Jamestown City Council

The City Department of Development held six community input sessions on the action plan over the last two months. The next step is to have Council review the plan before going before the public a final time at a public hearing scheduled for Monday, June 26. The plan then gets submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The City of Jamestown has been allocated $1,144,750 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds as well as $397,507 in HOME program funds for a total of $1,542,257.

Council also will receive a report on the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth grant of $4,310 the city received to install a high-visibility creative crosswalk at West 6th and Cherry Streets connecting the James Prendergast Library to Dow Park.

And a resolution to lift the hiring freeze to hire an engineer appears on the agenda. According to the staff report, this resolution is to replace engineer Mark Roetzer who is now the Acting Director of Public Works and Parks Departments.

The Housing Committee meets at 6:45 p.m. with other committees meeting at 7:00 p.m. The full work session takes 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 being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that Chautauqua Opportunities Inc. and Legal Assistance of Western New York will each receive $125,000 under the Education and Outreach Initiative.

This program offers support for fair housing activities that educate the public and housing providers about equal opportunity in housing and compliance with the fair housing laws.

The Jamestown Department of Development will use the walks to gather community input for the Action Plan, which is the plan for how the city will use Community Development Block Grant and Home program funds it receives. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires the development of the action plan for CDBG and HOME funds.

The City of Jamestown has been awarded $1,144,628 in CDBG funds and $392,250 in HOME funds. This is $5,379 less than they were allocated in 2022.

The funding is used for Community Planning and Development activities, ranging from the development of affordable housing to expanding economic opportunities for people with low and moderate incomes.

DOD officials said while the walks are ward-based, all are welcome to attend. The walk will include a short presentation on the action plan followed by a public comment opportunity.

The workshops will be held as follows:
Ward 1 at 6pm, Tuesday, March 28 at Lillian Dickson Park
Ward 2 at 6pm, Thursday, April 6 at Washington Middle School
Ward 3 at 6pm, Tuesday, April 11 at Jackson-Taylor Park
Ward 4 at 6pm, Thursday, April 20 at Lincoln Elementary School
Ward 5 at 6pm, Tuesday, April 25 at Fletcher Elementary School
Ward 6 at 6pm, Tuesday, May 4 at Willard Park.

Locations may change due to inclement weather. Additional public input sessions that will take place at City Hall will be announced at a later date.

For more information, contact the Department of Development at 716-483-7541

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that the Seneca Nation in Irving will receive $2,922,049 for affordable housing activities in Tribal communities.

The IHBG program is a formula grant that provides a range of affordable housing activities on reservations and related areas. Eligible activities include housing development, operation and modernization of existing housing, housing services to eligible families and individuals, crime prevention and safety, and model activities that provide creative approaches to solving affordable housing challenges.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk presents to Jamestown City Council (February 27, 2023)

Jamestown City Council approved a plan to use $1.277 million for a rental rehabilitation program.

The funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are to be used for homelessness assistance and assistance to other vulnerable populations.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said under the plan, landlords would be able to apply for $30,000 a unit for up to three units, “An applicant can apply for up to $90,000 maximum. That could be for anything an apartment building might need, so if it needs a roof, if it needs siding, if it needs foundation repairs, whatever that might be. It’s not limited to having to be spent in a specific unit, however it can be.”

Surdyk said HUD requires a 15-year anti-speculation agreement for those receiving grant funds, “So that prohibits the property owner from selling that property within 15 years to make a profit. It also requires them to maintain a rental cap that is considered, and falls within HUD’s guidelines for affordable housing. And requires that they make those units available to low to moderate-income persons.”

Surdyk said the plan is due to HUD by March 31, but the City will be submitting it this week for final review and approval.

Jamestown City Council

The three resolutions under new business are American Rescue Plan Building Acquisition and Business Expansion grants approved by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation at its February meeting.

As all three grants are over $100,000, City Council is required to approve them for funding to be disbursed.

The businesses seeking grant funding include Labyrinth Press Company‘s request for $114,855; Panache Salon‘s request of $167,105; and Summit Wealth Management‘s request of $108,705.
Council also will vote on a resolution allocating an additional $296 from ARPA funds to cover added costs for the purchase of Police Car Data Terminals. That had initially been funded with $40,000.

A public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers regarding the City’s HOME-ARP Allocation Plan.

The plan is related to $1,227,069 received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for homelessness assistance and assistance to other vulnerable populations. The funding was to go toward capital investment for affordable rental housing, upgrade available stock of shelter to include non-congregate shelter, and provide tenant-based rental assistance and supportive services.

The City’s plan for the funding included its use for two emergency homeless shelters.

The City Council voting session will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building. The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

The funds from HUD were awarded to public housing authorities to make capital investments in their public housing properties.

The Dunkirk Housing Authority is receiving $650,564 with the Jamestown Housing Authority receiving $516,535.

HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund Program offers annual funding to all public housing authorities to build, renovate, and/or modernize the public housing in their communities.
PHAs can use the funding to complete large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to heating systems and installing water conservation measures.

Jamestown City Council

The five vetoes on the voting agenda include Mayor Eddie Sundquist‘s veto of Council’s $75,000 increase to sales tax revenues. The veto of the $6,500 cut to the Mayor’s Office travel and education line. A veto of the $5,600 cut to the Engineering supplies line. The veto of a $3,000 cut to the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency. And the fifth veto is of the Appropriated Fund balance, which is to allow Council to reappropriate additional funds to balance the 2023 budget should they not override some or all of the vetoes.

Sundquist has proposed a further budget amendment to eliminate a bond interest payment in the amount of $52,964 that was related to the bond payment cut by Council from the budget. He said that by passing the amendment, Council could avoid a full veto override of the three cuts. It would also reduce the sales tax revenue increase needed by $37,864.

Council President Tony Dolce along with Finance Chair and Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund put out a statement last week about the Mayor’s veto of the cut to JURA in response to a news item that ran on a Buffalo television station, WKBW.

Both said the $3,000 cut was to a $5,000 increase from the 2021 budget. In 2021, the JURA budget was increased by $12,000. Dolce and Ecklund said the amount cut by council was “never designated to fund anything specifically for the homeless nor communicated that was the intention.”

They added that “…every department had to be evaluated and cut in places to make up this difference considering we are close to our constitutional tax limit. While we completely understand no one wants a cut we don’t appreciate the false narrative being shared considering the recent story which aired. The City of Jamestown was recently awarded a grant of $194,000 from HUD to address homelessness in Jamestown so this council is not ignoring the issues.”

The special voting session will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of City Hall. It is open to the public and will be livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

Gebbie Foundation CEO Greg Edwards addresses Jamestown City Council (November 7, 2022)

The executive directors of the Community Foundation and Gebbie Foundation made pleas to Jamestown City Council to move forward with American Rescue Plan funding.

Chautauqua Region Community Foundation Executive Director Tory Irgang, speaking to Council, reminded them how CRCF helped compile the community feedback from public information sessions held in 2021 on how to use the ARPA funds.

She said it’s easy to adopt a “scarcity mindset,” “A time when partnerships and collaborations can be mistaken as weakness. However, we have proven in this community what can happen when we have an abundance mindset. We work through public, private partnerships every day to achieve tremendous results. And I encourage each of you to lean into that shared experience by aligning the remaining ARPA funding with community-based projects that have significant leveraging opportunities.”

Irgang said projects that had been evaluated and awarded other funding from government and philanthropic sources should be considered, “Projects that provide infrastructure and programming for children and young adults, projects that yield measurable results, deliver significant community benefit, and address challenges that are multi-faceted. As we know all too well in philanthropy, our needs are always greater than our resources, but we can meet so many more needs when we collaborate and work together.”

Gebbie Foundation CEO Greg Edwards said the city has been very successful at finding partners in its mission over the last 20 years, “Over the last 20 years, many times not-for-profits have willingly stepped up and the public-private entities have stepped up because they had seen how valuable our joint mission was and invested dramatically in trying to impact the future of the city in ways we could spend a great deal of time tonight celebrating this partnership between the city and these entities.”

Edwards encouraged funding for TheZone project at the Northwest Arena. He said the Gebbie Foundation has provided nearly $4 million in funding for that project. He also encouraged Council to support the new Jamestown YMCA project on Harrison Street.

Council member Marie Carrubba asked what the plans were for the current YMCA location on East Fourth Street.

Edwards replied that the 1929 structure is complicated with the Housing and Urban Development contract for housing that remains in place for at least 13 years, “But there have been significant conversations around how that could actually be a plus to other redevelopments potentially around the city and how that building itself could be reused. I had a conversation two months ago with a private developer who was interested in turning it into what we’ll call higher end housing because it does come with some amenities that other buildings don’t. I mean, having the gyms, the pools, those sorts of things that does provide opportunities, call it built in, that make it interesting.”

Council Member at Large Jeff Russell voiced support for a new YMCA facility.

Any funding for the projects mentioned by Edwards would possibly receive funding from the proposed Non-Profit Assistance Program. A resolution to fund that program with $1.5 million in ARP funds is still awaiting Council action.

Council member Andrew Faulkner questioned how much the 19A Home Ownership program could be funded with and still be successful. Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said $500,000 would be the absolute minimum. The current proposal is requesting $750,000.

Council member at large Russell asked why the city would contract with the Chautauqua County Land Bank for $1 million, of which 20% goes to administrative fees, when the city could do home demolitions itself.

Surdyk said $500,000 of the funds requested by the Land Bank would go to contractors to do the demolition work, with administration fees going to administer that program.

She said while the DOD can administer demolitions, as it has done in the past, there are now over 16 new programs the department is now administering on top of existing programs, “To administer effectively the demolition program and these and new grant programs that we have received over the last year, it’s just not feasible without hiring new staff, specifically to do demolition. So, we can contract with the Land Bank at a roughly 20% administrative fee which would ultimately be less than what we’d have to pay to employ somebody as a city employee.”

The Finance Committee tabled the resolutions related to funding the Chautauqua County Land Bank and 19A Home Ownership Program until the November 14 work session.

And DPW Director Jeff Lehman reported that leaf pickup is ahead of schedule with Phase 2 already underway this week. He said crews do plan to go back through the city again after the completion of Phase 2 to try to pick up any piles of leaves that were missed the first time.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist addresses Jamestown City Council (October 17, 2022)

The City of Jamestown has received a $194,000 HUD grant to help deal with homelessness issues.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, in his Mayor’s report to City Council, said the city will have to develop a plan for use of the funds with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development encouraging that it be used for rapid response.

He said resource providers, local church organizations, and medical providers have met to discuss both long-term solutions and short term emergency shelter.

Sundquist said Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. has taken the lead with the county on the issue and that one to two sites have been identified as potential emergency winter shelters, “So, it would be a nighttime, usually from around 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. Those sites would also then provide security at the locations, food, we’d have other churches and other groups provide resources there. We’d have social workers and other resource providers come to that location and we were also talking about potentially having once a week a medical provider come on site.”

Sundquist said they hope to get details finalized in the next week. He said with the weather turning cooler there is a need for emergency shelters, “On an average night across Chautauqua County when there is a ‘Code Blue,’ the weather is under 32 degrees, they have about seven people across the county that they have to shelter. That number is expected to double or triple this year with just Jamestown alone.”

Sundquist said resource providers are also discussing creating a shelter just for people with addiction needs or who are in recovery. He added that most of the current shelters in Jamestown are full.