Jamestown City Council will vote on reallocating HOME program funds and also vote on a resolution to separate the Police and Fire Department leadership.
Council will vote on submitting an amendment to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of the 2021/22/23 Annual Action Plans to reallocate $640,000 worth of funding from those years toward the remediation of the site for the Gateway Lofts Project.
A Public hearing on that resolution will be held at 6:45 p.m. in the 2nd floor City Council Chambers.
Under new businesses, Mayor Kim Ecklund has a presented a resolution that would bring back the position of Fire Chief.
According to the staff report, former Mayor Sam Teresi created the Director of Public Safety position in 2002 in order to have one administrative position to oversee both the Police and Fire Departments. Since that time, the Deputy Fire Chief has administered the Fire Department under the Director of Public Safety/Police Chief. The report states that with the impending retirement of Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon, the City wishes to revert to a Fire Chief structure and separate the police department from the fire department.
If approved, the Director of Public Safety Position will remain in effect until Chief Tim Jackson retires. After that time, the position will revert to Police Chief only, and the stipend for the position of Director of Public Safety will no longer apply, resulting in a cost savings for that position.
Also under new business is a resolution to accept the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA’s) Local Governments Reimbursement (LGR) Program. Under the program, the City would receive $25,000 reimbursement for costs associated with the fire at 1061 Allen Street on November 16, 2022. The staff report states the funds would be used to purchase decontamination equipment for the purpose of safe decontamination of firefighter gear.
And lastly, Council will vote under new business on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City of Jamestown and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), Local 1000. The contract is for January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028
All meetings are open to the public with the public hearing and voting session also being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.
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