Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi has proposed a $36.6-million dollar budget for next year that includes a slight increase in the tax levy, but no hike in the rate....
Teresi presented the 2020 budget plan -- his last -- Tuesday afternoon at City Hall and, says it increases spending by about 630-thousand dollars. He says it also includes a point-five percent increase in the amount to be raised by taxes.
Teresi says there is about a $3.4-million increase in the city's total taxable assessments. He says there were some other exclusions that allowed the levy to be increased slightly. The tax rate will remain $23.85 per thousand full value. Teresi says the budget does account for pay hikes for members of three bargaining units, two of them represented by Jamestown City Administrative Association. The third is represented by AFSCME. However, he adds that the budget does not include any additional increases for the other three unions, including city police and fire. City Council will begin formally reviewing the spending plan at it's next work session on Monday, October 21st.
The city of Jamestown may be able to provide some short-term, unmetered parking in the area of the county's Department of Motor Vehicles Office.....
However, it won't be able to designate that for strictly DMV parking only. That's the legal interpretation of the law by Corporation Counsel Peter Larson, which he presented during Monday night's City Council work session. Larson says part of the issue is that the county leases it's space on West Third Street.
The other issue is that the city would be setting a precident if the parking spaces were designated as "DMV Use Only." Mayor Sam Teresi says the city gets about 50 such requests a year from downtown businesses. For DMV employees, Teresi says there are some leased spaces available in a nearby parking lot that has about 40 spaces available. He says they have talked with County Clerk Larry Barmore's office about the leased space availability. Last week, Barmore asked lawmakers if they would look into the possibility of some free, on-street parking to help relieve congestion in their "cramped" off-street parking area.
The Jamestown Community College Foundation has presented its annual John Hamilton award to John and Carole Selstrom.....
Acting on the wishes of the late John Johnson, the Selstroms set up and administered the Johnson Foundation. John Selstrom says, through its 20 years of philanthropy, the foundation helped many community efforts, including JCC. The foundation gave a million dollars to help nursing students, and money to establish a social media marketing internship program at the college. The JCC Foundation named Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties as 'community partners' of the year. Also at Tuesday night's event at the Harbor Hotel in Celoron, the JCC Alumni Association presented its Distinguished Alumnus Award to Cheri Foti. She is an accomplished nurse, locally and with the U.S. Air Force, where she rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Cheri has also been a long-time member of the JCC Alumni Association Board of Directors.
With the Chautauqua County Board of Health reportedly looking to take action against future industrial wind turbines, County Executive George Borrello says he is glad to see the panel taking up the issue and indicates they may have some options.
Borrello made no secret about his opposition to the use of industrial wind turbines during his tenure on the County Legislature and, now as County Executive. He has especially been vocal about government subsidies for the industry. Borrello also believes the State Board of Health has not addressed health concerns caused by the use of turbines.
New York's governor says the state has seen its first reported death linked to vaping....
Democrat Andrew Cuomo says the October 4th death of a 17-year-old male from the Bronx was reported Tuesday to the state Department of Health. Cuomo says the teenager was hospitalized in early September for a respiratory illness related to vaping. The governor's administration reports it's received 110 reports from New York physicians of severe pulmonary illness among patients between the ages of 14 to 69 years who were using at least one vape product prior to becoming ill. The vaping industry successfully sued to temporarily block the Cuomo administration's recent ban on flavored e-cigarettes. Federal officials say at least 18 people have died and over 1,000 people have been sickened with vaping-related illnesses.
A Jamestown man has been arrested after being allegedly found with a quantity of methamphetamine while biking through the city Monday night....
Officers say they stopped a man riding a bicycle with no lights on North Main Street in Brooklyn Square shortly after 11:30 PM and, the man allegedly gave them a false name. Police later identified him as 25 year-old Mathew Miles, who was also wanted on a bench warrant and taken into custody. He's being held in the city jail pending arraignment for false personation and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
A regional planning board has received nearly $400,000 in federal funding to support a project to provide more rural broadband in the 23rd Congressional District....
Local Congressman Tom Reed announced the $395,000 grant for the Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board to assist the "Southwest New York Wireless Broadband project." Reed says the project will provide 25mbp/s Internet service to 2,300 household and 206 businesses currently without access to broadband internet in the Southern Tier. The Corning Republican says "the funds delivered with this grant will purchase, and install fixed wireless broadband equipment and backhaul fiber at eight cell towers in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany counties." He says it's an area where there is "hilly land and low density" which have discouraged the private sector from deploying broadband which left thousands without access to reliable high-speed internet. Reed adds that local sources will provide another $399,000 for the project.
