A map highlights the BPU Substation property proposed for annexation, with the red line illustrating Tiffany Avenue, the border between the city and the town of Ellicott/Village of Falconer.

The Fourth State Appellate Court has ruled in favor of the City of Jamestown in regards to appeals filed by the Town of Ellicott in the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities’ annexation case.

Attorneys for the town of Ellicott argued in Appellate Court on January 4 that the city property assessor’s certificate for the Dow Street substation property did not satisfy state law for annexation. They argued that the property isn’t adjacent to the city line because a road separates the property from adjoining to the city boundary. Under state law, municipalities can only annex properties that are adjacent to their own boundaries.

This was an appeal of the ruling in Chautauqua County Supreme Court by Judge Lynn Keane in November 2020 that the property did meet state law requirements.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the Fourth Appellate Court dismissed all the appeals on the matter and is now sending the case back to State Supreme Court, “And we are hopeful that once that happens a referee panel will be picked and the case will continue in its normal manner.”

Sundquist said the referee panel will hear the entire case for annexation.

City officials have argued that by annexing the property into the city limits, the Board of Public Utilities would save an estimated $160,000 each year in property taxes, thus saving money for all utility customers in the service area. They also claim such a move is in the overall public interest due to the city having a professional public safety department that could better respond to any safety emergencies that occur on the property.

Ellicott, Falconer, and the Falconer School District are all opposed to the annexation.

Senator Catherine Young (R-Olean)

FALCONER – State Senator Cathy Young (R-Olean) will be joined by state and local officials at 10 a.m. Friday to cut the ribbon on a new traffic signal at the intersection of East Avenue and E. Main Street (Route 394) in Falconer.

Following an accident in 2016 that involved two Falconer Middle – High School students being struck by a car as they walked near the school, Senator Young helped lead efforts to get a traffic signal installed at the accident plagued intersection.

The three-color signal was installed and operational for the start of the school year on September 4.

The substation is owned by the BPU and sits on a four-acre piece of property inFalconer / Town of Ellicott, but would fall within the border of the city of Jamestown should the annexation take place.

More than 200 people were on and for a joint public hearing on the proposed annexation of the BPU’s Dow Street Substation Property. The hearing was held at Falconer Central School Monday night, June 12, 2017.

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The hearing was hosted by the Jamestown City Council, the Falconer Village Board, and the Ellicott Town Board and included a presentation from the BPU as to why the annexation was being pursued, featured arguments from legal council for both sides as to why the annexation should or should not take place, and also saw 29 members of the public offer their thoughts on the issue with none speaking in favor of the annexation.

BPU General Manager David Leathers during Monday night’s annexation public hearing.

During his presentation, BPU General Manager David Leathers told the audience that the annexation would help provide increased financial stability for the BPU because it would save an estimated $160,000 annually in tax payments.

“The BPU has faced substantial financial challenges over the past several years that have eroded net income, strained cash on hand, and caused concerns about the ability to adequately invest in critical capitol improvements,” Leathers said as part of his presentation. “The challenging New York State electrical market, coupled with the relatively stagnant economy of this area, means that the BPU must continuously find creative solutions to reduce its costs to minimize or avoid rate increases for all its customers, who again live not just in the city but also in Ellicott, Falconer and Celoron.”

Following Leathers, Attorney Kathy Bennet from Bond, Schoeneck, & King, who is serving as legal council for the city and BPU in the annexation effort, outlined the evidence in favor of the annexation, saying it meets all the legal requirements under state law and is in the overall public interest of the the affected communities.

“Stabilizing utility rates and services will encourage business development. Electric service received by customers will not change. The annexation will reduce the BPU’s tax liability, thereby reducing its operating costs and directly improving profitability and cash on hand. Since the BPU will have more resources available, it will be able to reinvest the needed capitol and infrastructure requirements and ensure continued reliable service,” Bennet said.

To counter Bennet’s claims, the legal council for the village of Falconer and Town of Ellicott, Attorney Pietra Zaffram with Harris Beach PLLC, provided a presentation that countered much of what Bennet had presented. They also brought in a former employee with the state Public Service Commission, Frank Radigan, who said that reducing the BPU bottom line by $160,000 would actually have little to no impact on future electric rates.

“After looking through their financial records and [2010 and 2015] rate cases, I conclude that they wouldn’t save a lot of money if property taxes were eliminated, and I don’t see any reason that the rates would dramatically increase because they’ve stayed stable or decreased a little over time on a historic basis,” Radigan said.

Falconer Central School Superintendent Stephen Pennhollow.

Following the presentation, the public was provided an opportunity to address the issue, with Falconer Superintendent Stephen Penhollow telling the city of Jamestown he understands their financial challenges, but doesn’t think they should try and solve them by shifting  those challenges to their neighbors.

• LISTEN TO ANNEXATION PUBLIC HEARING – PART 2: PUBLIC COMMENT

“I have no problem with the city seeking to find other ways to increase revenue. No problem whatsoever. I applaud you in those efforts,” Penhollow said, adding, “But when you’re sources of revenue are coming from our revenue sources, that is not what neighbors do and that is not how neighbors treat other neighbors and I find a bit of concern with that.”

If the annexation were to take place, the Falconer School District, Ellicott, Falconer and the County. would miss out on a total of $320,000 in annual tax payments from the BPU. In addition, the city of Jamestown and the Jamestown Public School District would each get nearly $80,000 from the BPU in the form of a payment in lieu of taxes. As a result, the net savings for the BPU would be $160,000 each year.

Another member of the audience, Jamestown Resident Chris Gardner, called the annexation effort a low-point in the city’s history.

“What we’re basically looking at here is more desperation from our city government to scrape together revenue… Obviously the legality of this, according to [Zaffram’s] presentation, clearly shows  that that within any judicial setting the Town of Ellicott and Village of Falconer would easily win. We’re talking about the ‘Dow Street’ substation, not the ‘Tiffany Avenue’ Substation,” Garnder said, alluding to the actual border between the city and the village. “It’s absurd and it’s just a low point.”

Tyler Stimson, a member of the Falconer Volunteer Fire Department, spoke out against an analysis by the city’s legal council that stated the substation would be better served by falling within the jurisdiction of the profession Jamestown Fire Department, rather than the Falconer Volunteer Fire Department.

Tempers flared at several points during the three-hour meeting, most notably when Bennet stated the annexation was in the public’s interest, partly because the property would fall under the jurisdiction of the professional Jamestown Fire Department, rather than the volunteer firefighters in Falconer. Many in the audience took exception to the volunteers being made out to be less qualified or even incapable of responding to a fire at the property.

Falconer Mayor Jim Rensel said he was pleased with the turnout, and is hoping members of the Jamestown City Council will seriously consider the long-term impact of an annexation.

“A lot of people are upset and in our opinion it’s a tax shift that will have a very significant effect on our budget,” Rensel told WRFA following the meeting. “We feel we have a pretty good case but I wish it would just stop right here with the city council. I firmly believe when I say this that I believe there are people on the city council who are against this, but I don’t think they are encouraged to speak freely, let’s put it that way.”

The hearing was required in order for the three involved government bodies to act on the annexation, which will take place within the next 90 days. Should any of the bodies vote against the annexation, the matter will then have to be settled in state appellate court.

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Audio from the April 24, 2017 meeting of the Jamestown City Council, involving the effort by the city to move forward with annexing the Dow Street Substation property, a piece of property in the Town of Ellicott/Village of Falconer that is owned by the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities.

Comments from Falconer Mayor James Rensel, Falconer School Board President Todd Beckerink, Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, and Jamestown City Council President Gregory Rabb.

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A map depicting the BPU substation property (in red) that sits adjacent to the border between Jamestown and Village of Falconer/Town of Ellicott.

JAMESTOWN – The effort by the city of Jamestown to possibly annex a piece of property in Falconer in moving forward.

During Monday night’s Jamestown City Council work session, city officials received a recommendation from Board of Public Utilities general manager David Leathers following a closed-door, executive session meeting to take the next step and draft a petition for the annexation of the Down St. Substation, which has an access road entrance on Tiffany Ave., qualifying it as being adjacent to the city border and making it eligible for possible annexation.

No formal action has been taken by the city council regarding the annexation, but city staff will now start to prepare information on the steps necessary to annex the property. Once the information is gathered and a draft petition is completed, the council will then formally vote on it, although there is no indication of when that might take place.

The BPU wants to pursue the annexation to help save money. Currently it pays $322,000 a year in taxes for the property to the county, town of Ellicott, village of Falconer and the Falconer Central School District.

If the Dow Street substation is annexed into the city, the BPU would save an estimated $162,000 a year, because instead of paying taxes – it would make an annual tax equivalency payments of $80,000 to both the city and Jamestown Public Schools.

As part of the annexation effort, the BPU also signed off on a contract with attorney Kathleen Bennett of the law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King – based out of Syracuse. The agreement will have a not-to-exceed spending limit of $40,000, with the attorney providing legal support for the process, including assisting with any legal challenges that may arise.

The Jamestown City Council during its November 2016 meeting.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council will hold its first voting session of 2017 Monday night with a full agenda, including the delivery of the mayor’s annual State of the City report. However, it remains to be seen if the report will be read aloud, or if it will simply be submitted to the council for its review.

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The mayor is required by law to deliver a State of the City on an annual basis and since first taking office in 2000, Mayor Sam Teresi had traditionally read the report to the council during its first meeting of the year. However, he bucked tradition last year and opted to just hand the report to the council members without reading or even commenting on it.  Teresi has not indicated how he plans to present the 2017 State of the City when the council convenes tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi delivering his 2015 State of the City address. The mayor opted not to verbally deliver the State of the City in 2016.

Along with various initiatives he has promoted in the past, the mayor is expected to highlight several new ones for 2017, including the annexation of a piece of property owned by the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities and which lies in the town of Ellicott, adjacent to the city line, in order to save money on tax payments to the county, town of Ellicott, the Falconer School District and the village of Falconer. The initiative, which was first brought forward last week at the monthly BPU meeting, would save the BPU an estimated $162,000 a year.

On the housing front, the mayor will likely highlight the new tax abatement incentive program aimed at redeveloping vacant or condemned properties.

WRFA will provide details of the State of the City during our Tuesday morning news. We’ll also highlight the report during our Feb. 9 edition of Community Matters when we have our monthly interview with Mayor Teresi.

PUBLIC HEARING, ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS, AND HOUSING TAX ABATEMENT PROPOSAL HIGHLIGHT AGENDA

Prior to tonight’s city council voting session, a public hearing will take place at 7:15 p.m. involving the abandonment of a city alleyway. The unnamed alley is located on the city’s east side, between Lindsey and Woodlawn Avenues. Following the hearing, the council will vote on the abandonment during its scheduled voting session.

In addition, the council will act on a home rule legislation request to the State legislature, allowing the city to move forward with the above mentioned tax abatement incentive program.

The council will also act on three separate changes to the city city code.

One change involves an amendment prohibiting residential uses on the first floor of commercial buildings located within the downtown. According to city planning and research specialist Jeff Hollern, the proposed changes effect only the C-3 and C-4 zones of the city, so it is primarily the downtown core and Brooklyn Square.

“As far as we know, there are currently no conflictions with this new ordinance, but if there were they would be grandfathered in and would not have to comply,” Hollern explained in an email. “However, if an existing first-floor residential use in the area is vacant for more than one year, they are no longer eligible and would have to comply to the new code.”

Another amendment will deal with updating the city code as it pertains to towing vehicles from private property in the city.  Under the proposed change, property owners will no longer have to call the city police department prior to having a vehicle towed and the police will no longer have to supervise the towing process. Instead, a property owners will be able to call the tow company, who is then required to inform police it is towing a vehicle and also let them know where it has been towed to.

The other change is in relation to updating the code on electronic message displays.

Monday’s city council meeting will begin at 7:15 p.m. with the public hearing and 7:30 p.m. for the voting session. Both will take place on the second floor of city hall and will be open to the public.

The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting that Falconer Central Schools held a board meeting earlier this week, with officials saying that there were a few high lead water samples in their recently released testing results.

There were a few reported instances of high lead counts in the Middle/High school and Fenner Elementary School, however, Temple Elementary School was found to be without high lead results.

Officials said that letters are already in the process of being sent to parents and signs will be hung over sinks with high measurements which state the water is not for drinking.

After necessary changes are made to fixtures, the tests will be run again on those fixtures to make sure they are acceptable.

The intersection of E. Main St. and East Avenue, where a new traffic light will soon be installed in order to increase safety for students and pedestrians at Falconer Central School. (Image from Google Maps)

FALCONER – Senator Catharine Young (R,C,I- 57th District) announced Monday that the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) has agreed to her request to install a traffic signal to address safety concerns at the intersection of East Avenue and E. Main St. (Route 394) in Falconer.

According to Senator Young, the intersection has a history of dangerous accidents. Most recently, two students suffered injuries that required hospitalization when they were struck by a car while walking near Falconer High School this past April.

After the accident, Village of Falconer Mayor James Rensel and Falconer Central School District Superintendent Stephen Penhollow wrote to Senator Young to express their concerns. At Senator Young’s urging, DOT performed a new study regarding the potential for a traffic signal to be installed where the crosswalk currently exists. This time DOT determined that “a warrant has been met for the installation of a three-color signal at this intersection.”

Local officials applauded the study’s findings and the outcome.

“We were very happy to receive this news. I’d like to thank Senator Catharine Young for her efforts,” said Mayor Rensel. “I would also like to thank Senator Young’s local representative Lisa Vanstrom, Falconer Central School Superintendent Steve Penhollow, Falconer DPW Superintendent Sam Ognibene, and Town of Ellicott Police Chief Bill Ohnmeiss. It was a great team to work with to achieve this result.”

In the coming weeks, Senator Young will be coordinating a meeting with DOT and school officials to determine what next steps and course of action will best serve the needs of all involved.

According to BPU spokesperson Becky Robbins, a transformer blew at about 5 a.m. on East Main Street in the village, near the area of the Burger King restaurant. As a result, power was out in Falconer at the four corners and east toward Kennedy including the Horton Hill area, along with Ellicott on Route 60 (N. Main St. Ext.) north of 86. The power was restored at about 7:30 a.m. As a result of the outage, Falconer schools were running on a two hour delay.

During the outage, Ellicott police and members of the Falconer volunteer fire department worked to direct traffic in the village’s main intersections.