BISSELL Pet Foundation is a national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending pet homelessness.

The Chautauqua County Humane Society is waiving fees for adoptions for all animals as part of the “Empty the Shelters” event at its 2825 Strunk Road Adoption Center.

Interested adopters can find more details online at Chqhumane.org.

For more information on adopting or donating to “Empty the Shelters,” visit www.bissellpetfoundation.org/empty-the-shelters.

The Chautauqua County Humane Society has received support to make adoptions free for a limited time and has other events scheduled for May.

Chautauqua County Humane Society‘s Pennies-4-Paws campaign is continuing this month. Senior Programs Director Brian Papalia tells us more.

The Chautauqua County Health Department and the Chautauqua County Humane Society will hold the clinic from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Village of Falconer Highway Building at 1 Coleson Drive in Falconer.

Distemper shots and/or microchips will also be available, at no cost.

Animals must be pre-registered to receive vaccinations. Vaccinations will be provided free of charge to all dogs, cats, and domesticated ferrets three months of age and older.

To pre-register online for the village of Falconer clinic visit: https://on.ny.gov/3ZvA1SH

Pet owners must bring previous rabies vaccination records for each animal receiving a shot to ensure proper and effective vaccination; clinic staff will confirm previous rabies vaccination records. All dogs must be on a leash. All cats must be in a carrier.

New York State Public Health Law requires each dog, cat, and domesticated ferret over the age of four months be vaccinated against rabies.

For more information about the clinic and rabies in general, visit https://chqgov.com/environmental-health/rabies-prevention or contact the Health Department at (716) 753-4481.

Bird Bike Share – eScooter and eBike

Electric bikes and scooters could be available to rent in Jamestown this summer.

Jamestown City Council heard a presentation by Bird Bike Share, who has proposed a pilot program in the city.

Bird Bike Share currently has programs in Dunkirk and other municipalities around New York State.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said bringing ebikes and scooters to the area would be a way to increase mobility for those who do not have cars, or good access to public transportation.

He said New York State passed a law in 2020 making eBikes and eScooters legal, “The program itself, when we were originally looking at it, the city was considering starting its own bike share program which had a lot of upfront capital costs. In this scenario, in this partnership, Bird actually provides all of that capital. They also hire a local operator to manage and take care of those bikes and scooters. And then the city receives a portion of the revenue on each of those rides.”

Sundquist said the pricing would have an initial fee and then a 49-cents per minute fee after that. He said the program would also offer community pricing where those who have an EBT card could receive a reduced rate. Pre-paid cards could also be used for rental in cases where someone doesn’t have a debit or credit card.

Sundquist said the bikes and scooters would be limited to operation within the city of Jamestown.

Council tabled 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 the stop arm is out.

BusPatrol would outfit the Jamestown Public School district’s bus fleet at no cost, with the City receiving a share of the fine money. The Jamestown School Board passed the proposal in February.

Corporation Counsel Elliot\ Raimondo recommended that council table the measure for further review.

Public Safety Committee Chair Brent Sheldon said that 239 feral cats were spayed or neutered under the Community Cat Program in 2022, “151 had the surgeries done at Operation Pets in Buffalo and 88 were done at the Chautauqua County Humane Society. That did result in some savings there because they didn’t have to do the transportation and everything, so they saved approximately $1,841 on that.”

Sheldon said between the City’s allocation of $5,000 toward the program in 2022, a Chautauqua Region Community Foundation grant of $8,000, and donations of $3,000; the Chautauqua County Humane Society had enough funds for the program. He added that the City has also allocated $5,000 for the program in 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 Chautauqua County Humane Society gives an update on their Pennies 4 Paws campaign and more.

Chautauqua County Humane Society Senior Programs Director Brian Papalia talks about the start of the “Pennies 4 Paws” Campaign.

Senior Programs Director Brian Papalia said the campaign starts on February 12, which is President Abraham Lincoln‘s birthday.

He said this year’s goal is raise 2 million pennies, or $20,000 by April 30, “Something we’re really excited about this year is that we have a couple of folks that wish to remain anonymous, but they have stepped forward to create a match fund for this year. And we have a total of $6,500 in match money and the first day we’re going to utilize this is on Valentine’s Day.”

Papalia said the money donated goes right to the care of animals at the shelter, “If you have cats, you know how expensive cat litter is. We go through 24,000 pounds in cat litter a year. We have at any given time roughly 100, give or take, animals in the building. They need healthcare, they need warmth, they need medicine – it’s going to go towards that.”

Papalia said donations can be dropped in containers located at area businesses and organizations.

For any organization wanting a “Pennies 4 Paws” donation container, contact the Humane Society at 716-665-2209 and ask for Brian. You can also visit chqhumane.org for more information.

Chautauqua County Humane Society Senior Programs Director Brian Papalia updates us on the “Season of Hope” adoption/foster drive, the TNVR cat program, and what’s up for 2023.