{"id":51385,"date":"2023-04-18T15:09:24","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T19:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/?p=51385"},"modified":"2023-04-19T11:00:43","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T15:00:43","slug":"jldc-to-receive-an-update-on-questionable-grant-awards-for-board-members-during-wednesday-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/jldc-to-receive-an-update-on-questionable-grant-awards-for-board-members-during-wednesday-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"JLDC to Receive an Update on Questionable Grant Awards for Board Members During Wednesday Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_50739\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?ssl=1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50739\" data-attachment-id=\"50739\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/two-jldc-grants-that-raised-questions-of-by-law-violations-on-hold\/jldc-3-15-23\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1000,750\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;SM-G973U1&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1678905575&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"JLDC 3-15-23\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Jamestown Local Development Corporation meeting (March 15, 2023)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-50739 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?resize=1000%2C750&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-50739\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Attorney Elliot Raimondo (center) talks with members of the Jamestown Local Development Corporation during its March 15, 2023 meeting<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: The Jamestown Local Development Corporation will not be discussing the ARPA grants awarded to Jamestown Skate Products and It&#8217;s Your Day at its monthly meeting following an update sent this morning that removed that item for tonight&#8217;s agenda.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>City officials are expected to offer an update Wednesday afternoon on the question of whether or not the <strong>Jamestown Local Development Corporation<\/strong> (JLDC) violated federal guidelines by approving economic development funds for projects tied to sitting board members.<\/p>\n<p>Among the items on the JLDC meeting agenda for this month is a &#8220;discussion and decision regarding the ARPA grants awarded to <strong>Jamestown Skate Products<\/strong> and <strong>It\u2019s Your Day<\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/04-19-23-JLDC-Meeting-Agenda.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>VIEW JLDC APRIL 2023 AGENDA<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Jamestown Skate Products is owned by JLDC Board Member <strong>Pete Schiera<\/strong> and was approved for a $15,000 grant in October through the JLDC <strong>Downtown Small Business Evolution<\/strong> program. It\u2019s Your Day wedding planning service was approved for a $64,000 grant in February from the JLDC&#8217;s <strong>Building Acquisition &amp; Business Expansion<\/strong> program. The owner of that business is the spouse of JLDC Board Member <strong>Jeffrey Russell<\/strong>, who also serves on the <strong>Jamestown City Council<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>A third grant was also approved by the JLDC board in February for <strong>St. Luke\u2019s Episcopal Church<\/strong>, after the church applied for funding from JLDC Downtown Programming &amp; Events program. That grant application was submitted on behalf of St. Luke&#8217;s by employee Rev. <strong>Luke Fodor<\/strong>, who also sits on the JLDC board. In all three cases, the board members in question did not vote when it came time to award the funding.<\/p>\n<p>In February, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/jldc-approves-federal-arpa-funding-for-own-board-members-likely-violates-bylaws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>WRFA reported<\/strong><\/a> that the JLDC board likely violated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jamestownny.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/JLDC-By-Laws_2017-Certified-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">its own bylaws<\/a> and possible even state law by awarding funding to businesses connected to sitting board members, recusals notwithstanding. JLDC bylaws \u2013 which govern how the corporation must function \u2013 prohibit the awarding of loans or grants for any business in which a sitting board member (or immediate family member) owns a material interest. The JLDC board may have also violated\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.osc.state.ny.us\/files\/local-government\/resources\/pdf\/Article18GeneralMunicipalLaw.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article 18 of the\u00a0<strong>State General Municipal Law<\/strong><\/a>, which prohibits municipal officers from receiving public money they oversee and that \u201cthere are no exceptions for when an individual discloses his or her interest, recuses him or herself or abstains from the discussion or vote on a matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In response, JLDC attorney <strong>Elliot Raimondo<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/two-jldc-grants-that-raised-questions-of-by-law-violations-on-hold\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said during the March board meeting<\/a> that it was his opinion that the St. Luke&#8217;s grant should be allowed to stand because Fodor doesn&#8217;t own any material interest in the church. As a result, the conflict of interest provisions in the JLDC bylaws and State Law didn&#8217;t apply to him.<\/p>\n<p>However, Raimondo and Mayor <strong>Eddie Sundquist<\/strong> said the JLDC would hold off on awarding the funding to Jamestown Skate Products and It&#8217;s Your Day until they looked into the matter further with the <strong>US Treasury Department<\/strong>, to determine if the awards violated any federal provisions tied to how ARPA funds are to be appropriated.<\/p>\n<p>They said that if it was okay with federal officials, then the awards would be allowed to stand, despite any stipulations found in the local bylaws or in state law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are waiting for that guidance before I make a final opinion on the federal aspect of it. And as much as the prior votes were concerned, we did follow general municipal law, which is what city council uses, whereby recusals happen and votes were then taken place, so I don\u2019t find that we did anything not above board in that respect,&#8221; Raimondo explained in March.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>WRFA has reviewed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/FR-2022-01-27\/pdf\/2022-00292.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Treasury Department&#8217;s guidelines<\/a> for the $28 million in <strong>State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds<\/strong> (SLFRF) the city received in 2021 through ARPA and did identify a provision that states:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">&#8220;&#8230;recipients may not use SLFRF funds in violation of the conflict-of-interest requirements contained in the Award Terms and Conditions, including any self-dealing or violation of ethics rules. Lastly, recipients should be aware that federal, state, and local laws and regulations, outside of SLFRF program requirements, also apply&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211; Federal Register \/ Vol. 87, No. 18 \/ Thursday, January 27, 2022 \/ Rules and Regulations &#8211; Page 4340<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We reached out to the Treasury Department office for clarification to see if any of the three grants in question violated the &#8220;self-dealing&#8221; provision found in those guidelines, but have yet to receive a response.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Meanwhile, the JLDC&#8217;s April meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, in the mayor&#8217;s conference room &#8211; fourth floor of city hall. It is open to the public and will also be video-streamed online at the city website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UPDATE: The Jamestown Local Development Corporation will not be discussing the ARPA grants awarded to Jamestown Skate Products and It&#8217;s Your Day at its monthly meeting following an update sent this morning that removed that item for tonight&#8217;s agenda.\u00a0 City officials are expected to offer an update Wednesday afternoon on the question of whether or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":50739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4],"tags":[12756,8664,11642,7652,9868,12760,1122,1147,2704,9164,5067,4188,2833,13188,13013],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3YlJ4-dmN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50738,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/two-jldc-grants-that-raised-questions-of-by-law-violations-on-hold\/","url_meta":{"origin":51385,"position":0},"title":"Two JLDC Grants That Raised Questions of By-Law Violations On Hold","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"March 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Two grants approved by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation Board that raised questions of whether the board violated its by-laws are now on hold. Jamestown Corporation Counsel Elliot Raimondo, who is also now the legal counsel for JLDC, said he is still awaiting guidance following conversations with the state and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Local News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51463,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/over-half-million-dollars-in-arp-grants-awarded-to-8-jamestown-businesses\/","url_meta":{"origin":51385,"position":1},"title":"Over Half Million Dollars in ARP Grants Awarded to 8 Jamestown Businesses","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"April 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Over a half million dollars in American Rescue Plan funded grants have been approved for eight Jamestown businesses. The Jamestown Local Development Corporation awarded $500,000 in Machinery and Equipment Upgrades funds as well as $50,000 in New Business Development funds at its monthly meeting. Ballgame Heroes and Pearl City Cycle\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Local News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/JLDC-4-19-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/JLDC-4-19-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/JLDC-4-19-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/JLDC-4-19-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/JLDC-4-19-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50384,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/jldc-approves-federal-arpa-funding-for-own-board-members-likely-violates-bylaws\/","url_meta":{"origin":51385,"position":2},"title":"JLDC Approves Federal ARPA Funding for Own Board Members, Likely Violates Bylaws","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"March 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"JAMESTOWN - Last year the Jamestown Local Development Corporation (JLDC) became one of the most powerful government agencies in Chautauqua County when the city of Jamestown charged its board with appropriating nearly $9 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) moneys aimed at economic development, primarily to assist businesses\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Local News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JLDC-02-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JLDC-02-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JLDC-02-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/JLDC-02-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52352,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/jldc-releases-arpa-funds-for-two-jamestown-businesses-whose-allocation-had-been-in-question\/","url_meta":{"origin":51385,"position":3},"title":"JLDC Releases ARPA Funds For Two Jamestown Businesses Whose Allocation Had Been in Question","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"June 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Jamestown Local Development Corporation has released American Rescue Plan funding it had been holding back for two businesses pending counsel on whether the appropriation of those funds had violated federal law. The JLDC Board had approved a $64,000 Building Expansion & Business Acquisition program grant for It's Your Day\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Local News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JLDC-3-15-23.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50471,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/jamestown-mayor-sundquist-says-city-looking-into-possible-conflicts-of-interest-law-violations-with-arpa-awards\/","url_meta":{"origin":51385,"position":4},"title":"Jamestown Mayor Sundquist Says City Looking Into Possible Conflicts of Interest Law Violations with ARPA Awards","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"March 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist says the city is continuing to look into possible violations of conflict of interest laws, due to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation awarding grant moneys to sitting board members, including one who also sits on the city council. As WRFA first reported on Wednesday, the JLDC\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Local News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/JLDC-1-18-23.jpg?fit=905%2C601&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/JLDC-1-18-23.jpg?fit=905%2C601&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/JLDC-1-18-23.jpg?fit=905%2C601&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/JLDC-1-18-23.jpg?fit=905%2C601&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":32742,"url":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/three-new-city-departments-heads-sworn-into-office\/","url_meta":{"origin":51385,"position":5},"title":"Three New City Departments Heads Sworn into Office","author":"WRFA Radio","date":"January 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"JAMESTOWN - The city of Jamestown officially has a new Director of Development, City Clerk, and City Attorney. On Monday night the Jamestown City Council approved mayor Eddie Sundquist's appointments for various city departments, agencies, board and commissions. The appointments were initially submitted on Jan. 1 but the city council\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Local News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Local News","link":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/category\/news\/local-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/City-Council-.jpg?fit=1100%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/City-Council-.jpg?fit=1100%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/City-Council-.jpg?fit=1100%2C797&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/City-Council-.jpg?fit=1100%2C797&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/City-Council-.jpg?fit=1100%2C797&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51385"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51385"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51412,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51385\/revisions\/51412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrfalp.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}