Parks Manager Dan Stone discussed proposed splash pad at Jackson-Taylor Park (April 11, 2023)

A handful of people attended a public meeting Tuesday night to learn more about the proposed splash pad for Jackson-Taylor Park.

Parks Manager Dan Stone led the meeting that was held on the former skate park pad, which is where the splash pad is proposed to be located.

Jamestown City Council required that further engineering studies be done at the park to determine if the soil condition can support the concrete pad and equipment.

Stone said the skate park pad is the most suitable location in Jackson-Taylor park, “Because this blacktop has been in place for over 20 years now and it’s really in good shape compared to everything else. It used to have big pieces of metal skate equipment on it. You can still see where it was. And honestly, that’s the only thing I can remember repairing in the last 18 years where it dug into (the pavement) on a hot summer or something like that.”

Stone said the splash area would be in the center of the pad with other amenities, like benches, on the edges. He said more trees would be planted on the outside of the existing fence around the pad to help provide shade.

At City Council’s work session Monday night, Council members raised questions about whether the equipment for the splash pads should be purchased before the engineering report is completed.

The equipment will cost $135,000 and would be purchased from Aquatix by Landscape Structures for both Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks. The total amount approved for the project was $400,000, which is being funded with American Rescue Plan monies.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said regardless of where the splash pad is located the city will still need the equipment. He said if the city didn’t order it now, they probably couldn’t do the project this year.

The city is working with engineering firm, GPI, who had previously done engineering and soil samples for Jackson-Taylor Park for a recent project.

Should the study determine that the soil structure cannot support the splash pad, the resolution passed by City Council in March would then move the splash pad to Roseland Park.

Stone said that if the equipment purchase is approved this month, it’ll take six to eight weeks for delivery with construction potentially being completed at both parks by the end of summer.

Jamestown City Council voting session (March 27, 2023)

Jamestown City Council has approved moving forward with two splash pads in city parks with the requirement that more engineering work be completed on Jackson-Taylor Park.

Council member at Large Jeff Russell cited his concerns about Jackson-Taylor Park being the best place to locate a splash pad from a safety standpoint, “There’s a lot more traffic down there now with places like Tim Horton’s there. Obviously, we’re putting a new facility (DPW Central Garage) in down there with large trucks. My ultimate fear is that a child is going to be crossing that roadway, unsupervised possibly, and is going to be struck by a vehicle and killed. That is my ultimate concern with it being down there.”

Russell also expressed concern over the soil stability and that he had asked Parks Manager Dan Stone if other locations in the park could be used, “He said there’s really no other place to put it because of the instability of some of the soil down there and really the only logical place is the old skatepark is, where the blacktop is. And it’s even questionable whether it can be placed there. What I would hate to see is to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars putting the splash pad in that location and then have it fail a couple of years down the line and pretty much be a waste of money.”

Russell made a motion to drop the amount of the project funded with American Rescue Plan monies from $500,000 to $400,000, citing $100,000 in state funds that Mayor Eddie Sundquist said were supposed to be approved. The motion also included that the city hire a private engineering firm to look at the soil stability of Jackson-Taylor Park for the splash pad. If the study determined the site was not suitable, the motion further said that the splash pad should be moved to Roseland Park with the proposed pickleball court for that location being relocated to the Jackson-Taylor Park skate pad.

The motion passed unanimously, with the amended resolution passing 8 to 1. Council member Bill Reynolds was the only no vote, citing other priorities that should be funded.

Two community engagement meetings will be held on the splash pads with the first taking place this Thursday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m. at the Allen Park Rink. The second will be held at the Jackson-Taylor Park large pavilion at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 11. Mayor Sundquist said that community meeting will also be combined with the HUD Action Plan community input meeting.

Jamestown City Council

The City of Jamestown received $1.8 million in Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program funds for the eight positions, but council members have raised concerns about having to lay off those positions once grant funds run out in three years.

Also on tonight’s voting agenda is a resolution to use $500,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for the construction of Splash Pads at Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks. Council also will vote on a total of $221,000 in requests using ARP funds to add a playground at Willard Park, a pickleball court at Roseland Park, repave basketball courts, and buy 18 new planters for downtown.

A proposal to stabilize the banks of the Chadakoin River in the south basin and between the Warner Dam and North Main Street bridge is up for Council approval.

The allocation of $327,925 in ARP to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy had been approved by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation, but as the request is over the $100,000 threshold, it requires Council approval. Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District would be contracted to do the work.

Council also will review a local law to increase the mayor’s salary to $82,000 and increase city council member’s salaries to $7,000 with council president receiving an additional $1,000.

A second law pertaining to increasing elected officials’ salaries has also been filed per the request of Council Member Bill Reynolds that includes the original recommendation from the Jamestown Salary Review Commission. This local law would increase City Council members’ salaries from $5,000 to $7,500 while increasing the Council President’s salary from $6,000 to $9,000. It also recommends increasing the Mayor’s salary from $72,000 to $82,000.

Both local laws will be tabled for 30 days and be voted on at the April voting session. If approved, the salary increases would not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

A school bus stop arm camera program contract with BusPatrol and a contract with Bird Bike to bring an ebike and escooter program to Jamestown are also up for consideration.

A work session will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the fourth floor Police Training room with the voting session starting at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall. Both are open to the public with the voting session being livestreamed at jamestownny.gov.

Parks Manager Dan Stone presents on proposed park improvements to City Council (March 6, 2023)

Several ARP-funded parks projects have been given the go-ahead in committee by Jamestown City Council.

Parks Manager Dan Stone presented to Council about projects that would utilize $221,000 of American Rescue Plan funds.

Stone said the playground at Roseland was built on top of the old tennis courts, which helped make it handicapped accessible. He said, however, with everything being blacktop and with few areas to plant trees, the playground gets hot very quickly in the summer, “So, we’d like to go in and remove all existing blacktop and then pour a new path that goes around completely. It’ll be handicapped accessible all throughout and a lot more green space in there along with a shade structure. And then in the front part parking lot area, we’ll create two new pickle ball courts, a small parking area with handicapped parking right up to the fence as well.”

The Roseland Park project is projected to cost $120,000.

Stone said long overdue upgrades are proposed for Willard Park, “We run into some difficulties with this park. This has been one that’s been talked about for a long time. You see in the picture on the left there’s a nice chunk of concrete right there. There’s a foundation from the old school house all throughout that upper park. Then it drops off quite severe, heading down the hill even as you see at the top part it goes all the way down. And it continues except for the nice flat area we have here, which the kids love to use that wide, flat open area for football, baseball, things like that.”

Stone said the Parks Department is requesting $72,000 to put in a new swing set and playground set. He said they also plan to install a volleyball court following many requests for one in the parks.

Stone said the City has also had talks with the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District about planting a fruit tree orchard on the steep slope of the park that’s not as conducive for play.

Two other proposals include allocating $15,000 toward resurfacing basketball courts at Jackson-Taylor, Allen, and Bergman Parks and $14,000 toward the purchase of 18 self-watering flower pots for the downtown area.

Drawings of proposed Splash Pads at Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks (provided by Parkitects)

Jamestown City Council will hear a presentation on $721,000 worth of American Rescue Plan funded parks projects that include two Splash Pads at its work session tonight.

Resolutions pre-filed include $500,000 toward the construction of splash pads at Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks. The staff report said the City anticipates grant funding could cover a significant amount of the project and that unspent funds will be returned to the ARPA funds. They said while they anticipate water usage costs will increase, it can be absorbed in the Parks Department budget.

The pads would be ADA compliant and, based on drawings provided by Parkitects in the staff report, be located on the current skatepark pad at Jackson-Taylor Park and near the corner of West Virginia Blvd and Elizabeth Avenue in Allen Park.

Another resolution allocates $120,000 toward improvements at Roseland Park that includes a new pickleball court and new shade or pavilion structure.

Improvements to Willard Park are proposed under another resolution allocating $72,000 in ARP funds. This project includes a new playground and volleyball court.

The staff report said the City is in talks with the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District on an Urban Farming Grant to plant a fruit tree orchard in the park.

Two additional resolutions would allocate $15,000 toward resurfacing basketball courts at Jackson-Taylor, Allen, and Bergman Parks and $14,000 toward the purchase of eight self-watering flower pots for the downtown area. These planters would repace concrete planters.

A presentation on a proposed Electric Bike and Scooter pilot program will be done by Bird Bike Share.

Bird Bike Share currently has programs in Dunkirk and Olean. According to the staff report, a similar bike or scooter share program here would have no cost to the City and involve a revenue-share of $0.20 (cents) per ride to help fund protected bike lanes or other transportation projects.

Council also will review a resolution to contract with BusPatrol for the installation and management of a bus stop arm camera program.

City Council had previously authorized a Bus Stop Arm camera program to catch violations of motorists passing buses when stop arm is out.

BusPatrol would outfit the school district’s fleet at no cost, with the City receiving a share of the fine money. Jamestown Public Schools passed the proposal in February 2023.

While the staff reports states there is no cost to the school district, nor the city, the contract states the city is responsible for the cost of the camera installation as well as a monthly technology fee. These costs will come out of the 40% in fee revenue the city receives.

City Council also will hear an update on the Jamestown Community Cat Program that was being done by the Chautauqua County Humane Society.

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

The group needs community input to create a playground design everyone will enjoy. During the group’s last meeting, Ben Frasier, a project manager for Parkitects, presented a preliminary design of a playground structure his firm created last year of a playground structure. Parkitects also provided the playground equipment for Roseland and Allen Park and is providing the equipment for the playground at Fletcher Elementary School.

The group hopes to have the design ready in time to be displayed at the neighborhood block party it’s planning for Saturday, July 21 at the park. However, they would like more input from the parents whose children will be playing on the equipment, so anyone interested is encouraged to attend tonight’s meeting.

The meeting is free and open to the public.

On May 22, The Friends of Lillian Dickson Park established a non-endowed pass through fund at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. Back row, left to right: John Williams, City of Jamestown Park Manager; Olivia Reinhardt; Natalie Reinhardt; Janet Forbes, Chautauqua County Health Network Project Coordinator. Front row, left to right: Randy Sweeney, Community Foundation Executive Director; David Reinhardt, Lillian Dickson Park Committee Member; Stephanie Stafford, Neighborhood Watch Chairperson.

JAMESTOWN – The Friends of Lillian Dickson Park group will be meeting tonight 6:30 p.m. at the Park at the corner of Falconer and Bowen Streets. The latest monthly meeting is designed to continue the ongoing effort to find ways to improve and renovate the park.  The group is spearheaded by the Chautauqua County Health Network’s Creating Healthy Places initiative.

The park group is also working closely with the city and other groups.  The Parks Department has already started some initial work at the park, as it recently took down a tree that was in poor condition, removed unsafe playground equipment and installed grills at the park. The city is also working with the architects who consulted on the Roseland Park project to create plans of what the park will eventually look like.

Anyone interested in attending the meeting and learning more about various fundraising and event planning efforts is invited to attend.

The group is spearheaded by the Chautauqua County Health Network’s Creating Healthy Places initiative.

The park group is also working closely with the city and other groups.  The Parks Department has already started some initial work at the park, as it recently took down a tree that was in poor condition, removed unsafe playground equipment and installed grills at the park. The city is also working with the architects who consulted on the Roseland Park project to create plans of what the park will eventually look like.

To make the park itself safer, this Saturday during Hands On Jamestown Cleanup Day the group plans on installing a fall zone area under the current playground equipment and trim lower branches from trees at the back of park to open it up for better visibility, among other activities. Anyone wanting to help out and learn more is encouraged to stop by the Park Clean up effort on Saturday, which begins at 8 a.m.

The next official group meeting will be Tuesday, June 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the Lillian Dickson Park.