Jamestown City Council meeting (May 8, 2023)

Jamestown City Council will meet with FEMA representatives to ask questions about the SAFER grant at a special council work session on May 16.

Council President Tony Dolce said there were four basic questions that council members had including if eight firefighters had to be hired with the $1.8 million grant, “The second question was, can the city reapply for the SAFER grant in three years and what is the likelihood of being approved again? Three, would the city have to wait a specific period before applying for the grant for the second time? And the other question was, have other SAFER grantees been approved for a second round of funding and how soon after the second application were they approved?”

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon shared that the purchase of a second ambulance that was approved by Council was ready to go out to bid and that the vehicle could be received as soon as one to two months.

The meeting with FEMA will take place at 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 16 in the Mayor’s Conference Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. It is open to the public.

City Council Finance and Public Works committees also reviewed and approved a lease extension request for the owner of the Chautauqua Belle to dock at McCrea Point Park.

U.S. Steam Lines has been using the dock at the park since 2019 and is asking for a new 5-year term lease with the option to renew the lease for two additional 5-year terms. The resolution now goes onto the voting session on May 22 for formal approval.

Jamestown City Council

Council is expected to have the opportunity to ask the Federal Emergency Management Agency questions about the grant funding at a special work session that’s yet to be scheduled.

One of the questions Council is likely to ask is whether the number of firefighters to be hired under the SAFER grant can be reduced from the eight that were requested in the grant.

Council also will review a lease extension for the owner of the Chautauqua Belle to dock at McCrea Point Park.

U.S. Steam Lines has been using the dock at the park since 2019 and is asking for a 5-year term lease with the option to renew the lease for two additional 5-year terms.

Council also will hear an update from Grants Writer Paula Pichon on pending grants.

The Public Safety Committee will vote on five special event permits.

The Housing Committee meets at 6:45 p.m. with other committees meeting at 7:00 p.m. The full council work session will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room located on the fourth floor of City Hall. The public is welcome to attend all meetings with the full work session being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

Lakeside Park, Mayville

The Village of Mayville has been awarded $675,000 in state funds for improvements to Lakeside Park.

The funding is part of $16.4 million in Local Waterfront Revitalization Program monies awarded to 23 communities in New York State.

The funding will be used to design and construct improvements at Lakeside Park along Chautauqua Lake including Chautauqua Belle gateway enhancements, a new kayak and canoe launch; and a waterfront multi-use trail.

This project will implement the Chautauqua Lake Local Waterfront Revitalization Program goals to improve public access, expand recreational opportunities, and attract residents and visitors to downtown Mayville.

Chautauqua County also received $193,500 to will assist the coastal Towns of Hanover, Sheridan, Dunkirk, Pomfret, Portland, Westfield and Ripley, the Villages of Silver Creek and Westfield, and City of Dunkirk to prepare and adopt Local Waterfront Revitalization Programs (LWRPs) and supporting local regulations.

The LWRPs will promote the State’s coastal policies along Lake Erie and guide future economic development and preservation of natural and cultural resources, and expand public access along the shoreline.

The Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) provides grants to communities to develop a community-driven plan with a vision for their waterfront, guided by several environmental policies to ensure projects work in harmony with waterfront natural resources and ecosystems.

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Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi stops by the WRFA studio for his June interview and talks about economic development in the city, including his reaction to a local company – Stannard Group – moving out of the city, offering the latest update on the Friendly’s Restaurant location as well as an update on some DRI Projects. Plus he discusses to recently announced projects involving McCrea Point Park: The Chautauqua Belle and a new Kayak launch area.

Sam Teresi

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, left, and Paul O. Stage, U.S. Steam Lines Ltd. president pictured Tuesday at McCrea Point Park with the Chautauqua Belle. Standing in back, from left, are Bill Stevenson, Jamestown Riverfront Management Council chairman; Julia Ciesla-Hanley, city recreation coordinator; and John Williams, city parks manager. (image from Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi’s Facebook Page)

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua Belle will begin operating out of Jamestown this weekend, taking riders along the Chadakoin River to Celoron.

The announcement was made on Tuesday after Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi and and Chautauqua Belle officials signed off on a lease allowing the vessel to dock and launch from McCrea Point Park during late spring and early fall.

The Belle will make regular trips to the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday while the steamboat is at McCrea Point Park. During the Chautauqua Institution season the boat will return to dock in Mayville, except for a few days during the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival when the steamboat will return to Jamestown. The Chautauqua Bell will return to McCrea Point Park in September.

“This adds another port of call for the Belle in addition to its home in Mayville and some runs out of the Harbor Hotel in Celoron,” Teresi said on his Facebook page. “this project is five years in the making as the operators of the Belle had to make sure the Chadakoin was safe to paddle up and down, and the city had to make accommodations at the dock. Another great team effort by the Jamestown City Council and our Jamestown Parks, Recreation & Conservation Department.”

For more information on the Chautauqua Belle, you can visit 269belle.com.

The Chautauqua Belle

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua Belle steamer will be making Jamestown its home for part of the year.

On Monday owners of the Chautauqua Belle – U.S. Steam Lines Ltd. – joined city officials in announcing the announced the multiyear lease agreement to have the vessel docked at the McCrea Point Park boat landing.

The agreement means the Belle will be making round-trip excursions from the Boat Landing to the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel in May and June and also in September and October. The steamer will continue to operate out of the Mayville area in July and August.

As part of the arrangement with the city, U.S. Steam Lines will pay the city $250 the first year for the use of the dock. The rent will increase $25 per year to a final lease price of $350 in the year 2023 – with an option to extend the lease for another five years after that.

The announced location is appropriate, considering the area of McCrea Point is where dozens of steamers were located a century ago when paddle wheels were one of the primary means of transportation for traveling up and down Chautauqua Lake.

The Chautauqua Belle is currently only one of five operating steamboats left in North America.

The event will take place this Tuesday at 6 p.m., with participants boarding the Chautauqua Belle in Mayville and taking a 2-hour tour of Chautauqua Lake’s shoreline.

Tickets are available for presale for $20 per person online at www.ChautauquaLakeAssociation.org, or $25 per person the night of the event.

MAYVILLE – The most famous vessel on Chautauqua Lake ran into a problem over the weekend that resulted in more than 70 passengers having to be rescued.

Early Saturday night at about 6:20 p.m., the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office received a call that the Chautauqua Belle had run a ground about 100 yards off shore near the area of 6029 Gull Rd. Mayville.

Sheriff Deputies arrived on scene and began assisting a citizen who was operating a pontoon boat evacuating passengers from the Chautauqua Belle.

Fire departments from Chautauqua, Mayville, Dewittville, Bemus Point and Ashville were all called in to assist at the scene, along with the Chautauqua County Water Emergency Team.

There were no injuries reported to Deputies.

Investigators say the vessel had run a ground due to strong winds and rough water. There was believed to be 74 passengers on board for a wedding cruise. The investigation is continued.

The Chautauqua Belle (courtesy of www.facebook.com/ChautauquaBelle)

MAYVILLE – The owners of the Chautauqua Belle steamer have signed a new lease agreement with the village of Mayville, ensuring that the boat’s home will remain in the village until at least October 2019.

According to the Post-Journal, the new contract is a five-year lease with two additional five-year renewals with the first lease expiring Oct. 31, 2019. The Chautauqua Belle owners will pay $3,000 for the first year of the license, and the fee will increase by 2 percent each year of the license with a late fee of 5 percent added to any past-due payments.

The lease had already been signed by Mayville Mayor Marty Bova in May.

The new lease ends what had become a contentious situation between the village and U.S. Steam Lines Ltd., which own the Belle.

In January the Mayville village board voted not to renew the previous license with the Belle, which had expired in October 2014. The village also sent an eviction letter to the owners of the Chautauqua Belle, requesting the boat be moved in the spring.

U.S. Steam Lines Ltd. then turned to Facebook and social media to rally support for keeping the boat in Mayville, and following a large public outcry, the village opted to renegotiate with the Belle’s owners.

One of the four operating paddle-wheel boats left in the United States, the Chautauqua Belle has approximately 7,000 to 8,000 guests each year.

The Chautauqua Belle (courtesy of www.facebook.com/ChautauquaBelle)

MAYVILLE – The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting Monday that a final deal has been reached between the Mayville Village Board and U.S. Steam Lines Ltd., which operates the Chautauqua Belle, that will keep the vessel’s home in Mayville for the foreseeable future.

The new contract is a five-year lease with two additional five-year renewals with the first lease expiring in October 2019. The Chautauqua Belle will pay $3,000 for the first year of the license. The fee will increase by 2 percent each year of the license with a late fee of 5 percent added to any past due payments.

The final vote was 3-1, with Trustee Richard Syper voting against the measure and who voiced his disappointment with how the process has been handled by the boat’s owners.

The new contract has already been signed by the village mayor Marty Bova and will reportedly be signed by the owner of the Belle early next week.

In January the Mayville village board voted not to renew the previous license with the Belle, which had expired in October 2014. The village also sent an eviction letter to the owners of the Chautauqua Belle, requesting the boat be moved in the spring.

The Chautauqua Belle then turned to Facebook and social media to rally support for keeping the boat in Mayville, and following a large public outcry, the village opted to renegotiate with the Belle’s owners.

One of the four operating paddle-wheel boats left in the United States, the boat has approximately 7,000 to 8,000 guests each year.