WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley speaks with Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist about details of his State of the City address including discussion on cannabis, an update of the City’s Zoning code, and more.

Eddie Sundquist

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist delivers his 2023 State of the City Address on Monday, January 30, 2023.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist delivers 2023 State of the City Address

Tony Dolce (left) and Kimberly Ecklund

Jamestown City Council President Tony Dolce thought while the Mayor’s State of the City address had a lot of positive items, there were some concerns.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist released his 2023 State of the City address on Monday on the city’s website, jamestownny.gov.

Dolce said he wishes there was more focus by Sundquist on traditional economic development, “I know he spent a lot of time talking about the cannabis industry, which I know there are some opportunities there, I just wish he had focused a little bit more on like traditional downtown businesses and other traditional manufacturing developments, and plans to move forward with that.”

Dolce took issue with Sundquist’s statement at the beginning of the address about Jamestown being “on the brink of a control board” when he took office, “You know, having been around for as long as I have and worked with previous administrations and previous councils, we worked very hard over the years. And although we’ve been close to our constitutional tax limit and things have been tight, we’ve never been on the verge of financial collapse. So I just want to make sure people understand that the previous council, including this council as well, and the previous administration worked very hard to make sure that wouldn’t happen.”

Dolce said the fund balance, alone, was $4.8 million with an unassigned balance of $3.8 million at the beginning of Sundquist’s term in 2020, which isn’t a sign of fiscal distress.

Finance Committee Chair and Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund said she was disappointed that City Council’s involvement was not recognized more in the address, saying that it takes collaboration between Council and the administration for work to get done, “A little surprised, if you will, on the cannabis comments that sunk to the level of involvement that the City of Jamestown has been involved in because this council hasn’t had an update. So, I’m kind of a little blind on that one. I don’t really know what’s going on with that. Outside of that, we’ve made some great strides in a terrible time in COVID in his time as mayor. This certainly has been some great progress.”

Ecklund added she was grateful for the receipt of American Rescue Plan funds and what they’ve been able to do with that funding.

Dolce echoed that sentiment, saying the funds allowed the purchase of equipment, address capital needs, fund public safety, and help with housing issues, “You know, and trying to spread that all around. And that has given us the opportunity to obviously save some money out of the general fund to put toward other things, freeing up money for the budget.”

For 2023, Dolce said his goal is to continue working on getting out the remaining ARP funds to the community. He said addressing homelessness and helping neighborhoods are also in his goals.

Dolce added that he would like to hold another Town Hall meeting this Spring for members of the public.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist delivers 2023 State of the City Address

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist toted the allocation of American Rescue Plan funds, and investments in public safety and infrastructure in his 2023 State of the City Address.

Sundquist, delivering his address online, called the receipt of over $28 million in ARP funds transformational to the city, “From these funds we’ve helped over 300 senior households with needed home improvements. We’ve replaced over 100 heavily damaged roofs across Jamestown cost-free to working class and middle class homeowners. We’ve given businesses affected by the Pandemic resources and investments to hire more people locally and a substantial amount of funds to demolish blighted buildings.”

Sundquist said other areas that benefited include the Jamestown Police Department which received funding for more police officers, the clean-up of the lower half of the Chadakoin River, as well as needed capital spending in city departments.

With the rise in gun violence nationally, Sundquist said Jamestown was not the exception last year. He said investment in public safety was necessary, “Working with our City Council, we approved new officers to help with the protection of citizens through a new program which brings our police department staffing up to full force. This includes the approval of a Gun Task Force officers which will continue the work of decreasing gun violence in our city as well as a Quality of Life officer to deal with nuisance complaints that continue to plague our residents.”

Sundquist also lauded the Citizen Police Academy starting back up this year for the first time in decades along with the increase in the number of firefighters on staff.

He cited a record year of infrastructure improvements in the city thanks to additional funding from the state and federal government. Sundquist also mentioned the beginning of work on the new Central Garage on Washington Street that is expected to be completed this year.

In terms of what’s in store for 2023, Sundquist said he’s working with the state and federal government on addressing the lack of Essential Air Service and rail service in the area. He said his administration also will be adding new bike lanes, fixing sidewalks, and hoping to install speed cameras in school zones.

The video and text of Sundquist’s address are available at: https://www.jamestownny.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-State-of-the-City.pdf

Eddie Sundquist

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist will be releasing his State of the City Address today.

Sundquist’s speech will be livestreamed at noon today on jamestownny.gov/live.

A copy of his remarks will then be posted on the city’s website and linked on social media accounts.

Here is Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist‘s annual State of the City address that he presented Monday, January 31, 2022.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist the day after giving his State of the City Address and also the day after the City Council’s voting session. We’ll hear more about those two events as well as an update on the Board of Public Utilities‘ annexation case.

Eddie Sundquist

Sundquist said he wants to shape a new vision for Jamestown as “a modern city with strong roots.”

His goals include a “Vision Zero Campaign” to have zero fatalities or severe injuries from traffic accidents. Sundquist said the city has applied for a “safe routes to school” grant funding from the state department of transportation to help toward that campaign.

Sundquist also listed connecting and enhancing the waterfront of the Chadakoin River. Projects underway include the clean up of the lower Chadakoin River as well as grant funding received for development of the Chadakoin basin.

Another goal is to market Jamestown as a destination. Sundquist said he could see Jamestown becoming a hub for conventions. He also wants to use $5 million of American Rescue Plan funds toward healthy neighborhoods and housing initiatives.

He said the City administration has taken an aggressive approach toward supporting cannabis-related industries in the city. Sundquist said hundreds of jobs could be added and that new businesses have “already bought millions of dollars’ worth of unused property to redevelop thousands of square feet of currently vacant and underutilized warehouse, manufacturing, and commercial spaces.” He said with properties going back on the tax roll, the local property tax burden will be reduced.

Sundquist said he’s working with the county to secure a permanent location for CARTS in downtown Jamestown and that he’s continuing to work with county officials to restore commercial passenger air service to the Jamestown airport.

Sundquist said the joint municipal broadband feasibility study has been completed. He said the next step is to create an ad hoc committee that will go over the study, speak with experts, and determine a path forward.

The full State of the City address is available to read online at jamestownny.gov.

Eddie Sundquist

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist will deliver his annual State of the City Address Monday, January 31.

The address is scheduled to be streamed on jamestownny.gov/live and social media pages at noon.

The remarks also will be posted on the City’s website.

We talk with Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist about his recent bout with COVID-19, Ward 3 Polling, and his State of the City.