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.

Attorney Elliot Raimondo (center) talks with members of the Jamestown Local Development Corporation during its March 15, 2023 meeting

UPDATE: The Jamestown Local Development Corporation will not be discussing the ARPA grants awarded to Jamestown Skate Products and It’s Your Day at its monthly meeting following an update sent this morning that removed that item for tonight’s agenda. 

City officials are expected to offer an update Wednesday afternoon on the question of whether or not the Jamestown Local Development Corporation (JLDC) violated federal guidelines by approving economic development funds for projects tied to sitting board members.

Among the items on the JLDC meeting agenda for this month is a “discussion and decision regarding the ARPA grants awarded to Jamestown Skate Products and It’s Your Day.”

• VIEW JLDC APRIL 2023 AGENDA

Jamestown Skate Products is owned by JLDC Board Member Pete Schiera and was approved for a $15,000 grant in October through the JLDC Downtown Small Business Evolution program. It’s Your Day wedding planning service was approved for a $64,000 grant in February from the JLDC’s Building Acquisition & Business Expansion program. The owner of that business is the spouse of JLDC Board Member Jeffrey Russell, who also serves on the Jamestown City Council.

A third grant was also approved by the JLDC board in February for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, after the church applied for funding from JLDC Downtown Programming & Events program. That grant application was submitted on behalf of St. Luke’s by employee Rev. Luke Fodor, who also sits on the JLDC board. In all three cases, the board members in question did not vote when it came time to award the funding.

In February, WRFA reported that the JLDC board likely violated its own bylaws and possible even state law by awarding funding to businesses connected to sitting board members, recusals notwithstanding. 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. 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.”

Grant Manager Tim O’Dell presents on business grant fund to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation board. (January 18, 2023)

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist says the city is continuing to look into possible violations of conflict of interest laws, due to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation awarding grant moneys to sitting board members, including one who also sits on the city council.

As WRFA first reported on Wednesday, the JLDC board appears to have violated its own by-laws by awarding federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to its own members to assist their personal business interests.

The businesses in question included a $64,000 grant to It’s Your Day wedding planning service from the JLDC’s Building Acquisition & Business Expansion program. It’s Your Day is owned and operated by the wife of city councilman and JLDC board member Jeff Russell. The other business was Jamestown Skate Products, which received a $15,000 grant from Downtown Small Business Evolution program. That business is owned and operated by JLDC board member Pete Scheira. A third violation may have also occurred when JLDC board member Luke Fodor, an employee of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, applied for and was awarded a $9,500 downtown programming grant for a fundraising concert for the church, scheduled for later this month.

In all three instances, the board members in question either recused themselves or did not attend the voting session. However, the JLDC by-laws are clear in stating that no funding will be awarded to any business where a board member owns a material interest.

Not only did the awards appear to violate JLDC by-laws, but also state conflict of interest rules for municipal officers, and potentially federal rules as well.

The city claims it was aware of the language in the JLDC bylaws, but felt they didn’t apply to grant awards related to ARPA funding since JLDC was only serving as a pass-through agency for that money.

In a statement released Thursday morning, the mayor said all grant awards related to ARPA were made under the knowledge that they were appropriate and legal under state and federal law, and if there are any discrepancies, or actions contrary to state or federal law, the city will work to rectify those issues as soon as possible.

Sundquist also claimed the awarding of the funds were done in “a transparent and public process.” However, while the votes were done in a public setting, they were not 100% transparent.
When it came time for the JLDC board to award the grants in question, there was no advanced notice given to the public, including no mention of the businesses on the official meeting agenda, which does not appear on the city website and is only sent out to media.

Additionally, the official minutes for the respective meetings don’t provide any details on which businesses were awarded funding.

As Sundquist and his staff continue to look into the matter, the New York State Comptroller’s office has informed WRFA it is aware of the situation and is monitoring it as well.

Doug Sitler addresses Jamestown Local Development Corporation (January 3, 2023)

The Jamestown Local Development Corporation has approved a downtown programming request to bring in Ace Frehley for a concert downtown.

Ace Frehley is formerly of the rock band, Kiss, who have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Doug Sitler requested $50,000 from the programming fund to put on the concert. This is his fourth request of downtown program funding, previously being approved funding of $31,850 for the “Best Day Ever” in 2019 that featured a free concert by Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root and funding of $31,000 for last year’s 10,000 Maniacs‘ 40th Anniversary concert.

Sitler said he has come in under budget for all the events he has put on, “And I don’t make any money until we sell like 350 tickets on this amount. But once we make around 500, 600 tickets sold then we go into what’s called the backend and we start divvying up the overage, I guess you would say. And I think there will be a potential of getting back, if it was a sold out event, $10,000 of the grant back.”

Sitler said one cost increase is requested additional security for this event following the stabbing of Salman Rushdie at Chautauqua Institution in 2022.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said the concert would take place at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

Jamestown Local Development Corporation Board meeting

The Jamestown Local Development Corporation board has approved downtown programming funds for several events, including the four proposed by Collaborative Children’s Solutions.

CCS Director Patrick Smeraldo requested $40,000 for four events that would span seven days.

The events that would take place include a children’s carnival downtown followed by a Tarp Skunks game at Diethrick Stadium on June 24; a Christmas in July event downtown on July 22 and possibly a three-on-three basketball tournament downtown followed by a Tarp Skunks game on July 23; a beer tasting event downtown on September 3 and the Labor Day Fest at Bergman Park on September 4; and an event around a scheduled hockey tournament at the Northwest Arena on December 2 with the downtown holiday parade on December 3. All four events would include fireworks.

Smeraldo said the events are designed to be for kids and families and that he’s not trying to make a profit on them, “I mean, we can put on these events for kids and then take the funds that are raised through grants and things like that or agencies coming in and then put on a Chris Heron, who came here and spoke to the kids at Jamestown High School. That’s the intent. To feed the money back into the kids and see how we can draw and create opportunities for them.”

Mayor Eddie Sundquist informed the JLDC board members that Smeraldo has been working with city staff to ensure the proposed events are in compliance.

The Board of Public Utilities had requested $50,000 in programming funds for a Climate Technology Conference. This conference is being funded in part by a NYSERDA grant received by the BPU that had a required match by the City of Jamestown. The two-day event is scheduled to take place October 18 and 19, 2022 and would tentatively utilize the Northwest Arena, Doubletree Hotel, and several other ancillary spaces downtown. JLDC approved the request contingent on approval by Corporation Counsel on the legality of a city entity using the program funds as the match.

The third proposal approved was a $6,000 request by Doug Sitler for a 10,000 Maniacs concert. The event had previously been awarded $25,000 in downtown programming funds but hadn’t included a request for sound and lighting. The total now approved for the event is $31,000.

• ALSO AVAILABLE AT SOUNDCLOUD

Originally airing Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019.

WRFA’s Jason Sample interview Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi. The mayor discusses the status of bargaining unit contracts, the Fund for Downtown Programming, Housing programs, and the Potters Terrace / Wood Park closure by the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation.

Sam Teresi

Robert Woodward

JAMESTOWN – A nationally acclaimed journalist whose work helped the Washington Post win two Pulitzer Prizes in both 1973 and 2003 will be in Jamestown on Sunday.

The Robert H. Jackson Center will welcome renowned journalist Bob Woodward to the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts to discuss: “Have We Forgotten the Lessons of Watergate?” on Sunday at 5 p.m.

“He’s an interesting voice. There’s still a lot of issues that we’re grappling with today in terms of presidential power, privacy, and access that he will likely touch on during his conversation,” explained Kristan McMahon, Jackson Center president, during a recent interview with WRFA.

Woodward is an associate editor of the Washington Post, where he has worked since 1971. He has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes, first in 1973 for the coverage of the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein, and second in 2003 as the lead reporter for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

He has authored 19 books; the latest, “Fear: Trump in the White House” became an international bestseller.

Woodward’s appearance is made possible by the Fund for Downtown Programming, part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) Fund, as well as the Alan Y. Cole Endowment Fund.

Tickets may be purchased by calling the Reg Lenna box office at (716) 664-2465, visiting the box office located at 116 E. 3rd Street, Jamestown, NY 14701 or online at www.RegLenna.com.

JAMESTOWN, NY – A nationally touring rock band that’s been featured on alternative rock radio for nearly two decades in coming to Jamestown this weekend.

Boston-based alt rock outfit Guster will play the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts on Saturday, July 27. Joining the group is with Mikaela Davis of Rochester.

The concert is being put on by Spirit Animal promotions and Southern Tier Distillery. The event is also made possible by the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and the Fund for Downtown Programming.

Guster’s live shows channel their infectious positive energy into raucous performances that have fans singing along to songs old and new with unbridled enthusiasm, while always promising plenty of eclectic surprises. Guster’s first new album in four years – Look Alive – was released earlier this year to widespread praise. NPR Music called it “sparkling” and Relix said it was “their greatest stylistic leap yet.”

Rochester harpist and songwriter Mikaela Davis joins the bill after recently sharing the stage with Bob Weir at Shea’s in Buffalo this past spring and is now heavily featured in many summer festivals.

Tickets start at just $11 and are available at www.RegLenna.com as well as the Reg Lenna Box Office (716) 484-7070 and the 3rd on 3rd Gallery at 108 E 3rd Street.

Robert Woodward

JAMESTOWN – The Robert H. Jackson Center will welcome renowned journalist Bob Woodward to discuss: “Have We Forgotten the Lessons of Watergate?” on Sunday, August 11.

Woodward will speak at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts at 5 p.m..

Woodward is an associate editor of The Washington Post, where he has worked since 1971. He has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes, first in 1973 for the coverage of the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein, and second in 2003 as the lead reporter for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  He has authored 19 books; the latest, “Fear: Trump in the White House” became an international bestseller, selling over 1.1 million copies in its first week in September 2018 and breaking the 94-year-old first week sales record for its publisher Simon & Schuster.

Woodward’s appearance is made possible by the Fund for Downtown Programming, part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) Fund, as well as the Alan Y. Cole Endowment Fund.

Tickets may be purchased by calling the Reg Lenna box office at (716) 664-2465, visiting the box office located at 116 E. 3rd Street, Jamestown, NY 14701 or online at www.RegLenna.com.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN VIA SOUNDCLOUD

Originally airing Thursday, May 23, 2019

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with JHS Marching Band Director Megan Murray, JHS A Cappella Choir Director Norm Lydell, and Jamestown Development Director Vince DeJoy to learn more about the July 19 fundraiser at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, featuring the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra performing the music of Queen.

FOR TICKETS VISIT REGLENNA.COM