WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley had the opportunity to speak with Jamestown Department of Public Works and Acting Parks Director Jeff Lehman, who is retiring from City Government.

City Council President Tony Dolce reads proclamation recognizing retiring DPW-Parks Director Jeff Lehman (March 27, 2023)

Three grant allocations totaling $365,060 to Jamestown businesses have been approved by Jamestown City Council.

The three resolutions were approved by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation board at its March meeting, but each exceeded the $100,000 threshold, thus requiring council approval.

Summit Wealth Management‘s request of $108,705 was amended through a motion by Council member Andrew Faulkner to $83,100.

Faulkner said the amended amount is what was needed to finish the project, “They’ve already started it and been working on it. They recently purchased their building. They’re making their renovations to fit what they need, and the effects of COVID, what they needed. So, the form we got at the last work session, they had to break down all that and that will give them what they need to complete the project from here.”

Council member at Large Jeff Russell said several council members did tour the businesses, “And business owners did show them around and basically show them their project that was going on. So, there were council members that did their due diligence when they were invited to check out the projects.”

The allocation of $167,105 was approved for Panache and $114,855 was approved for Labyrinth Press Company.

Council also recognized Department of Public Works Director and Acting Parks Department Director Jeff Lehman for his 29 years of service to the city. Lehman’s last day before retiring is Friday, March 31. He served on the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities and City Planning Commission during his tenure, which also included overseeing the creation of the Jamestown Riverwalk.

Lehman is being succeeded by Acting DPW and Parks Director Mark Roetzer, who was sworn in at Monday night’s meeting for the temporary position while the city continues to looks for a full-time replacement.

Jamestown Planning Commission (March 21, 2023)

The Jamestown Planning Commission has finally approved the sale of two city-owned parcels.

The Commission, lacking a quorum at its meetings in January and February, was unable to take action until this month.

The two parcels include property on Crescent Street that originally was going to be used for the Department of Public Works‘ Central Garage with the other parcel being a vacant lot on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Crescent Street parcel received a bid for $25,000 from Falcon Conveyor owner Scott Clark, who owns the building on the adjacent property. Clark plans to use the lot for access to his building, where Falcon Conveyor is located.

The parcel on Pennsylvania Avenue received a bid for $4,900 from Kim and Shane Collins, who have a house next door. The parcel is too small to meet code requirements for building on it.

The sale proposals must now be approved by Jamestown City Council and are expected to appear under new business at its voting session on March 27.

Parking meter showing new Passport Parking app sticker in downtown Jamestown

The new parking meters in downtown Jamestown are causing headaches for users and city administration.

Council Member at Large Jeff Russell shared at the March 6 work session that a resident contacted him about the meters not accepting change, even though the new meters are supposed to be able to do that as well as be paid using an app on the smartphone.

Public Works Director Jeff Lehman said the meters that were installed at the end of 2021 have an automatic solar charging part that has stopped working once the Fall and Winter months hit, “So, a large percentage of the batteries have died out. We’ve looked at replacing them. The problem with replacing them is that you’re just putting a fresh battery in and they’re not getting charged unless we have a sunny day. We’re struggling with it. What we’ve found is that that there’s only one place to get the batteries so we’re sort of at their disposal.”

Lehman said the city only had a one-year warranty with the meters, and that has now expired.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist replied he was trying to hold back anger when it comes to the parking meter company, “So, you’ll notice that some of the meters have been replaced with just the coin. We have kind of retrofitted them to just use the coins. In the meantime, some meters just in the way they’re shaped cannot handle that, so you have to use the app. We’re now going on almost two months of not getting these batteries in and we’re having a lot of issues with a company we’re required to purchase them from as part of our agreement.”

Lehman said anyone having issues with meters, including getting a ticket due to a faulty meter, should take down the meter number and call the Department of Public Works at 716-483-7545.

Jamestown City Council voting session (January 30, 2023)

Jamestown City Council has approved a final installment of funds to the Senior Citizen Home Improvement Incentive Program.

The additional $377,528 in American Rescue Plan funds will cover any remaining approved applications that could not be funded due to lack of funds in previous rounds.

The Finance Committee had recommended the previous week using $282,856 in ARP funds to make the program whole based on numbers provided by Assessor Lisa Volpe, but Finance Chair and Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund said those figures were incorrect, “So, last week when we went through this she (Volpe) had estimated a $94,000 savings that she approached to us. When I got the final numbers, in talking to her, in talking to the Acting Comptroller, it was provided in error. So, therefore, it had to go back in to make that the $377,000 to bring this whole so that everybody who applied and was accepted and approved will get the project done.”

Total funding for the Senior Citizen Home Improvement Incentive Program now stands at $1.87 million.

Council also approved using $900,000 in ARP funds for water main replacements and street restoration on Roland Road and Juliet Street. The Department of Public Works and Jamestown Board of Public Utilities recommended the work be done after multiple water main breaks on both streets over the decades.

Ecklund said at this point, $26,230,703 has been spent in ARP funds out the over $28 million received.

A resolution for the City to adopt the New York State Climate Smart Communities Pledge was tabled for more discussion. Ecklund said while the pledge allows the city to apply for certain grants, there were some misunderstandings from the public and council that needed to be cleared up, “And I asked specifically if the legal team had looked at it before we signed anything and they had not. So, just to cover our bases and make sure we’re not locked into something that we can’t get out of, if you will, I would prefer the legal team to look at it.”

Council approved several appointments to boards and commissions from Mayor Eddie Sundquist including appointing Thomas Benson of 141 East Virginia Boulevard to serve on the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Board. He replaces Tamu Graham-Reinhardt who has resigned. They also approved appointing Reverend Luke Fodor to the Jamestown Community College Board of Trustees. He will fill out the unexpired term of Dr. Lillian Ney who also had resigned.

Jamestown City Council

The Council Finance Committee had recommended using an additional $282,856 in American Rescue Plan funds to cover applications to the Senior Citizen Home Improvement Incentive program that weren’t funded initially.

However, the resolution filed under new business would allocate an additional $377,528. The resolution states the funds would come from the ARP’s “Healthy Communities and Neighborhoods fund.” Council member at Large Kim Ecklund had stated that council members did not want money to be allocated away from a Residential Home Improvement Incentive Program that had been funded with $500,000 last June. That program has not been set up yet by the City Assessor’s Office.

Council also will vote to use $900,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for water main replacements and street restoration on Roland Road and Juliet Street. The Department of Public Works and Jamestown Board of Public Utilities recommended the work be done after multiple water main breaks on both streets over the decades.

In addition, Council will vote under new business on a five-year Animal Holding facility contract with Pick of the Litter in Falconer. The staff report said Pick of the Litter was the only entity that submitted a proposal. The contract would pay the agency $2,800 a month for board fees and/or euthanasia for 360 dogs per year. Upon receiving the 361st dog, Pick of the Litter will charge $90 per dog for board fees and/or euthanasia.

The voting session will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the second floor of City Hall.

It is open to the public and members of the public may also participate remotely in the meeting via videoconferencing by requesting a link from City Clerk Jennifer Williams at (716) 483-7612 or clerk@jamestownny.gov in advance of the meeting.

The meeting also will be livestreamed at https://www.jamestownny.gov.

Jamestown City Council

The staff report said there has been nine water main breaks on Juliet Street between Camp and Hunter Streets since 1973. It stated that the brick street is also uneven in many places. On Roland Road between Camp and English Streets, there has been 20 water main breaks since 1977 with the blacktop pavement needing repair in many places.

The two streets are among 14 streets to be upgraded in a $5 million Clean Water grant received by the Board of Public Utilities in 2019, but the total cost of the project has now risen to $7.5 to $8 million. The staff report said the Department of Public Works and BPU are requesting the additional funding to replace the water mains and perform basic street restoration work.

The Finance Committee will discuss the Salary Review Commission recommendations that were made at the December 14 work session.

The recommendations include raising the Mayor’s salary from $72,000 to between $80,000 to $90,000; increasing City Council members’ stipend from $5,000 to $7,500; and increasing the City Council President’s stipend from $6,000 to $9,000.

City Council’s stipend hasn’t changed since 1984 with the Mayor’s salary remaining the same since 2008. Any changes to salaries would not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

City Council’s Housing Committee meets at 6:45 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the 4th Floor of City Hall with other committees meeting at 7:00 p.m. The full work session will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room. All meetings are open to the public with the full work session being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

The Departments of Public Works, Parks Maintenance, and the Summer Playground Program are all seeking full-time temporary summer employees.

For an application or for more information, visit the Department of Public Works and Parks & Rec Offices at 145 Steele Street. You can also call (716) 483-7545 or (716) 483-7523.

Jamestown City Council

The new map recommended by the Jamestown Reapportionment Commission has few changes in ward boundaries.

Council also will vote to spend $249,610 to purchase a new excavator for the Department of Public Works. The funding for the equipment is coming from CHIPS (Consolidated Highway Improvement Program)

A resolution to allocate an additional $21,400 for the replacement of Fire Station #4’s roof also will be voted on. The funding will come from American Rescue Plan monies. The project initially was allocated $100,000 in ARPA funding, which was approved in June.

Council also will vote to accept a donation of $2,000 from Rand Machine Products to purchase smoke alarms for the Jamestown Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Outreach Program. All smoke alarms purchased from this donation would be made available through the Fire Department’s existing distribution policy.

And Council will vote on a local law authorizing the use of video conferencing for meetings of public bodies. This law will formally codify the ability for the City to livestream public meetings and to allow council members to attend meetings remotely, if needed.

Council will hold a brief work session at 7:00 p.m. in the fourth floor Police Training Room with the voting session taking place at 7:30 p.m. in the second floor Council Chambers in City Hall. All meetings are open to the public with the voting session being livestreamed at jamestownny.gov.

American Rescue Plan

Council also will review a local law that authorizes the use of video-conferencing for public meetings. According to the staff report, the local law is required under Public Officers Law 103 in order for the city to continue having hybrid meetings or meetings over video-conference.

The report said that video-conferencing has been a “valuable asset to public meetings, and can create an increase of engagement with the public.”

Council will presented with a resolution to purchase a new Fleet maintenance truck for the Department of Public Works in the amount of $52,534. The staff report said the current truck had been hit by another vehicle in October, causing frame damage to the truck. There were no injuries in the collision. The truck had been intended to replace a 20-year old service truck that is aging and severely rusted. The contingency fund would be used for the purchase.

And the Public Safety Committee will review a special event permit application for a Veterans Day Ceremony that’s set to take place on the corner of Third and Main Streets on Friday, November 11th.

The Police and Fire Departments will present their proposed budgets to the full council at 6:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. Committee meetings will immediately follow that presentation with the full work session beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The meetings are open to the public with the budget and work session also being live streamed on jamestownny.gov.