Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson provides information on incidents (May 11, 2023)

An investigation by Jamestown Police is ongoing after a woman was found dead on William Street.

Police Chief Tim Jackson said officers were called to 125 William Street around 4:30 a.m. Thursday for a report of a unresponsive female, who was determined to have died.

Jackson said police are seeking 34-year old Michael C. Burham, who is considered armed and dangerous. He is described as a white male and weiging 160 pounds. Police believe he may be in the Jamestown or Warren, Pennsylvania area. Following an anonymous tip, police did locate the pick-up truck that belongs to Burham.

Police are not yet releasing the name of the woman who died or any further details about that case.

At a press conference late Thursday afternoon, Chief Jackson also shared that officers were called to a car fire on Fulton Avenue at 4:33 a.m. Thursday. Jackson said an incendiary device caused that fire. He said the owner of the car has been located but would not comment on if that incident was connected with the death on William Street.

Anyone with any information regarding Burham is asked to contact the Jamestown Police Department immediately at 716-483- 7537 or the anonymous tip line at 716-483-8477. All calls and tips will be kept confidential.

Michael C. Burham

1061 Allen Street (January 2023)

The corporation that owns the former Crawford Furniture Building that burned down in a fire in November 2022 is expected to plead guilty to code violations.

City of Jamestown Corporation Counsel Elliot Raimondo and Allen Street Development LLC Attorney Daryl Brautigam appeared in Housing Court Friday, April 28 before Judge George Panebianco.

Brautigam informed the Judge that he is advising his client at a pre-trial hearing scheduled for June 2, 2023 to enter a guilty plea on two tickets.

Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said these tickets are for on-going violations at 1061 Allen Street that go back several years in regards to junk and debris issues as well as other code issues that preceded the fire on November 16, 2022.

Raimondo said this plea will allow the City to seek damages against the corporation, “After the fire, the city had to pay H.H. Rauh Contracting $100,000 for an emergency demolition just due to the fact that the site was so unsafe during and immediately after the fire for any individuals to near there. That said, anyone who drives on Allen Street and past 1061 Allen will still see that there are massive, and what we would say is Superfund type site, that needs to be cleaned up at the site of the fire.”

Raimondo said the city has received quotes for over a million dollars for that clean-up. He added that the owners also owe over $90,000 in back taxes for the past five years.

The pre-trial motion on June 2 also will determine if Richard Rusiniak has any personal liability as one of the principal owners of Allen Street Development LLC. A sentencing date for the guilty pleas will be determined at the pre-trial and that future date also will include the hearing of contempt charges against Richard Rusiniak by the City for providing false statements in court.

Meanwhile, Surdyk said the Environmental Protection Agency is still assessing the site. She said their involvement with the site in the years before the fire has been a benefit to the city, “I think the fire could have been much more damaging and catastrophic had they (EPA) not been able to achieve some compliance with removing some of the chemicals and hazardous materials from the site. We do know there were still some hazardous materials that remained at the time of the fire, but like I said, it could have been much more catastrophic than it was.”

The DEC and EPA are each pursuing independent actions against the property owners.

Surdyk added that Jamestown Police have not charged anyone with setting the fire but said she believed they did have suspects in the case. WRFA contacted Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson about the matter but had not heard back by press time.

The 2022  was released on the city’s website, jamestownny.gov.

Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson said while crime is up, it’s important to note that the number of arrests increased by 10.9% in 2022. He said in the report that this is due to more targeted police enforcement as well as using GIVE funding for supplemental officers to be used in areas of high crime.

In terms of crime, in 2022 there was a 30.8% increase in cases involving reported use of a firearm compared to 2021 and 24 confirmed shootings. All of the firearm related violence was targeted and related to narcotics trafficking.

Jackson said JPD will be conducting more targeted impact patrols in areas with a high crime rate this year. He said the department will use GIVE funding to conduct hotspot and micro hotspot policing in targeted areas.

80 firearms were seized last year and the SWAT Team was deployed 34 times for search warrants.

The number of overdoses known to JPD also increased by 12.6% in 2022 compared to 2021; however, the fatality rate from overdoses decreased by 23.5% in 2022.

The Jamestown Fire Department responded to 61 fires in 2022. Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon said of that total 1 person died and 5 fires were arson. He said the number of fires is down from a total of 74 in 2021, but still remain high when compared with 52 fires in 2020.

Coon said in 2022, JFD responded to a total of 4,788 calls for medical emergencies, including 1,298 ambulance transports. This is an increase from 1,130 transports last year.

Coon said neighboring volunteer departments were dispatched into the city over 500 times in 2022.

He said goals for 2023 include

• Continuing to expand fire prevention and life safety services throughout the community,
• Providing better transparency and availability through social media platforms,
• Continuing work with local agencies to provide the best services to the community with an attempt to not duplicate said services;
• And continuing expansion of partnerships county-wide by sharing resources to provide education to not only city residents, but anyone who desires it.

The full report may be viewed here: https://www.jamestownny.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2022-Annual-Report-FINAL-V2.pdf

Jamestown City Council

Mayor Eddie Sundquist‘s $38.68 million Executive Budget proposal included no tax increase. The tax levy is proposed to remain at $23.69 per $1,000 of assessed property value, which it has been since 2020. It has a 0.06% increase in the overall levy.

Council members have raised concerns over a proposed parking meter rate increase. The budget has on-street meters rates rising from 25-cents to 50-cents a half hour, for a total of $1 an hour. The parking revenue budgeted for 2023 is $245,000 versus $127,000 for 2022, a 31% increase.

Police Chief Tim Jackson also raised concerns over the SWAT Team, training, and K9 handler being underfunded.

There are also have been concerns over the need for additional staff for Information Technology Services. Information Technology Director Mark Dean informed Council that his request for an IT Specialist was not funded in the Executive Budget. He said the $42,634 for the additional position is needed to handle cyber security needs and network hardware-software needs.

Finance Chair and Council member at Large Kim Ecklund had expressed concern over departments doing their own tech work when there are staff assigned to handle that already.

Council must vote on a budget by December 1 or the mayor’s proposed budget goes into effect.
Council also will vote on several American Rescue Plan funded projects that have been languishing on their agenda for months.

Resolutions to be approved include $1.5 million for a Non-Profit Assistance Program program, $1 million for the Chautauqua County Land Bank Post-Pandemic Housing Initiative, $750,000 for a Business Expansion & Building Acquisition program, and $500,000 for the 19A Homeownership Program.

The proposed amount for the 19A Homeownership program has been reduced by $250,000 with another resolution re-appropriating that amount to the very popular Senior Citizen Home Improvement Incentive Program.

Council also will vote to approve a local law on the Reapportionment of Ward Boundary lines.

City Council will hold a work session at 7:00 p.m. in the 4th Floor Police Training Room with the full voting session taking place at 7:30 p.m in the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building. The meetings are open to the public with the voting session being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

Jamestown Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon and Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson present their budgets to City Council (November 7, 2022)

The Jamestown Police Chief has concerns over cuts or under-funding of several areas of the department’s budget.

Chief Tim Jackson, presenting to City Council, said training and instruction was only funded with $30,000 when $60,000 was requested. He said as of October 28, the department was $25,205 over budget for that line and he anticipated similar numbers for 2023.

Jackson said funding for special operations, or the SWAT team, was only funded with $16,500 when $35,000 was requested, “As I’m sure everybody knows, we used the SWAT team a lot more this year. And we continually use our SWAT team. This past weekend we used them again. And we’ve definitely have shown an increased need to use the team. As of October 28 of this year, we are over our allocated amount by $10,022.41.”

Jackson said the K9 Handler compensation, which New York State mandates a minimum wage rate, was under-budgeted with only $10,000 allocated. He said with minimum wage rising to $14.20 in 2023, he estimates the actual compensation cost will be $15,549.

Jackson said he and City Fleet Manager Pat Monaghan put together a police vehicle and equipment replacement schedule spreadsheet, including vehicles that were recommended to be replaced for 2023.

He said none of those requested vehicle replacements were included in the proposed budget, “And we created that spreadsheet so we wouldn’t end up in the situation we ended up in last year. Some of our vehicles, to be frank, I don’t know if one or two of them are going to pass inspection.”

Monaghan said while he was grateful for the funding previously approved by Council to replace some patrol cars this year, there needs to be a regular replacement schedule so that they can avoid having to replace major components on the vehicles, “I can tell you that on four-year old vehicles, we’ve replaced the engine and transmission on them. And that’s in spite of regular, aggressive preventative maintenance programs. It’s just, those vehicles are subjected to everything they tell you should never do to a vehicle. Consider that they run 365 days a year, 24-7, under extreme conditions. And it’s just something that, by the time the third year of these vehicles is up it’s time to replace them.”

Finance Chair and Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund asked why the cuts were made with City Comptroller John Sellstrom replying that he would get back to her with that information.

Council Member at Large Jeff Russell expressed concern that the cuts to the SWAT team could result in team losing its state certification, which Chief Jackson said is possible.

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon also presented his budget, with few concerns. Russell asked if grant funding could be used to replace turn-out gear, but Coon said they rarely meet requirements as one of the grants requires gear to be 14 years old and the department goes through equipment at a much faster rate than that.

The last budget presentations to Council will be by the City Department of Development and the Fenton History Center on Monday, November 14.

However, council members can begin to pre-file budget amendments as soon as Wednesday, November 9.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 16 and is anticipated to be voted on at the November 28th voting session.

Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson and members of JPD SWAT team present to Jamestown City Council (October 17, 2022)

City Council members voiced support for the purchase of a new SWAT vehicle for the Jamestown Police Department.

Council heard a presentation by Police Chief Tim Jackson as well as members of the SWAT team about the need for vehicle. The cost would be $247,516 and be funded using American Rescue Plan monies.
Jackson said since 2016, the SWAT team has been deployed 199 times.

He said the vehicle is multi-purpose, “It can be used for rescue, search and rescue; evacuating people, and a trauma center, so it has multiple uses. It’s not just for SWAT raids.”

Council member at large and retired Jamestown Police officer, Jeff Russell, addressed concerns about the appearance of the bearcat, “This vehicle, if you look at it, if you see photographs of it, it looks somewhat like a Brinks truck. No one seems to be afraid of a Brinks truck when it’s going down the road and it’s collecting cash at various locations. We need to get over the appearance that this is scary looking and that it’s out hunting people or it’s too militaristic looking. This isn’t only to protect the men and women of the Jamestown Police Department, but it’s also to protect citizens.”

Council member Bill Reynolds, who also is retired from the Police Department, voiced his support for the resolution as well.

Chief Jackson estimated that if the purchase is approved it will take one year for delivery. He said Erie County and then State Police in Batavia have the next closest available SWAT vehicles in New York State.

In other business, Council Finance Chair Kim Ecklund requested input from the Information Technology Director on the proposed purchase of new accounting and payroll software. $91,683 in American Rescue Plan funds would be used for the purchase with the annual maintenance cost of $19,405 being part of the regular budget. Ecklund said her concern is that the software operates in the cloud and wants to know what security issues there may be.

Jamestown City Council

One of the resolutions using ARP funds would use $1.5 million to create a Non-Profit Assistance Program.

The staff report said the program would provide competitive grant funding designed to assist Jamestown non-profit organizations recover from the pandemic and corresponding economic crisis.

Awards would be structured as 50% grant and 50% forgivable loan. The loan portion of the award would be forgiven if measurables as stated by the applicant are met by December 31, 2026. Awards would assist with up to 75% of the total project costs in amounts not to exceed $200,000. A minimum of 25% of the total project costs will be the responsibility of the applicant. Awards over $200,000 would be considered on a case-by-case basis and will require a PILOT agreement with the City of Jamestown.

Council also will review a request to give $1 million in ARP funds to the Chautauqua County Land Bank program. The funding would be used to create a First Time Homebuyer’s Assistance Rebate Program, to support the expansion of the Hands On Neighborhoods Program, and to assist in the Land Bank’s purchase of an information management platform that will complement the “City’s use of Building Blocks to facilitate strategic initiatives, workflows and vendor communications.”

The 19A Homeownership Program also is on the agenda again with proposed funding of $750,000 in ARP funds.

The last resolution involving ARP funds is the use of $750,000 to create a Business Expansion & Building Acquisition program.

Under the program, businesses could use the funding for essential building systems including roof repairs, elevator repairs, property renovations to improve traffic patterns, drainage solutions and repairs, and other repairs deemed necessary to support expanded services.

The program also structures awards as 50% grant and 50% forgivable loan. The loan portion of the award will be forgiven if measurables as stated by the applicant are met by December 31, 2026.

Awards would assist with up to 75% of the total project costs in amounts not to exceed $200,000. A minimum of 25% of the total project costs will be the responsibility of the applicant.

Council also will review a $4,000 donation to the Police Department by Rand Precision Machining to fund a Citizens Police Academy.

According to the staff report, Chief Tim Jackson plans to revive the academy that was held several years ago. It would be a three-hour session held once a week for 10 weeks and would focus on arrest procedures, juvenile procedures, vehicle and traffic law, crime scene investigations, emergency response teams, drug enforcement, DWI, community policing, range procedures, and defensive tactics.

Council Committee meetings start at 6:30 p.m. with the Housing Committee, followed by other committees meeting at 7:00 p.m. The full work session begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Fourth Floor Police Training Room in City Hall. All meetings are open to the public with the full work session being streamed on jamestownny.gov.

City Council Public Forum held September 14, 2022

Questions and opinions on how to deal with the rising homeless population in Jamestown were raised during City Council‘s public forum on Wednesday.

Several questions were raised about what is being done about the homeless people under the North Main Street viaduct and for homeless women and children.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said many people don’t realize there are only two shelters in Jamestown, with one housing men and the other housing women and children of domestic violence.

He said a census of homeless people in Jamestown has revealed new challenges, “Many years, that has been about 25 to 30 people. In the last several months, we have now seen an increase of over 70 people or more in just certain areas. So, it has risen rapidly across the city. In many cases it’s visible. We’ve always had homelessness, let’s be clear about that, it has not been as visible as it has been.”

Sundquist said the end of the COVID-19 eviction moratorium has led to increased evictions and movement of people to Jamestown.

He said he had met with over 60 local pastors Tuesday night along with council members to discuss homelessness.

Sundquist said in talking with other cities, that when faith leaders and resource providers work together, they’ve been able to tackle issues like emergency sheltering, getting resources to people, and, ultimately, getting people off the street, “That’s a model we’re trying to do right here in the city of Jamestown. And in the next two weeks we’ll be bringing both those groups together to start to look at that model. Because we’re afraid when winter comes, when the snow comes, we’re going to start to see people in abandoned homes. We’re going to potentially see people dead on the street. And that’s something we do not want to happen.”

Police Chief Tim Jackson said on every shift, officers having been meeting with the people taking shelter under the North Main Street viaduct to try to move them along while also handing out informational pamphlets about resources available for help.

Several comments were made by audience members about not wanting to give “hand outs, but hand ups” to homeless people, including not offering food to homeless but instead donating money and food to shelters and food pantries.

Mental Health Association Project Manager Sean Jones spoke up, saying “there are no hand outs in town” and that the MHA works with the homeless on a daily basis, “We help them navigate the system through the town. If there is a hand-out, yes, sometimes we give them a sandwich or a cup of coffee, but that’s how we build trust with them so they will trust us to then go through the process. And one of the things we have to go through is when we bring them to their appointment, they can sign up for help to get housing, to get food, to get medical assistance, to get a lot of different things.”

Jones said there are rules involved with getting this help, so if a participant is late or misses an appointment, they can be sanctioned for 45 days where they have to wait that entire time in order to reapply for services.

Sheriff Jim Quattrone, who had previously worked with a homeless ministry, said when it comes to homeless issues, one size doesn’t fit all, “There are some people that need that hand-out. They need it right now to survive. But then we need to do a rehabilitation. And how we talk to them, ‘How do you see yourself improving? What do you need now to survive? What do you need for the next month to survive? And then moving forward, the month after that?’ And then we have to have a development. It’s kind of like, give a fish, feed them for a day, teach them to fish, feed them for a lifetime.”

Quattrone said people should try visiting somewhere like St. Susan Center to have a non-judgmental conversation with those who are homeless or food insecure. He added that while there are a lot of resources in Chautauqua County, he’s been meeting monthly with area groups to learn what gaps need to be filled.

City Council Forum held at Christ First United Methodist Church on September 14, 2022

Public safety was just one issue discussed with over 60 people who attended a public forum held by Jamestown City Council Wednesday night.

Council President Tony Dolce stated one of his goals has been to hold these kinds of forums outside of the regular council meeting, but the Pandemic put that on hold until now.

City Director of Development Crystal Surdyk presented on neighborhood stabilization efforts by the department. She said the department is facing a monumental task with housing code enforcement and housing at the top of the list.

Surdyk said there are just three Code Enforcement Officers right now, “It takes up a lot of our time and energy every day, all day long. We’re on call 24-7. It’s not uncommon to get a call from one these guys (Police) in the middle of the night or on a weekend. And it’s been a really great partnership with the Police Department, with the Fire Department, our other departments.”

Surdyk said the collaboration between the departments has been important because they’re all dealing with the same issues. She said it’s helped the department make some strides.

Surdyk added that housing and housing conditions impact economic development, “..and vice versa, so you really can’t look at neighborhoods and downtown development and business development as separate things. They all have to be worked on at the same time. It’s not a this or this. It has to be this and this and this.”

Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson presented next and said the most important issue for police right now is gun violence which comes with narcotics issues. He said as of August 14, there have been 16 confirmed shootings this year, compared with 19 for all of 2021, “In 2022, our cases involving reports of firearms have increased 4.2% compared to year-to-date 2021 and 76.2%, compared to the five-year average. And the five year average is 27.8 cases, so it is an increase.”

He said the shootings have taken place all over the city, which makes it difficult to combat because officers can’t necessarily target where the next shooting event might take place.

Police Captain Scott Forester presented on the department’s work under the GIVE grant, or Gun Involved Violence Elimination grant, which is under its ninth year in the city, “GIVE focuses not only on gun violence but it focuses on domestic incidences, community engagements, it helps pay for our Crime Analyst, which obviously then assists with us with the information we need to run our targeted patrols. As the Chief mentioned, the shots fired calls, warrant services, and then a word you’ve heard a lot tonight, is partnerships.”

Forester said the department works closely with local law enforcement as well as Federal partnerships.

Chief Jackson said prior the presentation that the collaboration with Federal partners has helped the city get around some of the bail reform restrictions in place under New York State.

Jackson said hiring continues to be an issue for the department, with three positions open right now. This includes the Quality of Life Officer that had been approved by council in the spring which was to solely be assigned to deal with issues in the city such as noise and neighborhood complaints.

Sheriff Jim Quattrone was in attendance and echoed the issue facing law enforcement with recruitment, “We currently have nobody who has training and qualifications on the civil service list to be hired by any police department in the county. We currently have 14 Chautauqua County residents in the (Sheriff’s) Academy but they just started, so they won’t be ready to even get out of the Academy until around May, May or June of next year. So that is creating a problem. We’ve looked at other departments but really we’d just be taking them from another jurisdiction.”

Dolce said following the forum, council members and the administration will compile the comments and requests, “Put it together and then put our heads together and see where we go. This is just a beginning. These are issues that are not going to be solved overnight. They weren’t created overnight. But these are the types of things that involve the community that help us help them and move forward.”

Dolce added he does plan to have additional public forums in the future.

Jamestown City Council (August 29, 2022)

Jamestown City Council has approved allocating another $3 million to home improvement and business improvement programs funded through the American Rescue Plan Act monies.

The Roof, Private Sewer Lateral, Private Water Line Repair/Replacement Program received an additional $2 million with the Building & Property Infrastructure Improvements program receiving an additional $1 million.

Council President Tony Dolce said both programs had originally been funded with $750,000, “When we first passed this several months ago, we weren’t sure how much we would need. This just increases the amount to cover some of the need that’s been out there that people have requested. So, it’s really good for the city, for the citizens, for the businesses in the community.”

Dolce said for the roof and sewer program, homeowners who had received letters saying they were approved pending more funding will now receive that funding. He said the application process will not be reopened for either the housing nor business program.

Council approved an agreement with Zambelli Fireworks in the amount of $19,500 for the Labor Day Fest fireworks show on Sunday, September 4.

Citizen Doug Champ spoke out against the funding of the fireworks show, saying the money would be better used to support or enhance the Parks Department, “You could buy 50 recycled park benches for $385. You can create a tree and shrubbery specimen botanical garden for people to look and observe various species that can grow in our zone with potential use in their property. You can buy 19 full-sized picnic tables at a thousand dollars a pop.”

Champ also cited negative environmental impact caused by fireworks as additional reasons for not funding the program.

Dolce said he understands that fireworks are expensive but it’s not something the city does on a regular basis, “People enjoy it. They’ve come to expect it, especially on Labor Day. A lot of people, that’s the highlight of the day for them. They go up and picnic. Again, I understand his concerns but I just think it’s one of things where the community.. it’s been three years since they’ve really had a chance to celebrate. And it’s not something we do every day and we try to do the best we can to make it as safe as possible.”

Dolce said the funding is coming from the city budget’s Parks Festival line.

Council tabled a resolution to fund the 19A Homeownership program with $750,000 of ARPA monies. Dolce said the Finance Committee had questions that were not answered prior to the voting session and that the resolution will likely be on the September agenda for reconsideration.

Council also approved appointments by Mayor Eddie Sundquist to the Salary Review Commission. Former City Comptrollers Joe Bellitto and Ryan Thompson were named to the advisory group as well as Heather Greenfield, who is the Financial Coordinator for the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency.

Dolce said he, as Council President, as will have three appointments that he hopes to bring forward in September, “The City Charter requires that we put together a Salary Review Commission every four years to review the salaries of all elected officials. That would be the City Council as well as the Mayor. And then they make a recommendation back to the City Council as to what they think the salaries should be, should they be changed, added, whatever, and then the Council gets to vote on it.”

Any salary changes would not go into effect until January 1, 2024. Dolce added that the Mayor’s salary is $72,000 which hasn’t had an increase since 2008, “If you look at the list of salaried employees in the city, the chief executive officer (mayor) is way down at the bottom below firemen, policemen, and other city workers, so maybe it’s time to look at that. The City Council, it’s been 38 years since there has been an adjustment.”

Council members receive a $5,000 salary with the Council President receiving an additional $1,000 stipend.

Dolce also announced details have been finalized for a city-wide public forum. The event will be held at Christ First United Methodist Church located at 663 Lakeview Avenue at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 14. Dolce said Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson will be on hand to discuss and answer questions about public safety with Director of Development Crystal Surdyk also attending to discuss housing concerns. The forum is open to the public.