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City Council Slated To Vote On Alley Abandonment

For the second time, Jamestown City Council is scheduled to vote on the abandonment of an alley between Lindsey and Woodlawn avenues Monday.

Last month, council tabled voting on the alley abandonment after hosting a public hearing where two residents spoke against the proposal. Chris Gardner, Woodlawn Avenue resident, said the alley is needed in case of emergency so public safety vehicles can use it as a right of way. Gardner said he spoke with county officials about the alley and he was told no structure or fence is allowed to be built where the alley is located.

”It is essential that no structure is built there,” Gardner said.

Jeffrey Lehman, city Public Works Department director, said, during last month’s public hearing, that Chet Harvey, Jamestown Fire Department deputy director, told him the alley isn’t necessary for emergency purposes for the area. Lehman said he believes the applicant, who didn’t appear at the public hearing, wants to put up a fence around the alley. He said a fence is allowed, but no structure can be built there because access is needed for utility easements.

On Feb. 6 during a Public Works Committee meeting, Lehman said he investigated the matter with county officials and didn’t find any information that supported Gardner’s claim.

”Our research shows you can build a fence,” Lehman said.

In other council business, council will vote on a change order for $2,800 for a cistern design for the Tracy Plaza redevelopment project. Earlier this month, Lehman said the cistern design would allow for water runoff to be reused for a secondary purposes like cleaning fire department vehicles or washing the department’s garage floor. He said installing the new system goes along with the funding approved by the state for the project last year. He added the redevelopment project will start some time this year.

In December, state officials awarded the city a $1,480,000 Green Innovation Grant for the Tracy Plaza redevelopment project. The funding will assist city officials in funding the $4.5 million estimated total cost of the renovation project. The redesign work for Tracy Plaza will go toward adding more landscaping to make the structure more environmentally friendly, more energy efficient and aesthetically pleasing. Plans for the redesign include relocating the Veterans Memorial to be closer to the wall of the fireman’s doom that is visible on southwest corner of the plaza. On the wall, the plan is for a mural to be painted depicting U.S. soldiers.

Council will vote on a proposed changes to solid waste collection and recycling. One change will be to have a cap of 95 gallons for a garbage container. The second change is for the ordinance dealing with recycling. Earlier this month, Maria Jones, Ward 5 councilwoman, said these changes will update how the ordinance is written, but will have no impact on Jamestown Board of Public Utilities customers. For example, one change will be for the ordinance to state the head of recycling is the general manager of the BPU not the city public works director. The other change in how the ordinance is written will be to indicate how recycling is now collected in BPU issued bins. Before the ordinance wrote about how cardboard could be placed in clear plastic bags.

BPU solid waste policy indicates that all garbage must be sealed in standard trash bags and placed in a trash can with a lid. Trash and recycling must be placed to the curb after 6 p.m. the night before the collection day, and all containers must be removed from the curb within 12 hours of the collection. There is a weekly bag limit of eight bags per residence. Trash in excess of eight bags will be collected and billed at a rate of $3 per bag.

For questions on the BPU solid waste policy, call 661-1651 or visit jamestownbpu.com

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