Jamestown City Council meeting (May 8, 2023)

Jamestown City Council will meet with FEMA representatives to ask questions about the SAFER grant at a special council work session on May 16.

Council President Tony Dolce said there were four basic questions that council members had including if eight firefighters had to be hired with the $1.8 million grant, “The second question was, can the city reapply for the SAFER grant in three years and what is the likelihood of being approved again? Three, would the city have to wait a specific period before applying for the grant for the second time? And the other question was, have other SAFER grantees been approved for a second round of funding and how soon after the second application were they approved?”

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon shared that the purchase of a second ambulance that was approved by Council was ready to go out to bid and that the vehicle could be received as soon as one to two months.

The meeting with FEMA will take place at 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 16 in the Mayor’s Conference Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. It is open to the public.

City Council Finance and Public Works committees also reviewed and approved a lease extension request for the owner of the Chautauqua Belle to dock at McCrea Point Park.

U.S. Steam Lines has been using the dock at the park since 2019 and is asking for a new 5-year term lease with the option to renew the lease for two additional 5-year terms. The resolution now goes onto the voting session on May 22 for formal approval.

Jamestown City Council

Council is expected to have the opportunity to ask the Federal Emergency Management Agency questions about the grant funding at a special work session that’s yet to be scheduled.

One of the questions Council is likely to ask is whether the number of firefighters to be hired under the SAFER grant can be reduced from the eight that were requested in the grant.

Council also will review a lease extension for the owner of the Chautauqua Belle to dock at McCrea Point Park.

U.S. Steam Lines has been using the dock at the park since 2019 and is asking for a 5-year term lease with the option to renew the lease for two additional 5-year terms.

Council also will hear an update from Grants Writer Paula Pichon on pending grants.

The Public Safety Committee will vote on five special event permits.

The Housing Committee meets at 6:45 p.m. with other committees meeting at 7:00 p.m. The full council work session will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room located on the fourth floor of City Hall. The public is welcome to attend all meetings with the full work session being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

The Chautauqua Belle

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua Belle steamer will be making Jamestown its home for part of the year.

On Monday owners of the Chautauqua Belle – U.S. Steam Lines Ltd. – joined city officials in announcing the announced the multiyear lease agreement to have the vessel docked at the McCrea Point Park boat landing.

The agreement means the Belle will be making round-trip excursions from the Boat Landing to the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel in May and June and also in September and October. The steamer will continue to operate out of the Mayville area in July and August.

As part of the arrangement with the city, U.S. Steam Lines will pay the city $250 the first year for the use of the dock. The rent will increase $25 per year to a final lease price of $350 in the year 2023 – with an option to extend the lease for another five years after that.

The announced location is appropriate, considering the area of McCrea Point is where dozens of steamers were located a century ago when paddle wheels were one of the primary means of transportation for traveling up and down Chautauqua Lake.

The Chautauqua Belle is currently only one of five operating steamboats left in North America.

The Chautauqua Belle (courtesy of www.facebook.com/ChautauquaBelle)

MAYVILLE – The owners of the Chautauqua Belle steamer have signed a new lease agreement with the village of Mayville, ensuring that the boat’s home will remain in the village until at least October 2019.

According to the Post-Journal, the new contract is a five-year lease with two additional five-year renewals with the first lease expiring Oct. 31, 2019. The Chautauqua Belle owners will pay $3,000 for the first year of the license, and the fee will increase by 2 percent each year of the license with a late fee of 5 percent added to any past-due payments.

The lease had already been signed by Mayville Mayor Marty Bova in May.

The new lease ends what had become a contentious situation between the village and U.S. Steam Lines Ltd., which own the Belle.

In January the Mayville village board voted not to renew the previous license with the Belle, which had expired in October 2014. The village also sent an eviction letter to the owners of the Chautauqua Belle, requesting the boat be moved in the spring.

U.S. Steam Lines Ltd. then turned to Facebook and social media to rally support for keeping the boat in Mayville, and following a large public outcry, the village opted to renegotiate with the Belle’s owners.

One of the four operating paddle-wheel boats left in the United States, the Chautauqua Belle has approximately 7,000 to 8,000 guests each year.

The Chautauqua Belle (courtesy of www.facebook.com/ChautauquaBelle)

MAYVILLE – The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting Monday that a final deal has been reached between the Mayville Village Board and U.S. Steam Lines Ltd., which operates the Chautauqua Belle, that will keep the vessel’s home in Mayville for the foreseeable future.

The new contract is a five-year lease with two additional five-year renewals with the first lease expiring in October 2019. The Chautauqua Belle will pay $3,000 for the first year of the license. The fee will increase by 2 percent each year of the license with a late fee of 5 percent added to any past due payments.

The final vote was 3-1, with Trustee Richard Syper voting against the measure and who voiced his disappointment with how the process has been handled by the boat’s owners.

The new contract has already been signed by the village mayor Marty Bova and will reportedly be signed by the owner of the Belle early next week.

In January the Mayville village board voted not to renew the previous license with the Belle, which had expired in October 2014. The village also sent an eviction letter to the owners of the Chautauqua Belle, requesting the boat be moved in the spring.

The Chautauqua Belle then turned to Facebook and social media to rally support for keeping the boat in Mayville, and following a large public outcry, the village opted to renegotiate with the Belle’s owners.

One of the four operating paddle-wheel boats left in the United States, the boat has approximately 7,000 to 8,000 guests each year.

The Chautauqua Belle (courtesy of www.facebook.com/ChautauquaBelle)

MAYVILLE – The Village of Mayville has offered the owners of the Chautauqua Belle a new, 4-year license agreement to continue docking the boat at Mayville Park.

According to media reports, village officials announced the offer during a Tuesday night’s board meeting, which had an estimated 100 people on hand showing their support for the paddle-wheel steamer to remain in Mayville.

The agreement calls for U.S. Stem Lines Ltd., which operates the Chautauqua Belle, to pay $4,000 in the first year of the contract, with a 2 percent increase added for each of the remaining three years.

U.S Stem Lines will review the lease and decide whether or not it will accept, or if the Chautauqua Belle will instead find a new place on the lake to call home.

Last month the Mayville village board voted not to renew the previous license with the Belle, which had expired in October. The village also sent an eviction letter to the owners of the Chautauqua Belle, requesting the boat be moved in the spring.

The Chautauqua Belle then turned to Facebook and social media to rally support for keeping the boat in Mayville.

The Chautauqua Belle (courtesy of www.facebook.com/ChautauquaBelle)

MAYVILLE – A number of Chautauqua Belle supporters are expected to be in attendance Tuesday night during Mayville’s village board of trustees meeting.

At issue is a lease contract agreement between U.S. Steam Lines Ltd., the owners of the Chautauqua Belle, and the village, which owns the property where the Belle has been docked for nearly 40 years.

In January, the board reviewed the prior lease contract with the Chautauqua Belle and declined to renew it. A report Tuesday in the Post-Journal says that specifically, village leaders were uncomfortable with recurring late payments the owners had been making under the previous lease. As a result, they sent a letter to the owners saying the lease would not be renewed and requesting the boat be removed from village property at the earliest possible date.

Since then, however, Mayville Mayor Marty Bova says the village would be willing to enter into a new lease with different language addressing the concerns the village has. According to the Post-Journal, the latest draft calls for a two-year agreement, which the Belle owners have said is unacceptable.

The Chautauqua Belle is using Facebook to voice concerns with the process and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. With more than 5500 followers on the social media website, the Belle has garnered support for remaining in the village, and a large number of supporters are expected to be on hand Tuesday during the village’s monthly voting session.

The meeting – which includes a work session and the likely time that village officials will discuss the lease situation – begins at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.