Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi discusses a $3,000,000 bonding proposal with members of the Jamestown City Council and his administration during a city council work session on Jan. 5, 2015. (WRFA photo)
JAMESTOWN – The city of Jamestown will be looking to borrow up to $3,000,000 to help pay for equipment purchases as well as several emergency projects.
During Monday night’s city council work session, Jamestown city comptroller Joe Bellitto and Public Works Director Jeff Lehman went over the details for the borrowing plan, which would cover the purchase of nine vehicles along with several capital improvement projects – including a $1.2 million renovation of the Tracy Plaza.
Bellitto explained to city council members that the initial borrowing plan was nearly $8.5 million, but he and Lehman were able to scale it down to just $3,000,000.
“We need to borrow as little as possible, but still we have needs in equipment and in projects, so we made a very strong effort in determining what those absolute needs are,” Bellitto told council members.
The borrowing plan covers $955,000 in equipment purchases, with the larges portion going toward the purchase of three used wheel loaders for the Department of Public Works, which would total $530,000.
Lehman explained that those three vehicles are sorely needed in the city’s aging fleet. “Those are probably the backbone of our program year-round, whether its plowing in the winter or construction in the summer. They get used pretty much every day.”
In addition, $340,000 would go toward four trucks for the city parks department, along with $85,000 earmarked for the purchase of a tractor and an excavator.
As for the capital projects, besides the $1.2 million renovation to city hall plaza, another $845,000 would be used for three other projects – which include storm sewer management, roof and structure rehab for several city-owned buildings and a new layer of traffic coating for two of the city’s parking garages.
Following the presentation by Bellitto and Lehman, Mayor Sam Teresi offered his thoughts on the plan, explaining that the borrowing is a last resort but all the items in the plan are necessary, especially the city hall plaza renovation – which would address a serious water leak issue in both the police and fire departments.
“These are projects that we must proceed ahead with,” Teresi explained. “We can’t continue to have water raining into offices and equipment areas and record storage areas in the basement. We need to fix the problems in the building, otherwise the problems are going to grow bigger and more costly to address down the line.”
Teresi added that the water leak has gotten so bad that they’ve been forced to move public safety director and Jamestown police chief Harry Snellings out of his own office.
The mayor has also explained that the best opportunity for borrowing is now, with interest rates expected to be near an all-time low. In addition, he and Bellitto both pointed out that the city is currently at 36 percent of its constitutional borrowing limit, so it has been responsible in deciding how and when to borrow in recent years.
The city council will continue to discussion the plan during its next work session and will likely act on a resolution to borrow the money during the January 26 voting session.
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