Jamestown-Royal Fire To Cost City $20K In OT
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A fire at the former Jamestown-Royal Upholstery Corp. building on Crescent Street will cost the city much more than just a large manufacturing facility.
On Monday during a Jamestown City Council work session meeting, Ryan Thompson, city comptroller, said the Jamestown Fire Department had to use 284 hours of overtime to fight the blaze, which took more than 24 hours to completely extinguish. He said the overtime will cost the city $20,000. He added that at the halfway point of the year, the overtime budget for the fire department is at 59%.
Along with the overtime costs, Kimberly Ecklund, At-Large councilwoman, said the estimate to demolish the former plant will cost the city between $400,000 to $500,000. The blaze officially has been ruled arson, Jamestown police said, after reviewing multiple videos from area businesses. Two juveniles have been identified after being captured on video entering the Crescent Street building prior to the fire starting and then exiting as it started to burn. Both will face charges via Chautauqua County Family Court at a later date.
The rest of the financial report was positive for city officials. Thompson said the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities pilot payments are projected to be on budget for the year. He said parking violations are running ahead of budget, as the city has received 54% of the budgeted revenue.
Due to the increase in the fees for vital statistics, Thompson said city clerk's fees are running well ahead of budget. Through June, city clerk's fees are up $21,000 and 77% to 2020. He said city officials have collected $49,000 this year, which represents 69% of the budgeted amount.
Based on information received from Chautauqua County, Thompson said second quarter sales tax is trending 51% above last year, which would represent an approximate increase of $700,000 for the entire quarter. As compared to the same time period in 2019, sales tax is trending up 32%. He said one of the main reason sales tax revenues are up is the increase in the cost of gas.
As for expenditures, Thompson said health insurance claims remain within budget estimates, as city officials have only expended 38% of the 2021 budget. He said city officials have used $256,000, or 68%, of this year's contingency funds. The total remaining balance is $119,000, which represents32% of the total.
In other business:
¯ Crystal Surdyk, city development director, reported that the city's housing court will reopen July 23 on a limited basis. She said housing court will restart at 3 p.m. on Friday for about an hour. She added that the court will handle cases that are unresolved first before handling any new cases.
"We're happy it's happening by the end of the month," Surdyk said.
Last month, Surdyk had estimated that housing court might not reopen this year.
¯ The Jamestown Cruise-In is scheduled to be held Friday, Aug. 6. The event that includes classic vehicles parked along downtown streets is returning after being canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.