WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist about a resolution that would hire new firefighters, the latest on splash pads to be constructed, parking meters, and more.

Eddie Sundquist

Mayor Eddie Sundquist delivers remarks to Jamestown City Council (March 20, 2023)

New batteries are on the way for downtown parking meters in Jamestown.

Some of the meters, installed at the end of 2021, stopped automatically charging solar batteries as Fall and Winter months came with less sunlight. City officials said that while the parking meters could still be paid for using a smartphone, the option to pay with coins stopped working, causing frustration for motorists. City officials shared with City Council earlier this month that there had been issues getting new batteries purchased for the meters.

Following that meeting, a Jamestown Post-Journal article featured comments by POM Parking Meters President Seth Ward saying that the city had not reached out to the company for assistance with meters.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist responded to Council at its work session Monday night, saying the city has had communications with the company by phone and email since December 2022 about issues with the meters and batteries, “I will say that we did confirm with our Finance staff that the purchase order did not go through to purchase the batteries, which we did rectify today with the CEO (of POM). But, there were various issues as we found out. A huge miscommunication between the fact that the city deals with an outside vendor, an inside vendor of this company, as well as customer support and a few others that are all part this chain in order these batteries.”

Sundquist said 49 batteries have been purchased and the city is working with POM to figure out what to do about the meters going forward. He said the meters are costing the city now, between the battery purchases, and the monthly $5 fee the city has to pay for each meter whether it’s working or not, “As part of this grant, we had to accept all those things. So going forward, we are looking at and talking to other potential meter companies to see if it’s more feasible to look at whether we are thinking of more like stands as other cities have moved to, away from an individual meter head, or what else is out there, because the technology has changed pretty significantly in the last couple years for parking.”

Council member Marie Carrubba said that given that the company is a state vendor, she wondered if other municipalities were having similar issues and whether the state should be notified.

Sundquist said while he didn’t have a list of the municipalities, he was aware of others that have had issues with the meters.

Council members Jeff Russell and Kim Ecklund both requested the administration share the communications the city had with POM Parking Meters as well as information about the contract.

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.