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City Council Discusses Riverwalk Pedestrian Bridges

Construction should be starting soon on the two prefabricated pedestrian bridges that will cross the Chadakoin River along the Greater Jamestown Riverwalk.

On Monday, Jamestown City Council Public Works Committee discussed the bids received March 8 to construct the two prefabricated bridges. Jeff Lehman, city public works director, said the best of five bids received was from Union Concrete & Construction. The bid was for $1,560,369, which was $32,000 better than the next lowest bid. He said the bid came in under the city engineer’s estimate for the work, which was $1,626,968.

”We were real happy with the bids,” he said.

In October 2014, state officials announced the city would receive $1.6 million in funding for the construction of the two bridges. The $2 million project will require the city to use $400,000 as a local match from First Instance Urban Development Action Grant funding.

Lehman said, depending on how much funding is available after acquiring property for utility easements, lights will also be included during the installation of the bridges. However, he said if the lights are not included during the installation, they will be added during a future project.

One of the pedestrian bridges will connect the north shore of the Riverwalk with Panzarella Park. The second bridge will be below the Washington Street Bridge and connect both sections of the Riverwalk running along the Chadakoin River.

Along with city and state officials, Clark Patterson Lee, Prudent Engineering and R.K. Hite & Co. are working on the pedestrian bridges project.

In March 2016, a public meeting was held on the pedestrian bridge project. Jennifer Michniewicz, Clark Patterson Lee principal associate, said the bridges will be 10 feet wide and have safety rails. The bridges will be for both pedestrians and bicyclists.

In other council business, the Public Works Committee discussed the $28,000 bid from Metzger Removal of North Tonawanda for bulk concrete processing. Lehman said about 10 years ago city officials started crushing unused concrete, which they use for roadbase material. He said the crushed concrete works better than gravel.

The Finance Committee discussed the loan from the Jamestown Local Development Corporation to the Jamestown Brewing Company. On Monday, council will vote on whether to approve the loan for equipment for the new microbrewery and restaurant that will be located on the corner of West Third and Washington streets. Council needs to OK the loan because it exceeds the maximum loan the JLDC can approve.

Earlier this month, the JLDC approved a $180,000 jobs and private investment loan for the Jamestown Brewing Company. The JLDC loan is for seven years at 4 percent interest.

Vince DeJoy, city development director, said the total project costs for the microbrewery and restaurant is projected to be $1 million. DeJoy said the microbrewery and restaurant business is being developed by a father-son team, John McLellan Sr. and Jr. As part of the project, the building is being purchased by George Patti of GPatti Brew.

Currently, the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation is located at the Lillian V. Ney Renaissance Center, which is the future location of the Jamestown Brewing Company. The building will be transformed into a three-floor brewery and restaurant, which will serve pub food and high-end menu items, and beer distributed in the form of growlers and kegs.

The total project, which includes starting the business and acquiring the building, will total $4,835,760. Financing for the project also includes a $1 million request for state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding and a $475,000 state Main Street grant that was awarded through the Regional Economic Development Council program in December 2015. DeJoy said the project can start once it is know whether the project will receive state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding. He said the developers would like to open the business before the end of the year.

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