The project is being proposed by Citizen’s Opportunity for Development & Equality Inc. – (CODE) and The NRP Group – which would be the company used to build  the complex.

The report says that even though the proposal did not receive an award in this year’s unified funding round, it will have the opportunity to work with the state agency to address technical deficiencies in its application and reapply next year for funding.

This was the second year CODE had applied for funding.

The Jackson Spring project is being proposed to be constructed along North Main and Spring streets and would have included 36 units, with 28 one bedroom and eight two-bedroom apartments.  A portion of the complex would also be the new home for Southwestern Independent Living Center.

Ronald Reichardt shares his concerns about dilapidated houses and the potential for arson during the March 27 meeting of the Jamestown City Council.

JAMESTOWN – Several members of the public were on hand for Monday Night’s Jamestown City Council meeting, with several speaking during the public comment portion of the meeting to share their concerns about the recent arsons in the city, along with fears that more could be on the way.

Four different residents from Spring St. spoke to the council to share their support for the $12 million Jackson Spring apartment, which is being proposed by CODE, Inc. to demolish 9 dilapidated and condemned houses and building a 40+ residence complex there for primarily physically disabled residence.

Ronald Reichardt of Spring St. said he lives across the street from two abandoned houses and is afraid they could be the next target for arson.

“We have an opportunity to tear down all this dilapidated housing. Good, bad or otherwise bring in beautiful new housing, and I wont have to look at this dilapidated stuff,” Reichardt said, adding that was very concerned last Friday night when a string of four arsons broke out near his home. “I want these houses down. They’re still open and its an open invitation for the next time – tonight, tomorrow or next week, it’s going to happen.”

In addition to voicing their support over the CODE proposal, the residents also voiced their concern over a letter the Gebbie Foundation had purportedly written and sent to state representatives, expressing opposition the Jackson Spring apartments. The residents felt that the Gebbie Foundation should remain focused on its mission of working to invest and improve the downtown, and not a residential neighborhood on the north side.

CODE has applied for state grant funding to help offset the cost of removing the blighted properties and building the proposed apartment complex. No decision has yet been made on whether or not the state will sign off on the grant.

City officials discuss how to proceed with the demo of a building at 10-12 E. Second St. in Jamestown following a roof collapse on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016. Two months later, a second building at 101 W. Third St. also experienced a partial collapse.

JAMESTOWN – The vast majority of the buildings in downtown Jamestown and across the city are in stable condition. That’s the message from Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, who tells WRFA that despite two recent partial collapses in downtown Jamestown the past few months, the city’s aging building stock is in good shape.

“Those two incidents are anomalies,” Teresi said. “Both of these building were on the city’s radar from the beginning. Obviously, in the game of beat the clock, the clock won in these instances.”

In October, the city had to do an emergency demolition for a dilapidated building at 10-12 E. Second St., which saw a partial collapse of its roof. Then in December just before Christmas, the former Betty Dixon Candy store, located at 101 W. Third St., saw a partial roof collapse in the back part of the building.

The mayor also said that the city will continue to monitor all structures in the downtown and elsewhere.

“We’re going to continue to keep an eye on the building stock of the community,” Teresi explained, adding that Jamestown has some of the oldest building stock in the country when compared to communities of similar size. “We have a very old, significant, and historical commercial building stock in our downtown area. We’re very proud of that. Most places have lost their historic structures downtown – at least the cities that are the same size and age as Jamestown.”

The mayor made his comments during an interview which will run Thursday afternoon on WRFA during our Community Matters program. In addition to the downtown buildings, the mayor also discusses what impact a new contract with the Chautauqua County sheriff’s Office deputies would have on a proposed public safety consolidation plan between the county and the city. He also discusses the Jackson Spring housing development, as well as what his expectations are for the Trump administration, as it pertains to Jamestown.

The interview begins at 5 p.m. Thursday on WRFA and will be rebroadcast at noon on Sunday.

JAMESTOWN – Several people were on hand for Monday’s Jamestown City Council voting session to voice their support or concerns regarding the proposed Jackson Spring housing development on the city’s north side.

CODE, Inc. is proposing to build the $12 million development on North Main St., which would involve the demolition of eight dilapidated homes at no cost to the city, and the construction of two complexes. One building will have 36 units, with 28 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom apartments. The second complex would include seven town houses, five with two bedrooms and two with three bedrooms. The new building would also be the new location for Southwestern Independent Living Center.

City resident Mike Laurin offers comment on the proposed Jackson Spring housing development during the Dec. 19 Jamestown City Council meeting.

One individual who spoke was resident Mike Laurin, who was also the author of a recent commentary in the Jamestown Post-Journal. Laurin is opposed to the project, saying he’d prefer officials focus on other ways to make Jamestown safe.

“We need to focus on designing an environment that will reduce crime. I’m asking you to seriously consider what the primary and secondary effects of this project will be,” Laurin said. “Is it more likely to have a positive or negative impact on our community? Will there be any added expenses to the already over-burdened tax payers, either directly or indirectly? What other programs are available to help disadvantaged community members secure owner-occupied housing within our comparatively low housing market?”

Resident Bruce Johnson, who is a south side resident, said he’s familiar with the north side of the city due to his job as a postal worker, where he delivered mail for more than a dozen years.  He feels that the concentration of housing would further stretch out the local police presence across the city. In addition, Johnson was concerned that moving residents from dilapidated housing into the new Jackson Spring Housing would create a vacuum effect.

“Although it will improve the area shortly, what’s the long-term effect?” Johnson asked. “For the other housing that’s being vacated, will that attract more [low-income] people? And those type of people, we don’t need. We need people who can pay taxes.”

Resident Donald Paine addresses the Jamestown City Council on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016.

Not everyone who spoke was against the project. Several residents in the neighborhood where the development would be built, were on hand and said they support it.

Donald Paine, who lives on Spring St. near the proposed development site, said he thinks it will improve conditions on his street and neighborhood, adding that CODE will provide proper, safe housing to people whose only other alternative would be old, rundown apartments.

“Sixty to 70 percent of the condemned houses in our city are caused by people that don’t have money to fix them,” Paine said, noting that the Jackson Spring development would provide safer and more secure homes for residents. “We want to build nice, affordable housing for single women and disabled people. People who want to live in a place that has proper security. These places are very secure. They are protected.”

Several others  also spoke on behalf of the development, explaining it would  improve the quality of the neighborhood, while also injecting revenue into the city coffers since CODE gives the city an annual payment in lieu of taxes, based on the number of properties it manages within the city.

CITY COUNCIL HAS NO VOTE ON THE MATTER

During public comment, city councilman Tony Dolce (R-Ward III), who served as acting president for the evening in Greg Rabb’s absence, reminded those in attendance that it is a private development project that doesn’t require approval by the city council.

“This is a state funded project. If CODE receives the money from the state, the next step would be that they would have to get the City Planning Commission to approve the site plan,” Dolce explained to WRFA following the meeting. “Approving the site plan doesn’t mean whether or not the commission wants the project. It would be to focus on the scope of the project, the design of the building, ingress, egress, plumbing, drainage, landscaping, lighting – all those things that go into developing the project. The city council itself will have no vote, whatsoever.”

CODE has applied for state funding from the New York State Department of Housing and Community Renewal and expects to learn whether or not it received funding during the first half of 2017.

Plans provided by CODE, Inc. offers some details for the revised Jackson Spring housing project.

• VIEW MEETING AGENDA

The agenda includes a pair of resolutions that focus on replacing more than 150 light fixtures in the Cherry St. and Main St. parking ramps, in order to create more energy efficiency and long-term savings for the city.  According to City Council and Public Works Committee member Tom Nelson (D-Ward VI), the initial cost to replace the fixtures is $92,170, but that will be reduced to $74,770 after an energy efficiency rebate. He said the annual savings resulting from the new fixtures is estimated to be nearly $14,000/year. Funding for the new fixtures comes from a state grant.

The council will also act on the purchase of the Medic 35 vehicle in the Fire Department, at a cost of $30,000, which will be paid for with funding that was left over due to unexpended salaries in the Fire Department.

OPPOSITION TO JACKSON SPRING PROJECT EXPECTED

In addition to the resolutions, WRFA has learned that some residents may also attend the meeting to voice their opposition to the proposed Jackson Spring apartment development, which would be built by CODE, Inc. and would be located on North Main. St., just to the south of Crossman St. The $12 million project would involve the demolition of eight dilapidated homes and the construction of two complexes. One building will have 36 units, with 28 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom apartments. A second complex will include seven town houses, five with two bedrooms and two with three bedrooms. The new housing complex, if approved, will also be the new location for Southwestern Independent Living Center and CODE will be working with the Chautauqua Blind Association to assist the visually impaired.

It’s worth noting the city government does not have the ability to stop the proposed project, so long as it follows local zoning and planning laws. The future of the development rests in the hands of New York State. CODE has applied for state funding from the New York State Department of Housing and Community Renewal to help pay for the proposed development, and CODE executive director Patrick Morris has said the development of Jackson Spring hinges on the state aid coming through.

Monday’s meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers, second floor of city hall, and is open to the public.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi

JAMESTOWN – Mayor Sam Teresi says the recent unsolved shootings that have taken place in the city remain number one on the city’s list of issues that need to be addressed.

• LISTEN TO FULL INTERVIEW

During an interview with WRFA that will air Thursday at 5 p.m. on WRFA’s Community Matters program, Teresi will take time to focus on the shooting events that first began early Thanksgiving morning on S. Main St., leading to the death of one Buffalo man and injuring two others. Since then, four other shooting incidents have taken place in the area – the most recent happening this past Sunday afternoon at the intersection of Eighth and Prendergast Ave., resulting in one person being seriously injured and rushed to the hospital.

Teresi said that the shootings are not typical of what residents expect for Jamestown, adding that they have a right to be concerned.

“This is the number one priority for every aspect of city government, starting with our public safety operation, but continuing right on down through the team,” Teresi said. “Since the first moment that I received the call from the chief at 4 in the morning on the first shooting Thanksgiving morning, we have been in constant contact. The chief has done an outstanding job of pulling the team together. Our team at the Jamestown Police Department is all out with this, and we’re working collaboratively and getting outstanding cooperation from every level of law enforcement and public safety in the area.”

The mayor also said that while the shootings are obviously a major concern, he doesn’t think it’s an indication of a diminishing quality of life expectation for the city.

“I can understand the frustration. I can understand people that have grown up here and have grown accustomed to the wonderful, small community that we live in and their concern [that the quality of life is declining], but it’s not warranted,” Teresi said. “This is still a wonderful and safe community. These shootings are an aberration. There’s crime everywhere. I know that because I travel all over this state and all over this country meeting with leaders. But our overall crime rate is down. Our law enforcement is the best that your going to find in the business and I still say that there’s more that’s good and right about this community that whatever could possibly be wrong.”

Authorities investigate the crime scene following a shooting death that took place early Thanksgiving Morning on S. Main St. in Jamestown, NY. (Image Courtesy of 716 Network/Facebook)

The mayor also commented on the cost associated with the ongoing investigation and the increased patrols in the city, saying that while the cost of public safety may have seen an increase in recent weeks, its necessary and justified in order to work toward preventing these types of incidents from continuing.

During our conversation with the Mayor, we’ll also get his reaction to the finalized 2017 City Budget – which includes an additional $825,000 in projected state aid that was not initially put in his executive budget. And the mayor will talk about the city’s involvement in a statewide poverty reduction initiative.

Again our conversation with Mayor Teresi will be Thursday at 5 p.m. during WRFA’s Community Matters program. An encore of the program will also be broadcast on Sunday at noon.  In addition to the mayor, we’ll also hear from Pat Morris from CODE, Inc. – who will discuss his organization’s effort to build the Jackson Spring apartments on North Main Street.

Plans provided by CODE, Inc. offers some details for the revised Jackson Spring housing project. More information is expected to be revealed during a neighborhood meeting on the proposed development on Dec. 6, 2016.

JAMESTOWN – The effort to build a new housing development on Jamestown’s north side is still underway.

That’s according to Patrick Morris, executive director of CODE, Inc (Citizen’s Opportunity for Development and Equality, Inc.) – who tells WRFA that a neighborhood meeting is scheduled for Tuesday night, Dec. 6, to provide details of the revised plan to construct the Jackson Spring apartments, which would be located between N. Main and Spring Streets – and just to the south of Crossman St.

Morris says the meeting will take place at the Euclid Gardens (28 Euclid Ave.) at 7 p.m on Dec. 6. During the meeting, CODE will provide details on the reconfigured building plans, which show the structure sitting closer to N. Main St. The revised plan also includes office space for the Southwestern Independent Living Center, Inc., which is currently located in that neighborhood – near the intersection with Eighth St.

The previous version of the Jackson Spring plan included a price tag of $11 million and would have include 45 apartments. It’s not yet known if that will remain the same under the new plan.

The Jackson Spring development is not without controversy. During the January 2016 city council voting session, more than a dozen residents attended to voice their concern with the project. Much of those concerns were addressed by Morris during a subsequent housing committee meeting in February.

CODE had applied for state housing funding to help pay for the project, but the application was turned down and so the Jackson Spring development had to be put on hold. Since then, the proposal has seen some adjustments and Morris said CODE plans to reapply for funding again in 2017.

Again, the neighborhood information meeting on the revised Jackson Spring housing development will take place Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Euclid School apartments.