Mayor Eddie Sundquist, Jamestown Area Central Labor Council Representative George Spitale, IBEW Local 106 Business Manager Dave Wilkinson

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Area Central Labor Council announced on Friday that all essential workers in the community were this year’s recipient of the George Ritzer Memorial Labor Award.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist was joined by the IBEW Local 106’s Dave Wilkinson, along with former city councilman and two-time Ritzer award recipient George Spitale, in announcing the award in the lobby of city hall late Friday morning.

The award is given to an individual or group who volunteers and contributes toward the labor movement, and volunteers time to community organizations.

It is Named in honor of George Ritzer, who served as past president of the Labor Council for over 20 years.

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JAMESTOWN – The Labor Day weekend is upon us and there’s a variety of activities and events in store to keep people busy all weekend long, including the 39^th annual Greater Jamestown Labor Day Festival will be held Sunday, April 2 at Bergman Park.

The day begins with the annual Dan Feather Memorial 5K run, organized by Chautauqua Striders, with registration beginning at 8 a.m.

At noon the festival events begin, providing residents with a day of food, music, and other events for the whole family, including a professional wrestling event beginning at 1 p.m. and provided by Southern Tier Wrestling.

At 4 p.m. the Jamestown Area Central Labor Council AFL-CIO will present former City Councilman and retired DPW employee George Spitale with the George Ritzer Labor Award.

The day will wrap up with a fireworks extravaganza, beginning shortly before 9 p.m.

There is no cost for the event, although there is a $5 fee for those who wish to park their vehicles in the Bergman park parking lot.

All money raised is used to directly fund festival activities and support the host of non-profit community service agencies who participate.

Attendees should also keep in mind that all tobacco products, including chewing tobacco and e-cigarettes, are prohibited at the park under city law.

The use of private fireworks and sparklers are prohibited in the City of Jamestown and, thus, the Labor Day Festival. Pet owners are advised to leave their pets at home for both their safety and the safety of others.

For more details on the Labor Day Festival, visit the city of Jamestown website’s Labor Day Festival page.

The vote came after councilman and finance committee chair Tony Dolce announced that state officials have given the city reasonable assurance that Albany would be able to provide $946,679 in additional aid to bring the budget into balance.

Other than adding the additional state aid to the budget, no other amendments to Mayor Sam Teresi’s initial budget proposal were presented.

The budget includes a proposed tax levy increase of $167,712, or 1.1 percent. That increase brings the city to its constitutional tax limit of $16,012,000 – meaning the city couldn’t raise taxes any higher, even if it wanted to.  The tax rate for property owners in Jamestown will go up by 21 cents per thousand, which is equal to a 0.9 percent hike from the current year. However, because the increase is below the state-imposed 2 percent tax cap, property owners will be able to get a rebate at the end of 2018 from the state.

The inclusion of the additional state aid at the eleventh hour didn’t come as a surprise to city officials, who have said since the start of the budget process that there really was no other way for the city to balance its books for next year.  That’s because in addition to reaching its constitutional taxing limit, the city is also operating on a bare-bones budget that includes minimum staffing in police, fire, and public work –  the three divisions that comprise the bulk of city spending when factoring in wages, benefits, and costs related to retirees who are no longer part of the city workforce.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi at the Oct. 16, 2017 city council work session.

Following Monday’s voting session Jamestown Mayor Teresi cautioned that although the state has given reasonable assurance for the additional aid, it doesn’t mean that’s a guarantee.

“I want to make it abundantly clear, they have not come out and indicated that this money is there,” Teresi said. “But after reviewing our budget again on a line-by-line basis, and working with us throughout the course of the year, they reviewed the budget and came back to us today through the division of budget, indicating, ‘We think that you can increase that line item for unrestricted, per-capita state aid by another $946,000.'”

The mayor added that the state is willing to help out Jamestown because it is faced with unique circumstances not found in other cities, including binding contracts with workers and state aid that is lower than what other cities of a comparable size receive, due to the city-owned electric plant being factored into the aid formula.

“They recognize these unique and extraordinary circumstances. They’ve also continued to let us know that the city of Jamestown has done more on the front from a restructuring, downsizing, collaboration, sharing of services, regionalization of services than virtually any place in the state and in their words that they shared with us, we’ve done more with less than virtually any other city in the state,” Teresi said.

While the city was able to finally balance the spending plan, both the the mayor and the city council have been criticized for failing to present a balanced budget at the start of the process, which is required under the language in the city charter. But Dolce said it there really was no other cuts that could be made, and it would be irresponsible to include the additional state aid before hearing back from state officials.

“I think we have to look more at increasing revenue. I think the process of going through the budget line-by-line, it wasn’t what else could we cut, it was what could we bring back. We have equipment needs, we have building needs, we have agency needs,” Dolce said. “People came to the council meetings – departments and agencies – looking for more money, not helping us with areas that we could downsize even further.”

Prendergast Library Executive Director Tina Scott (seated right) meets with the Jamestown City Council on Nov. 13 to discuss the city’s 2018 budget and its impact on the library. Despite concerns expressed by Prendergast officials and supporters, the city council opted not to restore $50,000 in aid for the library.

The final budget also removes $50,000 in funding for the James Prendergast Library, cutting the city’s contribution in half from what it provided this year. That’s despite a push by library officials and supporters earlier this month requesting that the funding be restored so the library can continue to provide services at its current level.

Dolce said that he did try to restore the money, but couldn’t find any support from his colleagues or the administration because the money simply wasn’t there.

City councilman Brent Sheldon was the only members to vote against the budget, saying that because the state is facing an estimated $4 billion deficit next year, it wouldn’t be responsible for the city to expect additional aid from Albany. Councilman George Spitale was absent.

For Jamestown City Council at-large,  the candidates are Republican incumbent Kim Ecklund along with Republican newcomers Michael Laurin and Andrew Luzzo. On the Democratic side, incumbent and current council president Greg Rabb is running again, along with Democratic newcomer Vanessa Weinert. Also running for an at large seat is Democrat Robert Whitney, who had previously served on the Chautauqua County Legislature.

• Q&A with Jamestown City Council Candidates: Part 1
• Q&A with Jamestown City Council Candidates: Part 2

Because at-large councilman George Spitale, a Democrat, has opted not to run for reelection, there will be at least one new member on the city council.

The two contested ward races on the city council are in Wards 2 (north side) and Ward 4 (west side).

Ward 2

– Anthony Dolce* (R)
– Joseph Scapelitte (D)

• Q&A with Jamestown Ward 2 City Council Candidates

Ward 4
– Marie Carrubba* (D)
– Richard Elardo (R)

City council members who are running for reelection unopposed are:

Ward 1
– Brent Sheldon (R)

Ward 3
– Victoria James (D)

Ward 5
– Maria Jones* (D)

Ward 6
– Thomas Nelson* (D, WF)

There is no mayoral race this year. The next mayor race in the city is set to take place in 2019.

For more information on Election Day 2017, visit www.VoteChautauqua.com.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 9 p.m.

During Monday’s city council meeting, the council was scheduled to act on a resolution to abandon a portion of Osborne Street between Wilton Ave. and a piece of residential property. The portion of the street is a “paper street” with no roadway existing, but the city still owning and being legally responsible for the strip of property.

But at the public hearing on the abandonment, several residents in that neighborhood shared their concerns with the city council, saying that they didn’t think the city should abandon the property without first addressing drainage problems in that area.

Following the hearing councilman George Spitale (D-At Large), who also chairs the council’s Public Works committee, suggested the council table the resolution and put into writing its commitment to address the problem before moving forward and approving the resolution.

Falconer Mayor James Rensel (standing) addresses the Jamestown City Council during its June 19 work session. The mayor has become a regular fixture at city council meetings as he tries to convince council members to back out of a plan to annex a piece of city property located in the village. Rensel also spoke to the council during its June 26 voting session as well as this week’s work session.

JAMESTOWN – The Mayor of Falconer was once again in Jamestown City Hall Monday night to voice his opposition to the city’s effort to annex the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities’ Dow Street Substation property.

Mayor James Rensel spoke to the council during its regular work session, criticizing members for being unwilling to speak out against or even openly discussing the pros and cons of the annexation effort.

Rensel also challenged statements made by Mayor Sam Teresi and City Council President Greg Rabb following the council’s June 26 voting session, when the two said that they have not encountered strong opposition against the annexation from city residents.

“Why do we get into public service? To share and support our ideas and to listen to the people we represent when they say ‘no.’ It’s my opinion, and a lot of other people’s opinions looking from the outside in at this, that there are a lot of [city residents] saying ‘no’ and if you’re not hearing about it, I’d be very surprised,” Rensel said, adding, “This city council does not get to the public discourse in my opinion. This city council is accomplished at following directions of others, it seems to me.”

Rensel also said that during a public hearing on June 12 that was open to both Falconer and Ellicott residents as well as Jamestown residents, no one spoke in favor of the annexation, including five city residents who spoke out against it.

Several council members took exception to Rensel’s criticism, including at large councilman George Spitale.

“Every meeting you come to you’ve insulted somebody and then you want us to meet you half way on something? What do you expect to accomplish?” Spitale asked following Rensel’s comments, though Rensel was not given the opportunity to respond.

A map depicting the BPU substation property (in red) that sits in the village of Falconer/Town of Ellicott, adjacent to the border with Jamestown.

Later in the meeting councilman Tony Dolce, the longest serving member of city council, also offered a more leveled response to Rensel’s comments. Dolce said that he understands the Falconer mayor is trying to represent his constituency, but added that the city council members are also doing what they think is right for their own constituency.

“I understand your position and I respect that. You’re here to represent your constituents and I can appreciate that. We also have to represent our constituents and I can honestly tell you that I know all of us have gone door to door over the last few weeks getting petitions for this year’s elections. I went to nearly 80 myself, and I never had even one person ask the question. It never came up,” Dolce said. “It’s a very difficult and complex issue. It’s one that I think most people – unless they delve into it and really look at it – don’t understand it. I’ve had to answer a few questions about it, what it is and what it isn’t. We understand the complexity of it. We understand the sensitivity of it. We understand, obviously from your point of view, what it could mean and the impact it could possibly have.”

Councilman Tom Nelson also offered his thoughts.

“I think we know there’s two sides to it. I did the same thing as councilman Dolce, going door-to-door to get signatures for my petition. I did get one person who was opposed to it but the vast majority said, ‘We’ve got to do this’…. but they’re not going to come out to meetings and cheer this on. They’re quietly saying, ‘We have to do this.'”

Also responding was Rabb, who said that while council members may not spend a lot of time discussing issues during voting sessions, much of the discussion and even some debate will occur during a committee meeting or work session. Mayor Teresi also came to the defense of council members, saying that regardless of party affiliation, all council members he’s worked with over the years have always discussed the issues and have worked to make the best decisions on behalf of their constituents.

Since the city first announced it would pursuing the annexation of the BPU property in Falconer, Mayor Rensel and others from the town of Ellicott and Falconer School District have attended city council meetings urging them to stop the effort, calling the annexation a tax shift that would only hurt relationships between the city and its neighbors in the town and village.

• RELATED: Community Matters – James Rensel, Patrick McLaughlin and Todd Beckerink Discuss Annexation

The city is pursuing the annexation because it would result in the BPU saving an estimated $160,000 each year by no longer having to pay $320,000 in taxes to the village, town, school district and county. If the annexation were to take place and the property was made part of the city, the BPU would instead make a payment in lieu of taxes of about $80,000 to both the city of Jamestown and Jamestown School District.

The city, town and village are all required to vote on the annexation prior to Sept. 12. If any one of the three votes differently than the other two on the matter, the issue will then have to be settled in State Appellate Court.

According to the Chautauqua County Board of Elections, 14 candidates submitted petitions to run for the nine city council seats, with six of those candidates vying for the three at-large seats. In addition, three of the six ward seats will also be contested.

Contested races for the nine council  seats include:

At Large – Incumbent and current City Council President Gregory Rabb (D), incumbent Kim Ecklund (R), Michael Laurin (R), Andrew Liuzzo (R), Vanessa Weinert (D), and Robert Whitney (D). Current at large council member George Spitale is not seeking reelection.

Ward 1 – Incumbent Brent Sheldon (R) is facing challenger James Walton (D).

Ward 2 – Incumbent Tony Dolce (R) is facing challenger Joseph Scapelitte (D).

Ward 4 – Incumbent Marie Carrubba (D) is facing challenger Richard Elardo (R).

Incumbents running unopposed include Vicki James (D-Ward 3), Maria Jones (D-Ward 5), and Tom Nelson (D-Ward 6).

There is no mayoral  race for this year, with  the next mayoral election set for 2019.

On Monday night the Jamestown City Council approved an amendment to the city code that bans smoking both cigarettes and e-cigarettes, along with the use of all other tobacco related products, from all city parks and public lands. That not only includes any and all areas of the various parks in the city, but also in any city-owned parking facilities and/or grounds, or while traveling in or operating any equipment and/or vehicles owned or leased by the city.

The fine for smoking on any city property will be $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second offense and $250 for the third or subsequent offenses.

The council voted 6 to 1 in favor of the amendment, with at-large councilman George Spitale voting against the measure, while both city council president Greg Rabb and Ward 5 council woman Maria Jones were absent.

Spitale said he made a decision to vote against he measure after hearing from constituents who were against the ban because it infringed on their rights.

“I received quite a few calls about it from veterans,” Spitale said following the vote. “One of the comments was, ‘I donated to the Veterans Park project and now you’re telling me I can’t go to that park, light a cigarette, smoke it, field strip and then put it in my pocket? And if I do I’m going to get a $50 fine?'”

“Another guy said we’re playing the role of big brother, like [former New York City Mayor Michael] Bloomberg did. Pretty soon the city will be telling us what size soda we should drinking,” Spitale said, alluding to New York City’s Sugary Drinks Portion Cap Rule of 2013.

Spitale also said he didn’t support ticketing and imposing a fine on people who broke the law because he felt the city police have more important things to focus on.

“We have enough problems in this city where the police don’t need to be arresting people for smoking,” he said.

Ken Dahlgren with the Tri-County Tobacco Coalition.

Prior to the vote, two members of the public addressed the city council, saying they supported the measure. Ken Dahlgren with the Tri-County Tobacco Control Coalition said he supports the ban because it would help to improve public health. 

“Recent Surgeon General reports have shown that there really is no safe level of second hand smoke, including exposure to outdoor second-hand smoke,” Dahlgren said. “I know sometimes we’re not even aware of the kinds of events that many people can’t attend [because of second hand smoke]. I know I can’t attend the city’s annual Labor Day Festival when there’s the amount of smoking that there is because it physically makes me ill.”

The only other person to publicly comment on the proposed ban was Shelly Wells with the Chautauqua County Health Network, who said that the smoking leads to a variety of health problems and given that the county has one of the highest rates of tobacco users in the state, the community needs to do what it can to try and reduce those numbers.

The tobacco ban will include the use of cigars; pipes; and cigarettes, including electronic cigarettes and vapor devices; and chewing tobacco. The ban will take effect immediately.

On Monday night the committee discussed the proposed $11 million Jackson Spring housing complex, which would include 45 apartments, 14 of which would be two-bedroom and the rest would be single bedroom. If built, the proposed development would be located on Spring St., between 8th and Crossman Streets.  Currently, the site where the complex is being proposed has two vacant and condemned properties which city officials say are an eyesore for the neighborhood and a liability for the city.

The project is being developed by The NRP Group, with assistance from CODE Inc., which would manage the complex once completed.

Housing committee chair and city councilwoman Marie Carrubba (D-Ward IV) said that the project is something that is desperately needed on the North Side.

“If this project goes forward this is the first time in probably in over 25 years we’ll see [this kind of financial investment] take place in that part of the city,” Carrubba told her fellow council members while updating them on the project during the council’s full work session.

Carrubba also said that a recent community informational meeting on the project took place on Thursday night at Euclid Gardens, which is operated by CODE. She said the residents who attended that meeting seeming to be more at ease with the project once they learned more details.

Marie Carrubba, city housing committee chair

“Several council members – Tony Dolce, Kim Ecklund, Greg Rabb, Vicki James and myself – were there. We felt that the neighborhood and residents who live in that area seemed to be more responsive to the project, more in favor of it.”

According to Carrubba, developers said the apartments will be for middle income individuals and rent would be between $700 and $800. The development would also be on the tax rolls, infusing new property tax revenue for the city.

LACK OF COMMUNICATION FRUSTRATES PUBLIC, NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS

During the January city council voting session, more than a dozen residents attended to voice their concern with the proposed development, especially since no details on the project had been released. They also voiced concern that the development could be similar to the Appleyard Terrace housing development on Second St., which is intended to help low income families. During that meeting, it was learned that a small meeting had in fact taken place, although the developers did not inform everyone in the neighborhood, nor city officials or the general public.

The meeting on Thursday night was also not publicly posted, and some community members apparently were not even notified until the day the meeting was to take place. City councilman George Spitale (D-At Large) said Monday night that he was also not informed of the meeting until Thursday. The lack of communication by CODE and NRP has been noted, with the Jamestown Post-Journal even printing an editorial on Sunday, criticizing the developers for a lack of communication.

The developers of the complex are still working on securing funding and the project is still in the early phases. If the proper funding can be secured, Carrubba said additional informational meetings will take place so the public can learn more about the project.

Carrubba said representatives from CODE and NRP will also be at the next Housing Committee meeting, scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22 on the fourth floor of city hall. It will be open to the public.

On Friday, Jan. 1 the Jamestown City Council held its first meeting of the year, which focused mostly on approving mayoral appointments as well as appointing the council president and committee chairs for the new term.

Councilman Gregory Rabb (D, At Large) will once again serve as president, making 2016 the ninth consecutive year he’s held the post. The committee chairs will also remain the same as last year, with Tony Dolce (R, Ward 2) serving as Finance chair, Marie Carrubba (D, Ward 4) serving as Housing chair, Maria Jones (D, Ward 5) serving as Public Safety chair, and George Spitale (D, At Large) serving as public works chair. The only new member to join the council is Victoria James (D, Ward 3), who defeated Alphonso Pagan (R) in November’s general election.

During the New Year’s Day meeting, Rabb also took time to outline the council’s agenda for 2016. Among the items he mentioned was the recommendation to consolidate the Jamestown Police Department with the County Sheriff’s Office.

Jamestown City Council President Gregory Rabb

“I ask that we continue to work cooperatively to achieve potential savings in the way we police our community by implementing the recommendations of the City/County task force while always keeping public safety our number one concern,” Rabb said in prepared statement to the council and other city officials in attendance.

As for public safety, the council president said the focus needs to continue to be on the ongoing drug epidemic sweeping the region, treating it more as a health issue.

“I ask that we continue to work with our public and private sector partners by approaching the current national drug epidemic as first and foremost a public health crisis destroying friends and families alike, potentially sapping the strength of our community. We need to continue to work to find a way to provide for a local residential treatment center,” he said.

TROUBLED FINANCIAL OUTLOOK FOR 2016 AND BEYOND

Rabb did not specifically mention the city’s current financial crisis, which was brought to the forefront near the end of last year when the council approved a 2016 spending plan that all but reaches the city’s constitutional taxing limit. In addition, the city used its remaining fund balance to help close a budget gap and it appears there will be little to no additional aid coming in from Albany.  So unless new revenue sources can be found or the city’s tax base sees significant growth during the next several months, Jamestown will be in financial dire straits for 2017.

Some in the community have already hinted at the troubles that could come with financial instability – with the possibility of a state control board coming in to oversee city operations.Rabb told WRFA following Friday’s meeting he is aware of the possibility, and the council will do all it can to see that it doesn’t happen.

“The only thing I can assure you of is that the council is well aware of that,” Rabb said. “If anybody – other than the mayor – is aware of the potential for a control board, it’s us. We’re going to be doing our best to not to have that happen. But I can’t make any guarantees. Hopefully this will be good year for us with revenue sources and expenses, but I can’t guarantee anything. We’re going to be working very hard and monitoring expenses to make sure we don’t find ourselves in that situation.”

The City Council’s first work session of 2016 will take place Monday with various committees meeting starting at 7 p.m. The full council work session is at 7:30 p.m. in the mayor’s conference room on the 4^th floor of city hall. It is open to the public.