Seeking Community Input In Jamestown


App users, tap here to watch video report.

JAMESTOWN – The first of many walking tours will kick off this weekend in Jamestown, with local representatives seeking feedback to address issues first hand.

Ward I Councilman Brent Sheldon will lead the first of six walking tours on Saturday as part of the City’s Annual Action Plan, which aims to provide funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help address community needs.





Previously, one meeting was held to address issues across the whole city, Sheldon tells us this new approach should help localize the process block by block. 

“I think this is good,” explained Sheldon. “In the past the Department of Development has held public hearings, to get input on housing issues, as well as public safety issues. Those public hearings have not been very well attended. I think it is a good idea to get out into the neighborhoods, talk to the people, the homeowners, the tenants that live in the neighborhoods and see what their concerns are.”

Sheldon believes that there are many problems within his Ward, with issues ranging from things as simple as noise complaints to more pressing problems like crime.





















“There’s a lot of rental properties in this neighborhood,” stated Sheldon. “There’s been some shootings in this area in the past among others. There’s definitely issues here that I know people are concerned about.”

The point of the walks is to gather input, which would ultimately lead to action.

“Bring us your concerns,” explained Sheldon. “What do you need? One thing that we did in this neighborhood last year was replace a lot of the sidewalks, the driveway aprons, the curbs, and things like that.”  

Some of the programs Sheldon is working on include rental assistance for his Ward, as well as homeowner repair programs.









Sheldon wants to hear all types of suggestions from the community, no matter how outlandish they may sound.

“The guy said, ‘well I’ve been shoveling these sidewalks, but I broke my shovel, what can you do?, “explained Sheldon. “So myself and councilman Randy Daversa we went out, bought a shovel for the guy and dropped it off to his house.”

The Ward I area includes the north eastern part of the City of Jamestown. Exact locations can be found on the city’s website.

The walk for that Ward is set for this Saturday at Lillian Dickson Park at 10 a.m., or at the lobby of City Hall in case of inclement weather.

 

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.