The Jamestown City Council held its September voting session Monday night on-location at Chadakoin Park.

JAMESTOWN – In spite of the cool temperatures and noticeable winds the Jamestown City Council held its September voting session outdoors at Chadakoin Park on Monday night.

Among the items that came up, Shawn Shilling – the president of Jamestown Professional Firefighters Local 137 – spoke to the council to draw attention to two issues of concern with local firefighters. One was the ticketing of vehicles parked downtown belonging to firefighters when they are on an emergency call. He also voiced concerns about the conditions at the downtown fire station (Fire Station 1) since a leak developed in the summer due to construction work on its roof. The construction work is part of the $1.66 million Tracy Plaza Phase 2 construction project.

Also during the meeting, a resident on Eagle St. appeared and voiced concern about a nuisance property that neighbors wanted demolished. The concerns included a man living in a tent on the property who claimed he had purchased it for $1 while in jail from another inmate. The property was scheduled for demolition until last week, when city councilman Andrew Liuzzo requested a halt to demolition on behalf of the purported owner.

Local landlord’s association president Harold Whitford thanked the Jamestown City Council and mayor Sam Teresi for the appointment of a new constable on Monday nigh at Chadakoin Park.

And a resident from the Chadakoin Park neighborhood raised concerns about tractor trailers that deliver to a nearby parts store. The trucks have reportedly been making delivers and leaving their trucks running during overnight hours, affecting the 11th street residents who live next to our near the store.

Among the items that were voted on was the unanimous approval of an appointment of a new constable to fill a full a vacant opening. Local landlords have been publicly requesting the appointment since the Spring. The council also approved  a change order for one of the contractors involved in the Tracy Plaza Phase 2 construction project, though councilman Liuzzo voted against it, saying that because of the leak problems in the fire station and the Police Station a year earlier, he didn’t feel the company – Greenman-Pederson – should be paid any more money. The amount was $2,850 for the Tracy Plaza Phase 2 Renovations and Master Plan Design contract.

The outdoor meeting was scheduled as an outreach effort by the council, to hold meetings in specific areas of the city so and give residents in those neighborhoods a chance to participate without having to go to city hall. Council President Marie Karrubba apologized for the weather, noting the forecast had called for fairly pleasant condition until 9 p.m., but the cool weather arrived a bit earlier than expected.  The weather didn’t prevent about a dozen community members from attending, along with nearly a dozen people playing games of pickup in the nearby basketball courts.

More detail on Monday’s meeeting during the WRFA Tuesday Morning News Update at 7, 8, and 9 a.m.

Jamestown City Hall on Third St. is surrounded by Tracy Plaza, which is undergoing another renovation phase following action by the Jamestown City Council on April 27.

JAMESTOWN – The City of Jamestown is experiencing more leaking roof problems at City Hall.

On Monday night during the Jamestown City Council work session it was learned that a portion of the Fire Department – located below Tracy Plaza at City Hall – has been damaged due to rain water leaking into the area. Officials believe the leak is the result of construction that is currently underway at the Plaza.

The leak was discovered near the start of this month and city officials say the general contractor for the project – Patterson-Stevens, was responsible for the leak. Officials have also said the contractor is to blame for another leak that broke out a year ago at the Jamestown Police Headquarters – also underneath Tracy Plaza. While that problem has been remediated, the police station remains closed to the public.

During Monday’s work session, city councilman Andrew Liuzzo asked why no one is monitoring the work conditions and was informed by city public works director Jeff Lehman that Greenman Pederson Inc. has been hired and is responsible for on-site inspections, but added that it is sometimes difficult to predict where water leaks may occur.

The Tracy Plaza renovation is the result of a $1.48 million state grant the city received in 2016 as part of Phase 2 of the renovation effort. Six years ago the city began looking into renovating the plaza, which hadn’t seen any major work since it was first built in the early 1970s.

The fund will be used to receive donations towards the cost of the replacement of the sea wall and construction of a kayak/canoe launch, a boardwalk and a new amenities building in Lucille Ball Memorial Park.

Once enough funding is secured, the project will be led by Greenman-Pederson, Inc. Engineering and Construction Services.

Donations can be sent to:

Village of Celoron
P.O. Box 577
Celoron, NY 14720-0577
(with the notation of “Park Improvement Fund”)

Jamestown City Hall on Third St. is surrounded by Tracy Plaza, which is undergoing another renovation phase following action by the Jamestown City Council on April 27.

JAMESTOWN – The next phase of upgrading for Tracy Plaza has been given the go ahead by the Jamestown City Council.

On Monday night the council approved a resolution to hire Greenman-Pedersen firm to provide engineering and architectural design services for phase 2 of the Tracy Plaza upgrade process. The city will pay the firm – which is based in Buffalo but also has a satellite office in Jamestown – no more than $205,000 for its work. The cost of hiring the firm, as well as the $1 million needed for the total cost of the project – will be covered by money from a $3 million bonding initiative the city council approved earlier this year.

According to city council president Greg Rabb, the upgrade of Tracy Plaza has been a focus of the city for some time.

“It’s not only a plaza but it’s also a roof. Not only is the parking garage under there, but the police department and the fire department is also under it. So keeping that up to date so that we don’t have leaks – and we’ve already had some – so we need to have it fixed. Also, if you look at the community events that take place here… it’s an important community gathering spot as well. So it’s important that we do this upgrade.”

Last year the city completed phase 1 of the plaza upgrade, which included the removal of the parapet walls that surrounded the plaza and replacing them with open-air railing. Officials say this was necessary because not only were the walls starting to crumble, but the walls were also causing drainage problems.

In other city council news, lawmakers approved the purchase of three new F-550 Dump Trucks from Ed Shults Ford in Jamestown at a cost not to exceed $152,615. Funding for that purchase also comes from the $3 million bonding initiative.

The council also approved a resolution hiring the Greenman Pederson construction company out of Buffalo to begin renovation work to Tracey Plaza. The $66,000 project is the first phase of a million dollar, multi-phase effort to upgrade and replace aging infrastructure on the plaza.