The series, which is part of the Murray L. Bob Community Education Initiative, is a three-part educational workshop. Participants can learn all about Monarch butterflies and how to care for them. The workshops will be held on April 21st, May 25th, and July 20th at 5:30 pm.

On Saturday, April 23rd the library will be participating in the GROW Jamestown Garden Fair Earth Day Event. Library staff will provide crafts, mobile makerspace, as well as information about upcoming programs at the library.

To learn more about the Murray L. Bob Community Education Initiative, visit the library’s website at prendergastlibrary.org/bob-programs

Jamestown City Council

One resolution is to allocate $1.227 million for a Rental Rehabilitation Program. The funding is coming through the American Rescue Plan Act for jurisdictions that qualified for HOME Investment Partnerships Program allocations. This funding is in addition to what the City received in American Rescue Plan funding. A public hearing on the HOME-ARP Allocation plan will be held Monday, March 28.

Two resolutions focus on the Spring Street Parking Ramp with one using bond monies to spent $410,000 to modernize the elevator. The other resolution would be to accept a $5,000 grant from Art Services Inc. through the New York Council for the Arts for the beautification of the ramp.

Council also will review a resolution to spend $232,300 to purchase materials for a pre-engineered metal building that will be constructed on the site of the new Fleet Maintenance Facility on Washington Street. The funding comes from a state grant received in 2019.

Under American Rescue Plan funded projects, a resolution will be presented to use $500,000 in ARP funds for the West Third Street Redesign project. The initial project cost estimate was $479,605 and the resolution’s amount is meant to build in a contingency for the project. The costs include removal and replacement of driveway aprons, sidewalks, new lighting, new tree plantings, as well as landscaping the terrace.

Another ARP funded project resolution would authorize spending $185,000 to purchase a salt brine deicing system. The staff report said this system could save the city up to 10%, or over $40,000, on the City salt budget.

And council will review a resolution that would use $100,000 in ARP funds to create a Sidewalk Replacement Rebate Program. The City would offer $6 a square foot, which is an additional $3 per square feet over the normal sidewalk rebate, to replace tree damaged sidewalks. Homeowners would submit an application for the program and would be reimbursed in a similar fashion to the current sidewalk rebate program.

Public Safety Committee also will review a block party application from the James Prendergast Library as well as special event permit applications from Grow Jamestown Garden Fair Earth Day Event, Gold Star Memorial Day weekend event, and Whirlybird Festival. Public Safety also will continue a discussion on fireworks.

City Council Committee meetings start at 6:45 with the full work session being held at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the fourth floor of City Hall.

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JAMESTOWN – Jamestown Renaissance Corporation is back with its popular GROW Jamestown Garden Fair and Home Show, presented by Mikes Nursery and scheduled for Saturday, March 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Northwest Arena in downtown Jamestown.

The free event is being promoted as a one-stop shop for residents to get their home and gardens ready for the spring season.

Features of this year’s GROW Jamestown Garden Fair and Home Show include landscape designers, craft vendors, home improvement experts, kid’s craft activities, local nonprofit organizations, DIY demonstrations, prizes, food and retail vendors, gardening workshops, and live chainsaw carving.

Additionally sponsored by Lowe’s Home Improvement, The Resource Center, Stone & Outdoor Living Center, Chautauqua County RSVP, Chautauqua County Master Gardeners, Jamestown Parks, Recreation & Conservation Department, GreenUp Jamestown, and Jamestown Up Close.

For more information about the 2018 GROW Jamestown Garden Fair and Home Show, visit the event’s page at the Jamestown Renaissance Corportion’s website.

Jamestown Renaissance Corporation’s Neighborhood Project Manager Mary Maxwell and others present details from the JRC’s Housing Market Analysis and Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Review to members of the Jamestown City Council Housing Committee during the committee’s Aug. 21 meeting.

JAMESTOWN – Four target area neighborhoods have been identified as the focus for any new strategies needed to help shore up housing value and market stability in Jamestown.

The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation shared details of its recently completed Housing Market Analysis and Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Review report with members of the Jamestown City Council’s housing committee on Monday night.

Representatives from the JRC went over the report prepared by Peter Lombardi from czb LLC, which offered details on the impact recent intervention programs had on target neighborhoods over a five-year period, as well as what new neighborhoods should be focused on during the next several years.

Examples of intervention programs include the Renaissance Block Challenge, the GROW Jamestown gardening and landscape program, and the establishment of Lakeview Ave. as a state and nationally recognized historic district. Each effort was largely funded by a combination of $1.25 million in program funding from the JRC ($350,000) and private investments by the property owners ($900,000).

According to the report, the neighborhoods that benefited from intensive intervention saw the average sale price of a single-family home increase by 5 percent. However, homes in neighborhoods that saw intermediate or only a small amount of intervention saw the average sale price go down by 13 percent. The average sale for homes in neighborhoods that didn’t get any intervention saw an increase of just under 2 percent.

As a result of the study findings, the JRC said it’s next round of intervention programs will focus on four neighborhoods in the city where there is a strong market area located next to a soft or very week housing market area: The Northside/Lakeview Focus Area;  the Western Gateway Focus Area; the Hazeltine/Forest Focus Area; and the Allen Park/Hospital Focus Area.

Some individuals in attendance raised questions about the report, as well as the conclusion that further investment should be provided in areas where there is a strong housing market. Patrick Morris, executive director of CODE, questioned why the funding isn’t being applied exclusively to neighborhoods that have seen housing prices decline, rather than also using the money in areas that have stability or seen a market increase.

“Our goal is to get the best value for the money we invest in a broader sense,” explained JRC board member Leonard Faulk. “One focus that we have is how do you develop an increased tax base? Part of our goal is how to we get people to have more confidence in the future so they are willing to invest more of their own money in housing improvements. That’s why we focus on areas where property owners can also invest their own money, instead of areas where property owners have little to no money to invest.”

Another attendee questioned the return on investment, considering more than $1.25 million in total investment had been made in the past target areas, with the 5 percent increase in housing prices in only some of the targeted areas being the final result, while other areas that saw a lesser amount of investment actually saw a decrease in housing prices.

Due to time constraints, a thorough discussion on the impact of the programs couldn’t take place. However, the report will also be presented to the full city council at an upcoming work session.

The JRC will be also be posting the housing report at jamestownrenaissance.org.

The event is being organized by the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation and according to officials, the Garden Fair will feature something for everyone this year with dozens of vendors and organizations providing information and demonstrations on the latest gardening news and gardening techniques.

For more information on Jamestown Renaissance Corporation special events, please visit www.jamestownrenaissance.org or call 664-2477 ext 226.

The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation is once again looking for homes in the city, like this one on the northside, that have made an effort to beautify its neighborhood through landscaping and gardening. If you have a home you want to nominate for recognition, contact the JRC by July 13, 2012. (Photo courtesy of JRC).

JAMESTOWN – Jamestown’s gardens are in full bloom, filling neighborhoods across the city with eye-catching colors.  To acknowledge the value that these gardens and their caretakers add to the city, the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation (JRC) is seeking nominations for the second year of the ‘GROW Jamestown’ Front Garden Recognition Program.

Through July 13th, area residents are encouraged to nominate front yard gardens in the City of Jamestown that contribute to neighborhood beauty—their own garden, a neighbor’s garden, or any garden they deem worthy of recognition.  In late July, nominated gardens that are well-maintained will receive a small garden sign for public display.  With permission, a picture will be taken and catalogued on the JRC’s Facebook page.

Nominations can be made by filling out a nomination form at JRC’s Web site (jrconline.org) or calling 716-338-9889. More information on GROW Jamestown and the garden recognition program can be found on the JRC Web site, at www.jrconline.org.