park that includes a new pickleball court and new shade or pavilion structure.

Improvements to Willard Park are proposed under another resolution allocating $72,000 in ARP funds. This project includes a new playground and volleyball court.

The staff report said the City is in talks with the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District on an Urban Farming Grant to plant a fruit tree orchard in the park.

Two additional resolutions would allocate $15,000 toward resurfacing basketball courts at Jackson-Taylor, Allen, and Bergman Parks and $14,000 toward the purchase of eight self-watering flower pots for the downtown area. These planters would repace concrete planters.

A presentation on a proposed Electric Bike and Scooter pilot program will be done by Bird Bike Share.

Bird Bike Share currently has programs in Dunkirk and Olean. According to the staff report, a similar bike or scooter share program here would have no cost to the City and involve a revenue-share of $0.20 (cents) per ride to help fund protected bike lanes or other transportation projects.

Council also will review a resolution to contract with BusPatrol for the installation and management of a bus stop arm camera program.

City Council had previously authorized a Bus Stop Arm camera program to catch violations of motorists passing buses when stop arm is out.

BusPatrol would outfit the school district’s fleet at no cost, with the City receiving a share of the fine money. Jamestown Public Schools passed the proposal in February 2023.

While the staff reports states there is no cost to the school district, nor the city, the contract states the city is responsible for the cost of the camera installation as well as a monthly technology fee. These costs will come out of the 40% in fee revenue the city receives.

City Council also will hear an update on the Jamestown Community Cat Program that was being done by the Chautauqua County Humane Society.

The Housing Committee meeting is at 6:45 p.m. with other committees meeting at 7:00 p.m. The full City Council work session will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. All meetings are open to the public with the full work session also being livestreamed at jamestownny.gov.

The event will take place from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Allen Park.

Broken electronics and residential bulk trash will be accepted. No tires, batteries, yard waste, liquids, or chemicals will be allowed

People will be required to provide proof of residence or property ownership in the City of Jamestown.

For more information, contact the City Department of Development at 716-483-7542.

Rendering of proposed Jamestown Splash Pad from 2019 Splash Pad Selection Report (https://www.jamestownny.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Splash-Pad-Site-Selection-Report.pdf)

The City of Jamestown is working on plans for two splash pads in Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist sent out a release saying his office, Public Works, Parks, and Planning Departments met with consultants on Friday on the project. He said his administration plans to bring a design and project cost to City Council for approval this fall and is aiming to open facilities in 2023.

Sundquist added there will be public forums held this fall to provide more information as well as get feedback from residents and children.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.wrfalp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Splash-Pad-Site-Selection-Report.pdf”]