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Additional cameras are coming to the JTNY Powerhouse Skate Park.
City Council members will discuss a resolution during Monday's meeting to purchase and install four more cameras at the skate park. The $8,784 cost is not included in the city's 2024 budget, and city staff members are asking that the project be paid for with American Rescue Plan Act funding.
"The skate park located on Fairmount Avenue was projected to get outdoor cameras in late 2022," wrote Mark Dean, city information technology and communications director, in a staff report included in the agenda for today's meeting. 'The cameras are going to tie into the existing system at the Parks Department located across the driveway from the skate park."
Also on the agenda tonight is council approval of a three-year extension of the city's agreement with Collaborative Children's Solutions to produce several events in the city. Mayor Kim Ecklund and Patrick Smeraldo, Collaborative Children's Solutions director, announced last week they had come to agreement on a new contract. In exchange for $253,000 over four years, with yearly spending between $60,000 and $65,000 a year, Collaborative Children's Solutions will produce the St. Patrick's Day turning of the Chadakoin River green, the Memorial Day Parade, Christmas in July, the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament, Labor Day Festival and the Winter Festival/Christmas Parade.
"It's an honor to have this opportunity, and it means so much for the kids and the community," Smeraldo said last week. "We do everything with the kids in mind."
Ecklund echoed these sentiments, praising CCS's efforts in making these events successful.
"It's great to have a partner like CCS that brings not just organization but a true passion for the community," Ecklund stated.
She noted that the partnership allows CCS to bring in sponsorships and participation from community organizations, which the city, as a government entity, couldn't achieve on its own.
Council members are also being asked to approve $385,000 for a new shooting range in the Jamestown Police Department. The proposal includes demolishing the current range, which includes the shooting stalls, target retrievers, overhead baffles, bullet trap and soundproofing. In its place will be a four-lane, 15-yard indoor range that includes a pilot turning wireless retriever, SmartRange Axis with range controls, defender series shooting stall, training of range staff, installation and other improvements It is proposed to use ARPA funding for the project.
"The current range has not been improved in decades," Tim Jackson, city police chief and public safety director, said in a staff memo. "Essentia functions, such as targets, no longer operate properly. It is imperative to provide a safe, fully functioning facility to properly train officers."
The council's Housing Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. in the police training room on the fourth floor of Jamestown City Hall. The Public Safety Committee (fourth floor police training room), Finance Committee (mayor's conference room) and Public Works Committee (Development Department conference room) all meet at 7 p.m. The full council will hold a work session at 7:30 p.m.