Mayor Sam Teresi talks with the Jamestown City Council during its August work session.
JAMESTOWN – Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi spent several minutes Monday night during the city council’s work session to go over details of the recently awarded $10 million state economic development grant.
Last week state officials were in town and announced Jamestown would receive the funding as part of the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative – which designated 10 different communities in the state to each receive $10 million, with Jamestown being selected as the Western New York community.
Teresi said that the money can only be used for projects specifically tied to economic development in downtown Jamestown, including large-scale projects, as well as other projects affecting business development, housing or public infrastructure in the downtown.
He said that is can not be used to help deal with budget challenges, such as health insurance costs, general road or street repairs, or even tax rebates for property owners. Nor can it be used for economic development projects in the city, but outside of the downtown area.
The mayor said the next step is for consultants who’ve been hired by the state to come in and begin the process of developing a plan on how the money will be specifically spent. He said while no timeline is in place, he expects a plan to be completed and the money to start being utilized within the next 12 months.
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