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City Commission Recommends Name Change For Chadakoin Park

On Tuesday, the city Parks, Recreation and Conservation Commission approved recommending to the Jamestown City Council that Chadakoin Park’s name be changed to Jackson Taylor Park. The proposed change of the park’s name is to honor the late Isabelle Jackson and Lula and Vivian Taylor. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

The process to possibly change the name of Chadakoin Park has cleared the first step.

On Tuesday, the city Parks, Recreation and Conservation Commission approved recommending to the Jamestown City Council that Chadakoin Park’s name be changed to Jackson Taylor Park.

Last month during a work session meeting of the council, Wanda Cooper, city resident, said she had a petition signed by city residents requesting that the name of the park be changed to honor the late Isabelle Jackson and Lula and Vivian Taylor.

Cooper discussed the community service all three provided the city as residents. Jackson was originally born in Newberry, S.C., Nov. 22, 1915, before Jamestown became her home as she was finishing school. Jackson graduated from Jamestown High School and later earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Howard University, and an additional master’s degree from Indiana University.

In 1964, Jackson joined Jamestown Community College’s faculty. During her career at JCC, which spanned more than 30 years,

Jackson directed the college’s educational opportunity and veterans affairs programs, and facilitated a number of other special outreach efforts. She was also a member of JCC’s Minority Community Advisory Council,

Jackson was also the director of the Jamestown YWCA Co-Ed Center from 1963 to 1964. She was the recipient of several awards, including Women of the Year of the Inter-Club Council of Jamestown in 1969; Civic Leader Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews in 1985; the Outstanding Citizen Award from the Ebony Task Force in 1990; and numerous other awards.

She was a lifetime member of Emmanuel Baptist Church where she served in many organizations and worked with the youth group.

Lula Taylor was the first African American woman county legislator in the state of New York. She died March 27, 2018, at the age of 89 at UPMC Chautauqua. Taylor began her first of seven terms on the Chautauqua County Legislature in 1992 representing District 11, which serves the north side and parts of the west and northeast sides of Jamestown.

Along with being a legislator, Taylor served on several boards, commissions and community groups which included the Chautauqua County Health Board, the Health Network Advisory Board and Office of the Aging Advisory Board.

Lula, along with her husband, Vivian, received the John D. Hamilton award for community service in 2007.

Together, the Taylors founded the Chautauqua County Black History Committee, chaired the Jamestown Interracial Forum, attended Blackwell Chapel AME Zion Church and both received several awards and honors for their dedication to the community and county.

The Taylors moved from North Carolina to Jamestown shortly after being married in 1950.

The Taylors were married for 67 years.

Vivian Taylor spent more than 23 years on the Jamestown City Council. He died Oct. 24, 2018, at the age of 94 at UPMC Chautauqua. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943.

During World War II, he served in the European Theater of Operations until 1945, receiving various medals and battle stars.

Russell Diethrick Jr., commission member, said when he worked for the city Parks Department when Chadakoin Park was being built that city officials would visit Jackson and the Taylors for advice on the park’s construction.

“They were the go to people,” he said.

Now that the commission has made a recommendation, it will now be determined by the council if the name of the park should be changed.

In other business, John Williams, city parks manager, discussed the splash pad idea with the commission.

Last month, Sam Teresi, Jamestown mayor, announced that one of the last projects he wants to start before leaving the mayor’s post after 20 years of service is to install a splash pad somewhere in the city.

A splash pad or spray pool is a recreation area, often in a public park, for water play that has little or no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, as there is little risk of drowning.

Williams said city officials are still determining where to possibly locate the splash pad. He said what maintenance or security that will be needed is also being analyzed. He added to install a splash pad will cost upwards of around $200,000. Williams said the Allen Park Ladies Club has shown interest in the idea.

Last month, Teresi said if city officials did receive state funding for a splash pad project, a consultant would be hired to analyze possible site selections. He said to get an idea of what city officials want for Jamestown, they visited The Splash Pad at Wright Park in Dunkirk with Willie Rosas, Dunkirk mayor.

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