Jamestown BPU General Manager Dave Leathers speaks with Jamestown City Council (May 15, 2023)

Jamestown Board of Public Utilities‘ General Manager doesn’t see a proposal to register Jamestown as a Climate Smart Community as negatively impacting the utility’s operations.

Dave Leathers met with Jamestown City Council Monday to give his thoughts on a resolution that would register the city as a Climate Smart Community in New York State.

Leathers said the BPU is very focused on clean energy standards and the Climate Leadership and Protection Act, “Those are state mandates, state laws that are focused on significant changes in the New York State economy related to greenhouse gas emissions and green energy as well as transportation, and buildings, and agriculture, and waste, and industry. So, that’s really where all of our efforts and all of of our focus are.”

Leathers said he sees the Climate pledge as a municipal effort and that it’s up to the City administration and Council to decide what they want to pursue, “Approving a resolution to take the pledge, I don’t see it as some huge, significant step. And I definitely don’t see it as anything that’s going to impact the BPU operations.”

Under the Climate Smart Community certification, local governments accumulate points for planning and implementation actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resilience to the worsening impacts of climate change.

Certified communities can take part in the Climate Smart Communities Grant Program, which is a competitive 50/50 matching grant program for municipalities to implement projects focused on climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation.

Leathers said the pledge doesn’t commit the city to anything hard, “If in a year from now, you’ve gone into this and you decide you want to rescind that resolution for some reason, you could do that. There are items in the list of potential tasks that the BPU staff would be involved in and would be supportive.”

He said if the city has been certified as a Climate Smart community it could gain the city extra points when applying for grants.

Climate Smart Guidelines include:

1)    Build a climate-smart community.
2)    Inventory emissions, set goals, and plan for climate action.
3)    Decrease energy use.
4)    Shift to clean, renewable energy.
5)    Use climate-smart materials management.
6)    Implement climate-smart land use.
7)    Enhance community resilience to climate change.
8)    Support a green innovation economy.
9)    Inform and inspire the public.
10)    Engage in an evolving process of climate action.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said if the pledge was adopted that she could see the city’s Principal Planner acting as the required Coordinator for the program with the Planning Commission serving as the Task Force.

Council member at large Kim Ecklund asked for information on any upfront costs that might be involved with the city taking the pledge.

Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk presents at public hearing (May 15, 2023)

A public hearing has been held on reallocating $225,000 in previous years HOME program funds to a First Time Homebuyers Assistance Program.

Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said funds allocated in the 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 Annual Action Plans had not been fully spent in those years and an amendment to those action plans would allow the department to combine those funds for another program, “This funding will go to one of our Community Housing Development organizations, CHRIC, for the First Time Homebuyers Program that they currently administer. This is a great way for us to be able to spend those funds that we certainly don’t want to see go to waste and there’s definitely a need. CHRIC is ready to go.”

Surdyk said Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation has applicants in their program waiting for funding and that U.S. Housing and Urban Development has supported CHRIC’s program in the past. She said CHRIC would retain an additional $500 per recipient for administrative costs.

The $225,000 would provide $4,000 to an estimated 50 low-to moderate-income first time homebuyers between 2023 and 2026.

Surdyk said the homebuyers would use the funds as gap funding, “It helps with down payment and closing costs. It also requires its participants to participate in a program that lasts over, I believe, nine weeks. They learn all of the basics of being a homeowner, responsibilities that they have as a homeowner.”

Surdyk said homebuyers sign an anti-speculation agreement that they won’t sell their home for five years, or risk having to pay back funding they’ve received.

She said there is about $1 million total in unexpended HOME funds. City Deputy Director of Housing Policy and Development Kasie Foulk said the Department of Development just learned that Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME monies not expended in previous years could have the action plans amended to reallocate the funds for existing or new programs.

Aftermath of a fire at 258 Crescent Street which is the location of Danielson Oil Company (May 11, 2023)

A fire at a longstanding company in Jamestown has been ruled to be accidental.

Jamestown Police responded to 258 Crescent Street just after 4:00 a.m. Thursday for a burglary alarm and found smoke in the building. Jamestown Fire crews were called out and found heavy fire on the first floor. Crews had the fire under control in 45 minutes. There were no injuries.

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon said the building is home to family-owned Danielson Oil Company, “They do have fuel oil stored on site as well as various lubricants, greases, motor oils, and diesel fuel. So, we did through the Director of Development Crystal Surdyk the Department of Environmental Conservation was contacted as was the Chautauqua County Haz Mat Team. We did do an onsite assessment and it’s been determined that no chemicals have migrated off the property.”

Coon said there was no structural compromise to the building and the owners plan to continue business at the site.

He said a faulty appliance in a breakroom has been determined to have caused the fire.

1061 Allen Street (January 2023)

The corporation that owns the former Crawford Furniture Building that burned down in a fire in November 2022 is expected to plead guilty to code violations.

City of Jamestown Corporation Counsel Elliot Raimondo and Allen Street Development LLC Attorney Daryl Brautigam appeared in Housing Court Friday, April 28 before Judge George Panebianco.

Brautigam informed the Judge that he is advising his client at a pre-trial hearing scheduled for June 2, 2023 to enter a guilty plea on two tickets.

Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said these tickets are for on-going violations at 1061 Allen Street that go back several years in regards to junk and debris issues as well as other code issues that preceded the fire on November 16, 2022.

Raimondo said this plea will allow the City to seek damages against the corporation, “After the fire, the city had to pay H.H. Rauh Contracting $100,000 for an emergency demolition just due to the fact that the site was so unsafe during and immediately after the fire for any individuals to near there. That said, anyone who drives on Allen Street and past 1061 Allen will still see that there are massive, and what we would say is Superfund type site, that needs to be cleaned up at the site of the fire.”

Raimondo said the city has received quotes for over a million dollars for that clean-up. He added that the owners also owe over $90,000 in back taxes for the past five years.

The pre-trial motion on June 2 also will determine if Richard Rusiniak has any personal liability as one of the principal owners of Allen Street Development LLC. A sentencing date for the guilty pleas will be determined at the pre-trial and that future date also will include the hearing of contempt charges against Richard Rusiniak by the City for providing false statements in court.

Meanwhile, Surdyk said the Environmental Protection Agency is still assessing the site. She said their involvement with the site in the years before the fire has been a benefit to the city, “I think the fire could have been much more damaging and catastrophic had they (EPA) not been able to achieve some compliance with removing some of the chemicals and hazardous materials from the site. We do know there were still some hazardous materials that remained at the time of the fire, but like I said, it could have been much more catastrophic than it was.”

The DEC and EPA are each pursuing independent actions against the property owners.

Surdyk added that Jamestown Police have not charged anyone with setting the fire but said she believed they did have suspects in the case. WRFA contacted Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson about the matter but had not heard back by press time.

Jamestown Local Development Corporation meeting (April 19, 2023)

Over a half million dollars in American Rescue Plan funded grants have been approved for eight Jamestown businesses.

The Jamestown Local Development Corporation awarded $500,000 in Machinery and Equipment Upgrades funds as well as $50,000 in New Business Development funds at its monthly meeting.

Ballgame Heroes and Pearl City Cycle will each receive $25,000 under the New Business Development grant fund.

Jamestown Businesses Receiving ARP New Business Development Grant Funds

Department of Development Grant Manager Tim O’Dell said Pearl City Cycle is opening a retail store at 245 Fluvanna Avenue and will use the funds for store signage as well as painting the interior and exterior. He said Ballgame Heroes will use the funds for updating security systems, new displays inside, as well as for store programming and events.

The five businesses receiving $92,000 each in Machinery and Equipment Upgrade grant funds include:
– Colecraft Commercial Furnishings toward a $361,792 total project
– Dawson Metal Company toward a $134,900 total project
– El Greco Woodworking, Inc. toward a $143,952 total project
– International Ordnance Technologies toward a $226,600 total project
– National Wire & Metal Tech Inc. toward a $320,000 total project

Crown Street Roasting was awarded $37,500 for a $50,000 project

Jamestown Businesses Receiving ARP Machinery & Equipment Upgrades Grant Funds

O’Dell said 29 full time and three part time jobs are to be created and 163 full time and five part job positions retained through the funding.

The Machinery and Equipment Upgrades grant has a 25% match requirement for the businesses as well as job creation benchmarks that must be met or funds could be clawed back.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said the department reached out to 18 businesses about applying for the Machinery and Equipment Upgrades grant. Included in that list was Jamestown Skate Products, which is owned by JLDC Board member Pete Scheira. Scheira did not submit an application for funding.

Jamestown Businesses Contacted About ARP Machinery and Equipment Upgrades Grant

Surdyk said, when asked why these specific businesses were contacted, said they were businesses that had made past inquiries and expressed interest in grant opportunities.

JLDC Board member and City Council member Kim Ecklund expressed concern that when the grant applications were being accepted in January, businesses had already developed their budgets for the year and might not have had the 25% capital match budgeted that’s required. She added she’d still like to see more and different businesses participate in the grant programs.

While the discussion and decision regarding the ARPA grants awarded to Jamestown Skate Products and It’s Your Day was removed from the agenda, JLDC Attorney and City Corporation Counsel Elliot Raimondo did share that the city was still waiting to hear back from the U.S. Treasury Department, “I spoke to the Congressional representative today on that issue. The Treasury Department has, for lack of a better term, bounced him from person to person to person. So, we’re still waiting on what is the status of state and local fiscal recovery fund guidance, specifically what they mean by violations of ethical rules.”

WRFA has reviewed the federal guidelines for the $28 million in ARPA funding awarded to the city in 2021 and did identify a provision that states “Recipients may not use [the money] in violation of the conflict-of-interest requirements contained in the Award Terms and Conditions, including any self-dealing or violation of ethics rules.”

We also have reached out to the Treasury Department office for clarification to see if any of the grants in question violated the “self dealing” provision found in those guidelines, but have yet to receive a response.

The JLDC also approved $5,100 in Downtown Programming funds for the Juneteenth Festival to hold a free concert event on the Wintergarden Plaza on Friday, June 16 as well as concert at Spire Theatre on Saturday, June 17. These concert events will be in addition to traditional festivities held in Jackson-Taylor Park in celebration of Juneteenth.

Left to right: Director of Development Crystal Surdyk, Jamestown resident Jade Shirey, Healthy Communities Consultant Lisa Schmidtfrerick-Miller, Council member Brent Sheldon, Council Member Regina Brackman, and Council Member Marie Carrubba at City Council Housing Committee meeting (March 20, 2023)

A Jamestown mother is urging the City to take on lead hazards in housing that’s resulted in hundreds of children being affected by lead poisoning.

Hazzard Street resident Jade Shirey spoke before the City Council Housing Committee, saying health issues caused by lead paint exposure is 100% preventable and that no homes should be allowed to have lead paint, “It is, I get, an expensive fix, but we are spending money either way. We are either going to spend it in being proactive and getting lead out of homes, or we are going to spend it reactive in giving services, inundating our school system, our fire people with the condemned houses or the fire calls from the properties not being where they should be, police activity later on in their years when these (lead-poisoned) kids are facing impulsivity.”

Shirey shared that her son was diagnosed with lead poisoning two years ago, “So, in part of that, I brought my child who suffers from verbal delays, speech-cognitive delays, is going to be put in a (inaudible) classroom, who I’ve had so much trouble securing services for. I’m not sure how families have been doing this for 45 years.”

Shirey said Jamestown is seventh in the state for lead poisoning, with 60 kids in the 14701 zip code being affected by lead poisoning a year. She said that equates to about 900 students in the Jamestown Public Schools system who have suffered from lead poisoning.

Shirey said her goal is to make sure no other families go through what she has.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said while she doesn’t have a fix that can have an immediate impact, the city is working on dealing with lead in housing from a policy standpoint, “So, we have rental inspection ordinance that we are working on. We have a vacant property ordinance that we’re working on. And then we have a third, a nuisance property ordinance that we’re working on which won’t directly impact lead inspections, but through those two other ordinances, lead inspection, mandatory lead inspections will be rolled into those.”

Surdyk said the city has been working with the Healthy Housing Coalition, which includes county government and other housing agencies, on how to give landlords incentives to take care of lead paint in their properties, “We want to offer a carrot, right? We’re going to give you this big stick. We’re going to say, ‘This has to be done,’ and we’re going to have ‘x’ amount of time to do all of these inspections. And if there is lead found, you’re going to have another ‘x’ amount of time to remediate it. And then the intention is, if we’ve identified it, looking at ways to subsidize the cost of the inspection for the lead.”

Council member Brent Sheldon, who previously worked for the Chautauqua County Health Department in lead hazard reduction, said while the county has received funds to do lead abatements, it’s a struggle to get people to participate.

For additional information on lead poisoning prevention, visit the County’s Environmental Health Department’s website at: https://chqgov.com/environmental-health/lead-poisoning-prevention

Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency board meeting (March 14, 2023)

The Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency board received a report on accomplishments for 2022.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk presented to the JURA board on the list.

She said there were 1,125 code enforcement and zoning inspections done in 2022 and 327 permits issued. Total fees generated by the department were in the amount of $25,848.

Surdyk said there are three Code Enforcement Officers in the department, “That’s 375 inspections per person for the year. And so, that takes out weekends, although frankly they’re on call 24-7, so it used to be that there may be one, maybe two a week. It’s more like four, five (inspections).”

Surdyk said the total value in permitted improvements is $2,331,561, “That’s way up from the last three years, which is great. It’s a sign of development coming back. Things are moving. Things are happening again which is exactly what we want to see.”

Surdyk said, in 2022, $1.118 million in Community Development Block Grant monies assisted 25 projects with $214,538 of HOME funds assisting 5 properties.

She said $194,000  funding also was allocated toward two Code Blue emergency shelters.

Surdyk added that $3.3 million was received for ten separate awards, including funding for the Chadakoin River Basin Activation plan as well as funding for the Comprehensive Plan.

Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency board meeting (March 14, 2023)

The Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency board has approved the creation of a new position focused on housing.

Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said the city faces a monumental task when it comes to housing issues, including housing code enforcement and housing conditions.

She said following conversations with City Council members, other housing agencies, and internal staff on how to address this, she came to the conclusion that it doesn’t make sense to split the Department of Development into a department that solely deals with housing development and an economic development department, “I don’t feel that it should be separated. I still think there should be a director of development, not two directors who are working separately from each other and, very possibly, in silos. Economic development and housing and community development are very much intertwined. And so there still needs to be a really cohesive strategy and team around those even though they seem like different things, they’ve not so different.”

Surdyk said the position of Deputy Director of Housing and Community Development Manager will be similar to the Economic Development Coordinator position, but with more responsibilities, “Because housing is so complex and we really want to look at policies, and we’ve been working on some ordinances, and to attack housing and the issues that we have with housing it has to be a multi-pronged approach. And so this position will frankly free me up to do all of the things better.”

Surdyk said while the position was not included in the 2023 JURA budget, there should be enough room to fund it with the upcoming departure of Assistant Corporation Counsel Ben Haskins, other unfilled positions in DOD, as well as more grant funds.

The JLDC Board of Directors during its most recent meeting in February. The JLDC is comprised of elected city officials and community stakeholders and is considered the economic development lending arm of the city.

JAMESTOWN – Last year the Jamestown Local Development Corporation (JLDC) became one of the most powerful government agencies in Chautauqua County when the city of Jamestown charged its board with appropriating nearly $9 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) moneys aimed at economic development, primarily to assist businesses and organizations impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Another $2.9 million in ARPA funds was appropriated to JLDC to assist with residential property improvements and to also update city code.

• REVIEW ALL CITY ARPA SPENDING TO DATE

All that funding is also required to be spent in a relatively short period of time – just under four years and counting. As a result the JLDC is busier now compared to any other time in the 40+ years of its existence.

But in the haste of getting millions of dollars out the door the JLDC board appears to have run afoul of its own bylaws by awarding moneys to businesses directly connected to two of its members.

Jeffery Russell

One of those businesses is It’s Your Day wedding planning service which received a $64,000 grant from the JLDC Building Acquisition & Business Expansion program, funded by ARPA money. The owner of that business is the wife of JLDC Board Member Jeffrey Russell, who also serves on the Jamestown City Council. Russell joined the JLDC board at the start of 2022.

The other business is Jamestown Skate Products. That business is owned by JLDC Board Member Pete Schiera, who was appointed to the board as a city at-large representative in 2020. Jamestown Skate Products received a $15,000 grant through the JLDC Downtown Small Business Evolution program, also funded with city ARPA money.

In both instances, neither Russell or Scheira voted when it was time to award the money for their respective business interests. In fact, neither was in attendance for the respective voting session when the awarding of the money took place. However, JLDC bylaws – which govern how the corporation must function – prohibit the awarding of loans or grants for any business in which a sitting board member (or immediate family member) owns a material interest (Article VII, Section 5).

WRFA looked into the matter and spoke with Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, who serves as JLDC board president. He was joined by city development director Crystal Surdyk. The two explained that their interpretation of the law is that the JLDC bylaws only apply in situations when JLDC awards grants or loans from its own funding pool. But because JLDC is only serving as a pass-through agency to administer the city’s ARPA money, the bylaws do not apply. Instead, any business can qualify so long as any board member with a conflict of interest recuses himself or herself from the vote.

That explanation was verified by Russell, who informed WRFA via email that he was told that his wife’s business could still apply for funding, as long as he didn’t vote on the matter.

“Like so many other businesses during Covid my spouse’s was decimated by the mandatory shut downs for those deemed to be non essential,” Russell explained. “Upon submission of her application for ARPA funds I asked for an opinion on the matter. I was advised that the ARPA funds are NOT JLDC funds directly and JLDC is acting as a pass through in the allocation of the funds. I was advised she could apply, but I must recuse myself during the voting session.”

Schiera also explained to WRFA that he was unaware of the stipulation in the bylaws and that it didn’t come up during his application process. Again, he was informed that as long as he recused himself, there was no conflict of interest or impropriety.

While it is true that Jamestown City Council authorized JLDC to administer the ARPA money as a pass-through agency, the same can be said for other federal moneys administered by JLDC, including the federal Urban Development Action Grant, awarded to the city decades ago. In that case, the money was also presented to the city of Jamestown, which authorized JLDC to utilize it as part of its low-interest revolving loan fund for businesses. Whenever money from that fund is appropriated by the JLDC board, it’s required to follow the rules of its bylaws.

Also worth noting is that while the JLDC ignored the bylaws when it came to voting on funds for its own members, it followed the bylaws when it came time to appropriate ARPA funds over $100,000 – which require final city council review and approval.

WRFA did reach out to city attorney Elliot Raimondo via email and asked what the basis was for city’s interpretation that no bylaw violation took place, but he did not respond.

Beyond the likely violation its own bylaws, the JLDC board may have also violated Article 18 of the State General Municipal Law, which prohibits municipal officers from receiving public money they oversee and that “there are no exceptions for when an individual discloses his or her interest, recuses him or herself or abstains from the discussion or vote on a matter.”

There’s also the question of if the awards violated federal law, if the terms of the grant award includes language similar to what is in state law.

There was also a third award of ARPA funding that also created a conflict of interest with a board member. During its most recent meeting, the JLDC unanimously approved a $9,500 grant for a fundraising concert at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. That funding came from the JLDC Downtown Programming & Events program. Luke Fodor is a JLDC board member and also an employee of the church. When it came time to vote on the project, Fodor recused himself. City officials again contend that was all that was required, especially since Fodor doesn’t own any material interest in the church. But city property owner Tom Andolora recently voiced his disapproval of the matter during this week’s council meeting, via a letter that was read out loud by the city clerk.

“How is it possible that a member of the board can sit there, while the rest of the members vote to benefit the organization he leads? Of course Luke recused himself from the vote. Do the rest of you who are on the JLDC board understand how this looks?”, Andalora asked. “How is it possible that a member of the board can be so brazen as to fill out and sign an application himself? This goes beyond ‘conflict of interest’.”

WRFA did speak with other JLDC board members and asked if they were aware of the bylaw provision that disqualified them from receiving public money they oversee. Council president Tony Dolce, who has a seat on the JLDC board, said he was told a recusal was all that was necessary to avoid conflict of interest. When asked if the bylaws were ever brought up, he said they had not.

WRFA also reached out to Councilwoman and 2023 mayoral candidate Kim Ecklund for this story but she was unavailable for comment. Ecklund also has a seat at the JLDC table because she is the council’s finance chair.

WRFA did seek out opinions on the matter from state agencies. The State Authorities Budget Office – which is responsible for making public authorities more accountable – said it could not issue a formal legal opinion on the matter, but did say they do accept complaints for public authorities like JLDC, and do review and investigate those complaints as they come in. The State Comptrollers Office indicated it was aware of the situation and was monitoring, but had no other comment at this time.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk presents to Jamestown City Council (February 27, 2023)

Jamestown City Council approved a plan to use $1.277 million for a rental rehabilitation program.

The funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are to be used for homelessness assistance and assistance to other vulnerable populations.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said under the plan, landlords would be able to apply for $30,000 a unit for up to three units, “An applicant can apply for up to $90,000 maximum. That could be for anything an apartment building might need, so if it needs a roof, if it needs siding, if it needs foundation repairs, whatever that might be. It’s not limited to having to be spent in a specific unit, however it can be.”

Surdyk said HUD requires a 15-year anti-speculation agreement for those receiving grant funds, “So that prohibits the property owner from selling that property within 15 years to make a profit. It also requires them to maintain a rental cap that is considered, and falls within HUD’s guidelines for affordable housing. And requires that they make those units available to low to moderate-income persons.”

Surdyk said the plan is due to HUD by March 31, but the City will be submitting it this week for final review and approval.