Jamestown City Council

The City was awarded $150,000 through the Federal Communications Commission to hire a communications outreach coordinator to inform the community of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. Most Jamestown families are eligible for assistance, and nearly all Internet Service Providers are signed up for the discount.

According to the staff report, the communications outreach position will be on a contractual basis with no cost to the City after the grant funding has been exhausted in 2 years.
Council will hear about a proposal to make improvements to the North Main Street viaduct.

The staff report said a proposed project would install lighting, furnishings and public art in the underpass area along North Main Street. The goal is to improve access between downtown, the Riverwalk Trail, and Brooklyn Square commerical district.

The city also hopes the improvements will make the area more attractive to potential developers. While costs for lighting are still forthcoming, the staff report said that up to $150,000 in American Rescue Plan funds would be requested for the design and implementation of the project.

The Housing Committee, which meets at 6:030 p.m. tonight, will hear a discussion on the City Charter related to small livestock.

Other committees will meet at 7:00 p.m. with the full work session taking place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. All meetings are open to the public with the full work session being livedstreamed on jamestownny.gov.

The City of Jamestown, the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, and Collaborative Children’s Solutions are hosting the free event along the Riverwalk in Brooklyn Square.

Kids activities will begin at 10:00 a.m., featuring games, tie dye, face painting, and more.

At 11:00 a.m., Jamestown’s own Lucky Leprechaun will Turn the River Green.

Kids activities will continue until noon with a Downtown Scavenger Hunt taking place from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Entry forms will be available at the river event.

Officials celebrate the Riverwalk Illumination Project with the Jamestown BPU’s silo lit in the background (November 10, 2022)

The City of Jamestown has officially “flipped the switch” on the Riverwalk Illumination project.

The project, funded through Downtown Revitalization Initiative monies, lights up the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Coal Silo, Washington Street Bridge piers and abutments, and the Main Street Bridge arches over the Chadakoin River.

BPU Senior Electrical Engineer Kris Sellstrom said he remembers looking at the BPU’s silo and discussing with others what to do with it, “And how are we going to revitalize this river. As the Riverwalk started getting put in and some of the local lighting got put in there was kind of a resurgence of an idea to light up all of this great infrastructure. We came out with a few generators one night and stuck them under the silo and thought that as pretty cool. We ended up playing around a little bit. The Washington Street bridge got pulled into that and that’s probably the keynote now. When you see it tonight, I think you’ll be really surprised how beautiful that looks.”

The City of Jamestown received $10 million through the DRI in 2016.

The free event will take place from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Council President Tony Dolce said it will be located on the Riverwalk behind the National Comedy Center and Board of Public Utilities between the two pedestrian bridges from Panzarella Island to the Washington Street Bridge, “And they’ll have all kinds of fun things of games and hay rides and costumes and I’m sure candy. All that fun stuff. As you know, this year because of the Allen Park Ice Rink being rented or leased out the (Frewsburg) Soccer Club, we aren’t able to have the indoor thing that we’ve had several years there.”

The City’s lease agreement with the Frewsburg Soccer Club states that the City will have use of the former Allen Park Ice Rink for the Easter Egg Hunt and Halloween Fun Fest. Dolce said the Parks Department wanted to try something different and hold the event outdoors this year.

For more information about the event, contact the Parks Department at 716-483-7554.

County Executive PJ Wendel, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Carol Markham, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Twan Leenders

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy has kicked off an effort to certify Chautauqua County as a National Wildlife Federation Community Habitat.

Officials, including Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, as well as representatives from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium, Jamestown Public Market, and Master Gardeners gathered at an event Thursday in the South Basin area of the Jamestown Riverwalk.

CWC Ecological Restoration Manager Twan Leenders said the restoration area of the south bank of the Chadakoin River by the Board of Public Utilities is now part of the certified habitats, “Which has native plants on it. It has habitats for wildlife in it. We’re not using harmful chemicals on it. It provides all kinds of resources for native plants and animals, and those are really the criteria needed to certify an area, your backyard, a park, as an accredited wildlife habitat.”

CWC Board President Becky Nystrom said there are 98 gardens of the 400 needed are already certified in Chautauqua County.

Leenders said anyone can certify their yard by filling out an online questionnaire. He said this is also how the National Wildlife Habitat Federation tracks how many habitats are in a county, “But it could be any scale, it could be a preserve. Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s preserves certainly qualify. The city has already agreed to work with us for city parks. The county, various community partners, corporate, non-profit.. Really, it’s a very easy process but it’s really a way to collaboratively get them into the mindset that if we manage any kind of property that we manage in a way that we provide resources, a place to live, and food for native wildlife we can make this whole area greener, and better, and healthier.”

The certification checklist and link to certify for your property can be found at nwf.org/certify.

Rendering of proposed Tim Horton’s on Washington Street

The Jamestown Planning Commission reviewed an initial site plan for a new Tim Horton’s on Washington Street.

Franchise Owner Blake Tarana said the 880 square foot building at 1515 Washington Street will be the first of its kind in the United States as a drive-thru only store. The site will feature a double drive-thru, a walk-up window, and some outdoor patio seating.

The site plan requires a variance approval for parking set back. The required set back is 10-feet and the restaurant owners are requesting 5-feet to allow for a by-pass lane around the perimeter of the lot.

The variance request will appear before the Jamestown Zoning Board of Appeals at its June 1st meeting.

The Planning Commission is then expected to approve the final site plan at its June meeting.

Comments from the Planning Commission included a suggestion by Commission member Mike Laurin that bike racks be added to the design due to its proximity to the bike path and Riverwalk.

Jamestown Board of Public Utilities board meeting

The Board of the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities has voted to eliminate the Energy Efficiency Program Coordinator position.

The civil service position was created in 2009 for the purpose of development, implementation and administration of energy efficiency incentives and rebate programs in the BPU territory. Dan Reynolds had held that position since 2009.

General Manager Dave Leathers said work under the title has changed significantly over the last 13 years with the workload changing to system enhancements versus customer rebate programs, “The system level improvements are LED street lights that are put throughout the community, advanced metering infrastructure projects, anything that we’ll work on related to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, so the difficulty with a utility position similar to city positions is this is a civil service position that has minimum qualifications.”

Leathers said due to those qualifications they can’t just place the current employee in another job. He also addressed a concern raised by citizen Doug Champ about the elimination of the title ahead of New York State trying to “electrify everything,” “If we’re looking at electrification of buildings and we need to help people with electric services, that’s likely an electrical engineer, not the individual that’s qualified for the Energy Efficiency Coordinator position with an Environmental Sciences degree. So it’s a very difficult decision that’s been made but it’s necessary decision for the utility.”

The BPU board also approved the purchase of two new garbage trucks at a cost of $449,650. These vehicles will replace a 2015 and a 2017 garbage truck which will be sold. Leathers said they do not expect delivery of the new trucks until 2023.

Leathers added the City Riverwalk Lighting project has begun with light units being installed on the BPU’s silo. He thanked the Jamestown Fire Department for their assistance in hosing down the silo in order to clean the surface.

CCIDA CEO, Deputy County Executive Mark Geise and Chautauqua County Partnership Economic Development Specialist Kristy Kathman Show Proposed Upgrades to Chadakoin River Basin (October 5, 2021)

The City of Jamestown will receive $1.2 million for upgrades to the Chadakoin River Basin through the State’s Regional Economic Development Council Initiative.

The state funding of $1,280,661 will be used to design and construct enhancements along the Chadakoin River. These include a signature garden, mural, tiered seating space, placemaking items, a kayak launch, dock, and welcome center for visitors. Funding also will be used toward improving navigation for boaters with obstacles in the river removed and navigation aids installed.

The goal of the project is to increase public access to the water and spur economic activity in downtown Jamestown.

Jamestown also was awarded $99,000 to do a Comprehensive plan. The new plan will address community and economic development, housing, health and well-being, equity and inclusion, and energy and the environment.

The Northwest Arena‘s TheZone project also received $450,000 from the Regional Economic Developmental Council Initiative.

That projects is working on creating a new indoor activities venue for children in downtown Jamestown at the Arena that encourages kids to explore STEAM principles through physical activity.

DPW Director Jeff Lehman said with the capital projects, he feels like “a kid at Christmas who gets a bunch of toys but still wants more,” “There’s a considerable amount of equipment in here, but there’s not that much equipment in here, in my opinion. This is a one time shot where we’re getting a considerable amount of money and I think we should be trying to pick up some of this equipment, try to catch up.. Tony will tell you.. Marie will tell you.. We’ve been playing from behind the eight-ball for quite some time.”

Lehman said that two of the sidewalk plows the city uses were bought in 1979. Fleet Manager Pat Monaghan said his biggest concerns are for the city’s dump trucks, but even if they ordered the four new ones proposed in the budget by January 1st, vendors are telling him they’re two years out from delivery.

Council Member Marie Carrubba said she supports using the American Rescue Plan funds toward the needed equipment replacement and infrastructure improvements. She said she would prefer buying now to avoid bonding later.

Council Member At Large Kim Ecklund asked Lehman if he requested the addition of the Assistant Director of Public Works position. He replied that he sees it as a “placeholder” position for whenever he’s ready to retire so someone could be trained to fill his position. The assistant is proposed to be funded at a $75,000 starting salary using American Rescue Plan monies.

Lehman said he’s concerned the budget has summer laborer positions being funded using CHIPS, or Consolidated Highway Improvement Projects, monies, “Which is something we tried this year because we didn’t budget any money. I’m just afraid now you’re going to pick away that CHIPS money and if this starts to happen it’ll never change. You know what I mean? And that could be two streets right there that aren’t going to get done in the future by doing this. So in my opinion, it’s a concern I have.”

Lehman added one of the items not funded was $400,000 in roof repairs, which included the roof repair for Fire Station 4 in his request.

Parks Manager Dan Stone said the inclusion of three new laborers using American Rescue Plan funds would help with increased Park maintenance, “The addition of the Riverwalk and the Bike Trail are fantastic. And our department can build anything, any playground you give us, any building, any trail. Maintaining them is the hardest part to do. So those two entities together basically become their own park. And because of that they’re not getting the attention that I feel that they should have. I don’t want to sacrifice quality of what we have here in the city for quantity of work.”

Stone said Bergman Park alone should have two full-time employees with all the activities and amenities there now, not even including what’s proposed in the future. He added more manpower is needed as projects have been added to the department’s work list like the mowing of delinquent properties, saying one property hasn’t been mowed in two months.

Stone said the city’s parks system saw a big increase in use during the pandemic. He said a number of new projects are proposed to be funded using American Rescue Plan funds including a frisbee disc golf course and a $250,000 dog park at Bergman Park, “For the last two years, three years, we haven’t been using field one. That’s the first one as you come in, the second entrance across from City View into Bergman. I figured that would be a great location for a dog park. That way it’s close to the sidewalk itself, so even on those nice winter days we have, it could still be accessible.”

A new playground at Nordstrom Park has proposed ARP funding as well. Stone said that park is home to the City’s youth rec baseball league and the future adult kickball league. He said the city is also proposing bringing back the summer playground program at four park locations.

The building of a splash pad had been mentioned in budget presentations by Mayor Eddie Sundquist but a closer reading of the budget book shows that project is not being funded using general fund or lost recovery monies under the American Rescue Plan at this time.

Finance Committee Chair and Council Member At Large Kim Ecklund expressed frustration during Monday’s budget session that the budget as presented isn’t transparent, “I literally went through this entire budget line item by line item, and what you sent me, writing down what we expended, and trying to find stuff. And I’m experienced with budgets. I can’t imagine how some of these people feel. It’s terrible. [Comptroller Thompson responds, “Thank you”] It’s not your fault. I’m not blaming you 100%, but you’re expecting us to make multi-million dollar decisions with ARPA and with all this stuff and I gotta bug you a million times for information. That’s not fair to us. That’s not fair to you. And that’s not fair to the public.”

Ecklund’s comments came after she made multiple requests at the meeting to Comptroller Ryan Thompson to provide breakout costs for the building mechanic’s overtime, summer laborer salaries, and other salary related items.

Four resolutions related to American Rescue Plan funds, including two new positions, have been postponed for discussion until November. Ecklund said this is due in part to how ARP funds are co-mingled into the proposed budget, which won’t be voted on until November. She also requested the administration provide a detailed budget of how the ARP funds will be spent.

Comptroller Thompson said he had attended the New York State Conference of Mayors recently and that no other city or village there had started spending their ARP funds yet, “And really, the advice was to slow down and take your time because there’s a lot of things that could change in the next year or so between the infrastructure bill and everything else going on.”

Thompson reported out on third quarter financials, saying sales tax is continuing to perform well. He said sales tax receipts are up $271,000 for this year, or up 13.67% from 2020. He said revenues were up $328,000 from before the pandemic in 2019, or up 17%.

However, Thompson said of the revenues for the parking meters, parking violations, and the parking ramps and garages, only 55.5% has been collected, “Our revenues for our parking garages are still not enough to cover the operating costs between all of the clean-up inside and all of the payroll and that kind of thing. We’re not even matching our expenditures, so we’re not turning a profit and that doesn’t include our debt service on them, so concerning for sure.”

Mayor Sundquist said the city is looking at possible costs savings through automating the parking garages. Thompson said expenditures are in good shape overall with health insurance remaining on budget.

The plan was funded by Chautauqua County, the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, the City of Jamestown, Board of Public Utilities, as well as three private investors.

CCIDA Executive Director Mark Geise said C&S Engineers and Harrison Studio were hired to do the study on how to bring activities and people to the Chadakoin River between McCrea Point Park and the Warner Dam, “We’ve got a plan that has – these are the types of projects we need to undertake, this is what they look like, this is how much they cost, these are the types of funding sources we can go after to implement them. And again, it’s to capitalize our our existing assets, what public improvements need to be made, what type of activities, festivals, etc. should we be bringing in?”

Partnership for Economic Growth’s Kristy Kathman said a Consolidated Funding Application submitted by the City of Jamestown to New York State would help fund projects on the North Basin side, “The signature gardens, which would be on that side over there [west of Comedy Park] was part of that. Then, we put in for a mural here [concrete wall along north basin path], because even though it’s not in the plan, it’s a great place for public art and it would go down this way. And the tiered seating would down, further down on this lawn [large grass area along north basin path] like Crystal said where people could just enjoy and sit or maybe have a small event.”

Other items in the CFA included placemaking things like swings and benches. Kathman said while the north basin will be more passive activity, the south basin will include features such as a kayak launch, a dock for a future water taxi, and a watercraft rental facility in the future.

Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said the next steps are to have the Planning Commission review and accept the plan, followed by City Council approving the plan as well.