A map depicting the BPU substation property (in red) that sits adjacent to the border between Jamestown and Village of Falconer/Town of Ellicott.
JAMESTOWN – Officials with both the town of Ellicott and the Village of Falconer will be holding special meetings this week to vote on an annexation proposal involving the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities‘ Dow St. Substation.
The Falconer Village Trustees will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. and the Ellicott Town Board will meet at noon on Thursday. The annexation resolution is the only item on the agenda for both meetings.
Last week the Jamestown City Council unanimously approved annexing the BPU property, which sits in Falconer, but is adjacent to border with the city of Jamestown, making it eligible for annexation.
The city wants to annex the property in order to reduce tax payments to the town, village, Falconer School District, and county, which city officials say would help to stabilize utility rates. The move would also result in the city of Jamestown and Jamestown School District receiving $80,000 each in PILOT payments from the BPU.
Currently the BPU pays approximately $320,000 a year in taxes on the property. In addition to the financial reasons, the city has also said the annexation would serve in the best interest of the public because the property would be covered by the city’s professional police and fire departments. As it currently stands, the property is in the jurisdiction of Falconer’s volunteer fire department.
All three municipalities are required to act on the annexation prior to Sept. 12.
It’s expected both Falconer and Ellicott will vote against the matter, which will then force the matter to be taken up by the state appellate court in Rochester later this year or early next year.
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