The event starts at 10:00 a.m. at Falconer Park.

It is open to children ages 12 and under. Attendees should bring their own basket.

Jamestown BPU flushing water mains

The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities has delayed water main flushing in the Village of Falconer due to high water levels.

The flushing in Falconer was scheduled for this weekend with a pre-flush Friday night. The BPU said a notice will be sent out to local media when Falconer flushing is rescheduled.

Daytime flushing in the rest of the water system begins, weather-permitting, on Monday, October 3.

For more information, call the Flushing Hotline at 716-661-1613 or visit jamestownbpu.com

The traditional flushing of the entire Village of Falconer will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday, October 1, and continue overnight into Sunday, October 2. The pre-flush of Falconer’s Aldren, Mapleshade, Ralph and Valmeere Streets is set to begin at 1 p.m. Friday, September 30.

Discolored water may be seen in Falconer and on the north side of Jamestown during Falconer flushing.
Flushing in the rest of the water system will take place from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday, October 3, through Friday, October 7, and from Monday, October 10, through Wednesday, October 12. No flushing will take place on the weekends.

An exception will be downtown Jamestown flushing that will begin at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, October 5, to accommodate downtown and Fairmount Avenue businesses and restaurants. Flushing that day could affect streets and neighborhoods off Fairmount Avenue/Route 394, even though their own streets are not targeted for flushing on that date.

In addition, on Thursday, October 6, a pump test at 101 Jackson Avenue in Celoron will take place at 8 a.m. on the same day that flushing in Celoron occurs at 8:30 a.m. Celoron residents should be aware of the earlier start of discolored water in the Village that day.

For more information about flushing, contact the BPU at 716-661-1660 or visit jamestownbpu.com.

The clean-up takes place from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Volunteers are needed to help clean all areas of the village including parks and public areas. They are encouraged to bring their own rakes, brooms and gloves or other items they may need. The Village will supply garbage bags. A complimentary lunch will follow the event.

New this year, the Village of Falconer will provide dumpsters that will be available to Village residents only. Dumpsters will be located behind the Village Garage on Coleson Drive.

Village residents may bring any items they wish to dispose of free of charge with four exceptions:
– No electronic devices including televisions, computers, or VCRS
– No types of tires
– Refrigerators must be tagged that all freon has been removed before the Village can accept them
– No paint, thinners, household hazard chemicals or fuel oils, etc.

Residents must present photo ID and proof of residency in order to use dumpsters.

The clean-up event also coincides with the Rotary District 7090 Great Lakes Watershed Clean Up. The Falconer Rotary Club will be concentrating on taking care of the local waterways that surround and flow through the Village of Falconer including the Chadakoin River and Moon Brook.

For more Information, please call Village Hall at 716-665-4400.

The test kits are from a New York Department of Homeland Security initiative.

Each site will receive 100 test kits. Each resident may only pick-up one test kit, which includes two (2) tests.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said during the City Council work session that 500 masks made by and donated by The Resource Center will be available as well as free hand sanitizer.

Test Kits in Jamestown will be available at the following locations:

– The James Prendergast Library will have walk-in pickup available starting at 1pm, Wednesday, January 12
– The Jamestown Community College back parking lot near the Science Building will have a drive-thru pickup available at 3pm, Wednesday, January 12
– A drive-thru pickup will take place at 5pm, Wednesday, January 12 at the Persell Middle School Baker Street Bus Loop
– Christ First United Methodist Church will have a drive thru pickup starting at 3pm, Thursday January 13

– And a drive-thru pickup will take place at 5pm at the Allen Park Rink Parking Lot on Thursday, January 13

Test kits will be available on a first come, first served basis.

# # #

The Village of Falconer announced it has received a limited number of COVID-19 test kits and masks for distribution to Village residents.

Interested village residents can pick up test kits and masks in the Village Community Building lobby Tuesday, January 11 from 5:00-6:00 p.m.

This will be on a first come, first serve basis and proof of residency is required.

For more information, contact the Village Clerk at (716) 665-4400.

The Village of Falconer announced it has received a limited number of COVID-19 test kits and masks for distribution to Village residents. 

Interested village residents can pick up test kits and masks in the Village Community Building lobby from 5:00-6:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 11. 

This will be on a first come, first serve basis.  Proof of very residency is required. 

For more information, contact the Village Clerk at (716) 665-4400.

Attorneys for the town of Ellicott and City of Jamestown both discussed the issue of whether the property was eligible for annexation.

Previously, the town of Ellicott and village of Falconer had argued in State Supreme Court that the city property assessor’s certificate for the property did not satisfy state law.

However, Judge Lynn Keane had ruled in November 2020 that it did despite Ellicott attorneys arguing that the property isn’t adjacent to the city line because a road separates the property from adjoining to the city boundary. Under state law, municipalities can only annex properties that are adjacent to their own boundaries.

City officials have argued that by annexing the property into the city limits, the Board of Public Utilities would save an estimated $160,000 each year in property taxes, thus saving money for all utility customers in the service area. They also claim such a move is in the overall public interest due to the city having a professional public safety department that could better respond to any safety emergencies that occur on the property.

Ellicott, Falconer, and the Falconer School District are all opposed to the annexation, saying it is nothing more than a money grab by the city.

A map highlights the BPU Substation property proposed for annexation, with the red line illustrating Tiffany Avenue, the border between the city and the town of Ellicott/Village of Falconer.

The lawsuit involving the annexation of the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Dow Street Substation property in the Town of Ellicott is set to start up again in State Appellate Court.

The Fourth Appellate Court will hold hearings on Tuesday, January 4th.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the lawsuit is between the City of Jamestown and Board of Public Utilities’ with the town of Ellicott, Village of Falconer, and the Falconer School District. He said there are still procedural issues being worked out, “One of the procedure issues ruled in favor of the city by the Supreme Court Judge here in Chautauqua County ultimately was appealed by the town of Ellicott and we’re not just hearing, the court is now just hearing it a year later. So it’s been on the docket for about a year for the Appellate Court and they’re finally getting to it.”

State Supreme Court Judge Lynn Keane‘s ruling in November 2020 did not involve whether or not the annexation is in the “overall public interest.” That argument can still be made by Ellicott and Falconer and it would have to be made in State Appellate Court

Sundquist said the city is waiting to hear if the court will impanel people for the referee panel to hear the annexation case.

City officials have argued that by annexing the property into the city limits, the Board of Public Utilities would save an estimated $160,000 each year in property taxes, thus saving money for all utility customers in the service area. They also claim such a move is in the overall public interest due to the city having a professional public safety department that could better respond to any safety emergencies that occur on the property.

Ellicott, Falconer, and the Falconer School District are all opposed to the annexation, saying it is nothing more than a money grab by the city.

The Jamestown City Council during its Feb. 24, 2020 voting session.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council voted 7 to 2 Monday night in favor of annexing the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities’ Dow St. Substation property in the Town of Ellicott/Village of Falconer, setting the stage for another legal showdown in State Appellate Court.

Monday’s vote came following statements from both Mayor Eddie Sundquist and Council President Tony Dolce. Sundquist said that the city was willing to negotiate an outcome to help avoid legal action, but officials from Ellicott, Falconer and the Falconer Central School (FCS) district walked away from the table the night before a second negotiating session was scheduled to take place.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist

“I truly believe that there is a middle ground where all the parties could benefit. As part of that we’ve attempted negotiations. We’ve offered to invest in projects that make sense as a larger region and to support some of the work as we develop this area,” Sundquist said prior to the vote. “On the eve of the second round of negotiations, we were informed by Ellicott, Falconer and Falconer Schools that they no longer wish to negotiate with us in order to come to a resolution with this annexation.”

Dolce added that while there is the possibility for returning to the table to negotiate a deal and avoid litigation, he and other council members felt it was time to move the process forward.

“I was ready and willing to try and work to put off that vote again, but since they have decided to end the discussion there’s no need to wait on the vote,” Dolce said. “We still can sit down and talk and hopefully they would like to come back to the table but at this time I think we’ve extended the olive branch and its time for us to move on.”

Dolce joined six other council members in supporting the annexation, including councilwoman Tamu Graham-Reinhardt, who had previously recused herself from voting on any resolution involving the annexation because of a conflict of interest due to her working for the Falconer School District. But as of earlier this month Graham-Reinhardt is no longer working for the district, meaning she no longer had to recuse herself from voting on the issue.  The two council members to vote against annexation were newly elected members Grant Olson and Jeffrey Russell.

A map highlights the BPU Substation property proposed for annexation, with the red line illustrating Tiffany Avenue, the border between the city and the town of Ellicott/Village of Falconer.

Ellicott, Falconer and FCS are against annexation because it will result in a loss totaling $330,000 in annual tax revenue between the three.

The City and Jamestown BPU argues that by annexing the property, it will serve the public interest of the entire BPU service area, including customers living in the village, town and school district. The BPU would also avoid paying the $330,000 in taxes, and would instead make an estimated $80,000 payment in lieu of taxes to both the City of Jamestown and Jamestown Public Schools.

Following Monday’s council meeting, Sundquist explained that during the negotiations, the city was pressing for an annexation while also trying to help soften the financial impact it would have on the three affected municipalities.

“It all revolved around annexation but we had flexibility on what was being annexed and what values would be associated to the annexation. But at the end of the day it was this council’s message as well as the BPU board that they wanted some form of annexation. But we were willing to be flexible on that and offset certain costs.”

The annexation can be legally challenged if either Falconer or Ellicott (or both) vote in opposition of the annexation. That is what is expected to take place, most likely during the next respective village and town board meetings.

Once a vote of opposition is made, a legal complaint is filed and the city will then have a limited amount of time to respond. Failure to do so before the deadline will result in the case being thrown out. This is what happened during the previous annexation attempt, which went to court in October 2017. But the issue of whether or not the annexation could proceed was never answered. Instead, the state 4th Appellate Division in Rochester ruled that Jamestown’s legal team – Bond, Schoeneck and King – had failed to file its response paperwork on time. The court case then ended on the filing technicality, with a ruling not being delivered until August 2019.

The legal fees for the previous annexation approached a combined $750,000. Bond, Schoeneck and King will again handle the case for the BPU, but Mayor Sundquist said this time they wont charge more than $75,000 from start to finish in this annexation effort.

“For this second round of annexation there is a cap of $75,000, going up all the way to the State Court of Appeals, which means that is the most we will pay,” Sundquist said.

A map highlights the BPU Substation property proposed for annexation, with the red line illustrating Tiffany Avenue, the border between the city and the town of Ellicott/Village of Falconer.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council will be acting on a resolution to proceed with the annexation of the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Dow Street Substation property when it meets Monday in city hall.

There are actually two resolutions on the agenda focusing on the issue of annexation. One resolution involves proceeding with annexing the property from the Town of Ellicott and Village of Falconer into the city boundaries, while the other resolution involves approving a state environmental review of the site.

The annexation resolution states that city officials, including mayor Eddie Sundquist, recently held discussion with officials from Ellicott, Falconer and the Falconer School District to determine whether they could address the concerns that have been raised so that the annexation can proceed with the consent of all municipalities. However, the resolution further states that that the town, village and school district have all refused to continue those discussions.

As a result, the city council will proceed with a vote, which comes following a Dec. 30 joint public hearing on the matter. Under state law, the city council has up to 90 days to formally vote for or against the annexation from the date that the public hearing took place.

Ellicott, Falconer and the Falconer School District have each stated that they don’t support an annexation because it means they would be missing out on over $330,000 in annual tax payments paid by the BPU for the property.

The city says it wants to annex the property into its own jurisdiction, arguing it is in the public interest of the entire BPU service area because it would ultimately help to save the BPU’s electric division over $160,000 every year. That savings would come from the BPU not having to pay taxes on the property, although $160,000 would then be paid to the city and the Jamestown Public Schools as part of a payment in lieu of tax agreement the BPU has with the city and school district.

If the story feels like Deja Vu, that’s because the Jamestown city council took similar action on annexing the same piece of property in April 2017, launching a two-year long legal battle after both Ellicott and Falconer officials voted to block the initial annexation attempt. In August 2019 the New York 4th Appellate Division ultimately ruled against the annexation on a technicality, saying the required paperwork from the city’s legal team of Bond, Schoeneck & King to have the court review and rule on the case was not filed in a timely fashion.

That decision came only after the BPU spent $405,000 from its electric division budget to proceed with the annexation. Meanwhile, Falconer, Ellicott, and the Falconer School District spent over $300,000 to fight it.

Even if the paperwork for the initial annexation effort was filed on time, Ellicott and Falconer officials say the court would have ruled against the city, basing their assumption on a unanimous recommendation that was submitted to the court by a three-member referee panel at the end of 2018.

The BPU has hired the same law firm to handle the annexation case this time around but this time it is locked in to only being paid $75,000 to deal with the entire process.

If the city council tonight approves the resolution to move the annexation forward, the town of Ellicott and village of Falconer will then be given the option to vote against the annexation, which would then mean the matter would again have to be settled in state appellate court.