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JAMESTOWN, NY (WNY News Now) — 2022 is coming to a close, and those leading the City of Jamestown are reflecting on the past year’s agenda.
Tasked with allocating $28 million dollars of American Rescue Plan Act funding, Jamestown City Council President Tony Dolce believes that the city council has done its due diligence in funding all aspects of the city’s needs.
“When I saw that email I thought it was a typo,“ said President Dolce. “I thought it was $2.8 million dollars. And $28 million dollars is a daunting task to try and figure out, it sounds like a great problem to have. But, we can spend $28 million dollars like that in all departments and still have needs.”
From funding several new programs within the department of development, to buying new vehicles and equipment for the department of public works, the lawmaking body tried to cover a wide range of needs in 2022.
“We touched on public safety,“ explained President Dolce. “This past year was a very challenging year. We had an increase in gun violence, and we had a very large and well attended forum back in September. We hired additional staff for Fire and Police to deal with particularly violence and particularly EMS.”
In addition, the city also saw several quality of life improvements like the new municipal lights on the Riverwalk and a brand new skate park.
“We started out with dealing with the Chadakoin river back in January and February,“ stated President Dolce. “Getting started on the badly needed process of cleaning up that river, the shorelines, and moving forward so that that river can be a greater asset in the years to come for Jamestown.”
It’s estimated that the council expended close to $25 million dollars of allocated ARPA funds.
Meanwhile, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist is hopeful for the new year.
“We’re going into 2023, it’s also an election year right,“ explained Mayor Sundquist. “So we will start to see individuals who will be running for city council, for mayor, and for others. So, it’s going to be a big year. I don’t want to call it a blockbuster year yet, because I’m not sure what’s involved, but certainly we’re excited to continue all of the projects for the city and moving the community forward.”
On Wednesday, the Mayor held a public hearing for two new local laws authorizing video conferencing for public bodies, and the reapportioning of council ward boundary lines. As things stand, the Mayor’s office will review and either veto or sign into law the two ordinances.
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