Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi
“Let me make this abundantly clear: this is still a good city with good people that is predominated by good homeowners.”
– Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, June 14, 2014
JAMESTOWN – On Monday night, city of Jamestown officials introduced new software they would like to see implemented in order to improve efficiency and transparency in housing code enforcement. But prior to the introduction of the proposed MyGov software, Mayor Sam Teresi spent over 30 minutes with the Jamestown City Council, discussing the state of residential property and housing in the city and outlining the many challenges the city faces. In addition, he went over the various initiatives that have been put in place the past few years to combat housing blight.
The mayor said that obviously, housing is one of the most important issues the city has to deal with on an annual basis.
“Our neighborhoods and our housing stock are important to this community. They are the financial and the psychological backbone of this city – always have, are today, and always will be,” the mayor said. “But it’s not a terrible secret in this community that our housing stock and our neighborhoods have been under considerable stress for many years.”
The mayor also acknowledged that part of the reason that housing is a critical issue is because of the age of the houses and apartments in the city.
“We have one of the oldest housing stocks that you are going to find anywhere in the united states – it’s been documented as such,” Teresi said. “We have modest housing by nature that is largely reflective of the era of which it was constructed in the early 1900s.”
And the mayor said that due to various socioeconomic factors, the state of residential property can quickly fall into a downward spiral, as has been the case in other communities throughout the country… but he added that is not yet the case in Jamestown.
“Suddenly like a lot of places, you can find yourself quickly in a downward spiral that makes it nearly impossible to get out of. The good news is that we are not there,” the mayor said, adding, “Let me make this abundantly clear: this is still a good city with good people that is predominated by good homeowners.”
During his presentation, the mayor outlined 20 different initiatives that the city has installed to deal with the quality of housing in the city. They include increased staffing in code enforcement, making it easier to go after home owners that neglect their properties and working to demolish more condemned properties on an annual basis.
The mayor also announced three new initiatives he’d like to see introduced in the coming months. Besides the upgrade to the MyGov software, the mayor said he also will encourage the city council’s housing committee to remain active and brainstorm ways to address housing and property concerns. In addition, he will work to upgrade the city code so that a 20 percent administration fee can be added to any effort related to securing, boarding up or demolishing property in the city.
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