Jamestown City Council members meet for work session (June 5, 2023)

Costs for the new Central Garage project on Washington Street are currently at $3.9 million.

City Council Public Works Chair Randy Daversa provided that cost update to council at its work session Monday night. He stated at the meeting the project was over budget given that the $2.8 million in funds from a bond had been expended.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said while he didn’t have the exact budget numbers for the Central Garage project, the project itself wasn’t over budget yet, “We knew the costs were going to be high, but they were not going to be as high as the creation of a completely new maintenance building that was upwards, I think, of just under $10 million. So, we’re still looking at a very low amount of funding for this building. We’ve only spent about $3 million, or a little over $3 million, so we just need to get the additional funding to finish it up. The majority of the building is actually completed now. We’re just in the final finishing portions of it.”

Sundquist said what remains to be funded will be bonded for and the city still has $1 million state Financial Restructuring Board (FRB) funds coming in toward the project.

According to a Smart City Capital Investment Program bond presentation by former Mayor Sam Teresi in September 2019, the estimated total cost at that time for a new Central Garage on Crescent Street was $6.9 million. The Teresi Administration estimated that the project would have been paid for using $5.9 million from the Smart Cities bond and $1 million from the State FRB.

Sundquist said the 2019 Smart Cities bond has been closed out, “And so, the project itself was, unfortunately, a 2019 project. With COVID, it stalled for quite a period of time and then we went a different direction. And so, we’ve closed out that bond and we’ve sent that money back and paid it off. So, we just re-bond for it, which is absolutely fine.”

Council member Marie Carrubba commented at Monday’s work session that American Rescue Plan funds should have been used toward this and other capital projects versus going out for new bonds.

Sundquist said that the remaining $1.7 million in APRA funds could be put toward the project or any other projects, but it’s up to Council if they want to go that direction.

Daversa added that former DPW Director Jeff Lehman is still working as the project engineer for the Central Garage project and he will be coming to the City Council June 12 work session to go over further budget details.

Funding for the plan, which will be overseen by Stark Energy Services Company, would come from over $450,000 in unused Downtown Revitalization Initiative money. The rest of the cost would be covered through borrowing from the Smart City Capital Investment program approved late last year.

The total cost would be $1,947,574. Work included in the plan would involve updating the heating and air conditioning systems for city buildings, including City Hall, along with other energy efficiency upgrades that would help to lower the monthly electric bill.

The council also approved a plan to spend $705,000 in federal housing money that is intended to help property owners and businesses impacted by COVID-19.

There was a request by city Resident Doug Champ to have some of that money also go to home owners in the city who are struggling to pay their mortgage. That suggestion was echoed by first-year council member Grant Olson, but in the end, the council unanimously approved the plan as it was presented.

And the council also approved a new fee structure for the Parks Department mowing private lots and abandoned properties, with the cost being charged to the property owner on record. The new fees are a significant increase to the current fees being charged and are intended to help deter properties from relying on the city for mowing.

• AUDIO ALSO AVAILABLE AT SOUNDCLOUD

Originally airing Thursday Feb. 6, 2020.

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist about various issues affecting city government, including Ambulance Service, the city’s Smart City Capital Investment Plan and the Central Garage proposal, the 2020 State of the City address, and more.

Eddie Sundquist

• AUDIO ALSO AVAILABLE AT SOUNDCLOUD

Originally airing Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi for the final time in his tenure as mayor. Teresi did not seek reelection and will leave office on Jan. 1 when incoming mayor Eddie Sundquist is sworn into office.

Teresi discusses the transition process of getting the office ready for Sundquist’s arrival and also discusses some current city government issues – including the revival of the BPU Substation Annexation Effort, the effort to purchase two new fire engines for the city fire department, and the preparation for the 2020 Census.

Sam Teresi

The Jamestown City Council during its October 2019 Voting session on Oct. 28, 2019.

JAMESTOWN – It’s going to be busy night Monday at City Hall as the Jamestown City Council holds its monthly voting session and considers a number of resolutions to vote on.

• VIEW THE AGENDA AND RESOLUTIONS FOR NOV. 25

Highlighting the 7:30 p.m. meeting is the finalization and vote on the 2020, $36.6 million Jamestown City Budget.

Jamestown City Councilman Tony Dolce (R-Ward 2)

The council will likely use a $150,000 savings identified in the budget earlier this month to decrease the city’s tax levy. According to City Finance Committee Chairman Tony Dolce, the cut to the tax levy would result in a reduction in the tax rate of about $0.22 per thousand.

“It would be a slight, decent tax decrease. It would put us under the constitutional tax limit. It’s not really enough money where we can go out and spend and add a bunch of things back to the budget, but on the other hand, for a long time we’ve been on this threshold and it would be nice to give something back,” Dolce said during last Monday’s council work session.

The current tax rate for city tax payers is $23.85 per thousand assessed value. If all the $150,000 in savings is applied toward reducing the tax levy next year, the new tax rate would be $23.63 per thousand. That’s an annual savings of $22 for property valued at $100,000.

The James Prendergast Library had been hoping the city would restore additional funding for their budget beyond the $60,000 earmarked in the mayor’s budget proposal, but it appears there isn’t enough support among the nine-member city council to make that happen.

ANNEXATION RESOLUTION TO BE CONSIDERED

In addition to voting on the city budget, the council is also scheduled to act on a resolution “regarding Dow Street Annexation request by City of Jamestown Board of Public Utilities.”

Eddie Sundquist

Last week the BPU voted to continue the effort to pursue annexing the property, dedicating over $100,000 in funding from the electric division toward legal costs associated with the lawsuit. Now the city council must give its approval on moving forward with the annexation.

However, mayor-elect Eddie Sundquist has said he would prefer the city council hold off on considering the annexation until after he takes office in January and has said he will appear before the council tonight and request it table the annexation proposal.

“I’ve already asked the current city council  respectfully to table the [annexation] resolution until after the first of the year and I will also be publicly asking them that at the next council meeting,” Sundquist said on Friday morning when discussing his transition effort. “I think there needs to be time to talk to residents and community members about whether this action is something we should continue to take.”

The city council will also act on approving the purchase of a number of vehicles for the city’s DPW fleet as part of the $12.6 million Smart City Capital Investment program that was approved earlier this year.

Monday’s council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in city council chambers with a short work session scheduled for 7 p.m. in the mayor’s conference room. Both meetings are open to the public.

The Jamestown City Council during its October 2019 Voting session on Oct. 28, 2019.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council has approved the purchase of over $1.8 million worth of new vehicles and equipment for the city Public Works Department.

The purchases are part of the Smart City Capital Investment Plan that Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi rolled out in early September. Later that same month the city council approved borrowing up to $12.6 million for the plan.

Ten separate resolutions involving the purchases were acted on Monday night during the council’s October voting session, although not all city council members approved the purchases.  Councilman Andy Liuzzo (R – At Large) said he would have preferred to see the council wait until after the new year to act on the resolutions, when a new mayor is in office and there are also new members on the council.

• READ ALL TEN RESOLUTIONS ON THE COUNCIL VOTING AGENDA

“Do we need the equipment? A lot of it is worn down. Do we need all ten [resolutions] right now? Do we need to spending the money right now on this Smart City Plan that’s going to cost us close to $13 million? I was opposed to it last month, I’m opposed to it now. For one of the tractors we have the money to pay for it – $30,000 – good purchase because we have the money. I just want to state that I don’t think this is the time for us to be approving these other resolutions,” Liuzzo said.

Despite Liuzzo’s concerns and questions, other city officials, including DPW Director Jeff Lehman, said there is an advantage to purchasing the equipment before the end of the year.

“In particular for the plow trucks and the loaders, they have an eight month build out time. So we won’t even be seeing these until eight or nine months from now. That’s part of the reason for the push, so we could get those in place,” Lehman explained following the council meeting. “We also want to take advantage of the 2019 bid pricing on the state bid, because we would wind up getting in a different bid cycle with the state if we waited and typically, prices will go up.”

Prior to the vote, Jamestown Resident Doug Champ used his opportunity in the public comment portion of the meeting to question whether or not the city council had done its due diligence in reviewing each piece of equipment, including how necessary was it and also whether or not it would yield a significant savings for the city.  Councilman and finance committee chairman Tony Dolce (R-Ward 2) explained that the council spent a significant amount of time during the two work sessions earlier this month reviewing the proposed purchases, including being show a power point presentation last week.

“We also were given handouts and they talked about the price of the vehicle, which vehicle they are replacing, the critical nature of the vehicle and what it actually does, and the cost involving the current situation with the vehicles we currently own. All of that information was given out so it was discussed at length,” Dolce noted.

In the end, the council voted 7 to 1 in favor of most of the 10 resolutions, with Liuzzo going along with two of them, including a new John Deere tractor that would be paid for through contingency along with a new caterpillar grader that will replace a current grader in the city fleet that is all but inoperable.

As for the equipment and vehicles that will be purchased through the borrowing initiative, Lehman said it will definitely help bring the DPW up to speed, but added more purchases will likely be necessary before it is all said and done.

“We’re looking at $8 million in equipment needs, but we’re putting on a $2 million band aid. Believe me, it’s a great shot in the arm and takes care of a lot of the largest pieces of equipment we need replaced, but more equipment is also in need of being replaced,” Lehman said.

The new equipment that will be purchased as part of the borrowing plan includes three new loaders, two backhoes, four new plows, a street grader, and a street sweeper.

A total of $2.5 million in equipment needs for the DPW and Parks department was listed for purchase as part of the Smart City Investment plan rolled out by the mayor in early September, meaning the city will likely make an additional $700,000 in purchases in the coming months to round out the list.

• READ DETAILS OF THE ‘SMART CITY’ PLAN

During Monday night’s city council voting session, the city’s Public Works Committee reviewed information on the purchase of four new pieces of equipment for the Department of Public Works vehicle and equipment fleet. The equipment would include two new loaders for the DPW, along with two new backhoes. The equipment would replace older equipment already in the city fleet that officials say is beginning to show its age.

DPW Director Jeff Lehman and Mayor Sam Teresi say that by purchasing the new equipment, the city will save money on the maintenance costs it would have to pay for the older vehicles, as well as reduce the amount of downtime workers would have as they wait for repairs and maintenance to occur.

The net cost of the four pieces of equipment after trade-in would be an estimated $460,000 and the city would borrow the money, most likely early next year. That means any new debt from the borrowing would likely come online by the end of 2020.

City councilman Andrew Liuzzo – who voted against borrowing money for the Smart City Capital Investment Plan in September – expressed some concern with the proposed purchase, saying it may not be necessary to replace one of the city’s current loaders because it is only four years old. But Lehman pointed out that city’s recently completed comprehensive vehicle maintenance plan by Mercury Associates calls for a regular rotation of new vehicles so less attention is needed for maintenance and that includes equipment that is five years old.

The council will vote on the borrowing during its regular voting session on Oct. 28.

The Jamestown City Council during its Sept. 30, 2019 voting session.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council has voted in favor of the city borrowing up to $12,650,000 to pay for Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi’s Smart City Capital Investment plan.

The council took the action last night during its September voting session, less than one month after Teresi and various department heads rolled out the borrowing plan to the public.

• RELATED: Teresi Rolls Out $12.9 Million Capital Investment Program

However, a great deal of time was covered in going over the various details of the plan during both the council’s Sept. 9 and Sept. 23 work sessions. The program focuses on borrowing money to cover the cost of infrastructure, building, and capital equipment needs in the city. It includes a proposal to build a central garage for the city’s Department of Public Works, which would help the city better care for and manage its fleet of vehicles.

The vote on the plan wasn’t unanimous.

Jamestown City Councilman Andy Liuzzo shares his thoughts on a $12.65 million bonding resolution as other members of the council look on during the Sept. 30, 2019 meeting. The resolution was approved 8 to 1 with Liuzzo casting the only ‘no’ vote.

City Councilman Andy Liuzzo voted against it. Liuzzo is one of three individuals running for mayor of Jamestown in this year’s election to replace Teresi, who announced at the start of the year he would not be seeking a sixth term in office.

Liuzzo urged his colleagues to hold off on voting for the plan until after a new council and mayor is sworn in.

“I do not believe – since we have not received the budget, since this is the last three months of our mayor’s term – I don’t believe that 90 days is going to make that much of a difference in the emergency of this resolution being passed tonight. We need to consider how we’re going to pay this back. Yes there are estimates, but those aren’t real numbers, they are what we hope for,” Liuzzo said, adding, “I am not saying to scrap this resolution. I am not saying it is worthless, because it is not. It’s viable. What I am saying is that this should not be burdened on the next administration and the next council.”

Despite Liuzzo’s request, all other members of the council voted in favor of the resolution, including Councilman and Finance Committee Chairman Tony Dolce, who said that although the council is approving the borrowing of up to $12.65 million, specific items in the plan will also have to be approved as they come forward, meaning the city is not locked into borrowing all the money.

“This does just get the ball rolling. We are not locked into $12.65 million. We, or the next council and the next administration, would look at each of [the items in the plan] as they came down and determine… they would be evaluated on each individual merit as to, ‘Is it a valuable project? Are we going to go forward with it?'” Dolce said.

Jamestown City Councilman and Finance Committee Chair Tony Dolce (second from left) offers his thoughts on a $12.65 million bonding resolution put before the city council on Sept. 30, 2019.

Following the meeting, Mayor Teresi said that both he and the current council members were elected to serve the residents of the city until Dec. 31 of this year, and that means they won’t be kicking the can down the road when it comes to addressing the needs of the city. He also said that the city can not and should not wait until an actual emergency occurs before it acts on addressing its various capital and infrastructure needs.

“The other metaphor I use [to explain this] is that a lot of folks are looking at the healthcare industry comparisons these days. Is it a healthcare plan to say you’re not going to go out and have insurance and seek proactive healthcare because when you get sick, you’re going to go to the emergency room? That is no way to run a city government. To let things go to hell in a hand basket, and when equipment starts blowing up to suddenly go out, in emergency mode, and have to pay more under distress and also to lose a lot in the way of service capability to the community. So what we’re doing is being proactive, getting ahead of the curve, and to spend smartly,” Teresi said.

Liuzzo also talked with WRFA following the meeting and said he was disappointed with the vote.

“There’s nothing in this loan that says we’re generating any income to pay to make these payments. Everything is speculation. We have four contracts coming up. We have a tight belt. We don’t even know what the budget is until next week. I wouldn’t run my household this way but this is how we’re running the house,” Liuzzo said.

According to Teresi, the final borrowing amount was about $250,000 lower than the original $12.9 million figure from the start of the month. That was because the Board of Public Utilities made adjustments to its portion of the borrowing plan.

We’ll have more on the bonding proposal when we interview Mayor Teresi Thursday at 5 p.m. on our Community Matters program.

JAMESTOWN – Mayor Sam Teresi Monday night presented members of the Jamestown City Council with new information involving the possibility of the city expanding its public safety services to the community.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi during the city council’s Sept. 23, 2019 work session.

Teresi offered new details on his proposed Smart City Capital Investment Program he first brought forward two weeks ago that involves the city using some of the money from that $12.9 million capital investment proposal for the establishment of a city-operated Emergency Medical Services department.

• READ THE FULL CITY EMS PROPOSED OPTIONS REPORT

The mayor said he is bringing the proposal forward due to the current privately operated ambulance service – Alstar Ambulance Services – ratcheting down its services in the community in during the past several months. Teresi said the primary reason for the reduction in service by Alstar is attributed to an inability by the company to turn a strong profit because many of the calls they respond to are covered by Medicaid and Medicare, which provides a low reimbursement rate, especially in rural communities like Chautauqua County.

Teresi said that when the private sector is unable to meet the public safety needs of the community, it is time for the local government to step forward.

“This is an effort to acknowledge there is a challenge and a problem and to get prepared to deal with it if we ultimately have to. We hope that we don’t, but we can’t bury our heads in the sand and say that there’s not a challenge and an issue out there,” Teresi said. “This is something that is not an alternative for us. There’s no choice here. This is bare essential public safety and if the private sector is not going to respond and provide, the public sector that is charged and tasked with the public safety of the community must respond.”

Left to right: Jamestown Deputy Fire Chief Sam Selemme, Public Safety Director/Police Chief Harry Snellings, and City Comptroller Joe Bellitto.

As part of the presentation, both of Jamestown Public Safety director Harry Snellings and deputy fire chief Sam Salemme went over information regarding why more medical emergency calls are being dealt with currently by the Jamestown Fire Department, with the primary reason being that there’s been an increased trend of Alstar being “out of service” – which means it is unable to respond to emergency calls at any given point during the day. According to their report, the average number of times Alstar has reported being out of service has increased during the past few months and the length of time the out of service designation lasted ranged anywhere from four hours to 17 hours in August alone.

In addition to reviewing the number of increased calls the fire department has had to deal with the past several months, the report also broke down the cost associated with EMS calls.  Using that information, City Comptroller Joe Bellitto went over four options for the city to consider if there came a time that it had to offer a regular and permanent ambulance service to the community. The options ranged from having the city fire department take over services, to establishing a a local development corporation to operate the service.

Bellitto also explained that no matter what plan the city went with, there would likely be an additional net cost to taxpayers – ranging between $400,000 and $1.5 million – with utilizing the city fire department as the most expensive because of the labor contracts that are in place with its members.

Members of the Jamestown City Council during their Sept. 23, 2019 work session.

Following the presentation, city councilman Andy Liuzzo expressed his appreciation for the work that went into the report, but requested the council hold off on making any decisions on how to proceed until after the new year when a new mayor is in place and when there will also likely be new city council members. Liuzzo is one of three candidates running to fill the open seat left by Teresi, who announced in February he would not be seeking reelection.

Ranking councilman and finance committee chairman Tony Dolce also asked if it was possible for the city to first have a conversation with UPMC Chautauqua and Alstar to see if there was any other way to address the problem without rolling out a new EMS program from the city.

It was not determined if or when the council would act on borrowing the money needed to establish the ambulance service. The current council has four voting sessions remaining for this year, including this month’s voting session, scheduled for next Monday, sept. 30.