Chautauqua County is going to be leasing additional space from Jamestown.

During the county legislature meeting, lawmakers approved an agreement to lease 2,180 square feet of space on the third floor of the Jamestown Municipal Building, which will be used by the county’s Department of Mental Hygiene and Social Services.

The lease runs Jan. 1, 2026 to Jan. 1, 2031. It will start at $14.86 per square foot and have annual rent increases not to exceed 4% per year.

Carmelo Hernandez, Commissioner of Mental Hygiene Services, said their homeless team, family center case management team and mobile crisis team will be located there.

Back in 2023, the Mobile Crisis Unit began renting space from Warwick Plaza in the town of Ellicott. With this move, the county will no longer be renting space there.

Hernandez said with this move the different offices will have better communication. “It will give us a good strategic standpoint for what we’re dealing with on both sides of the aisle when it comes to our behavioral health situations that are arising and also with our growing homeless population,” he said during a committee meeting.

In other business:

– The county approved engineering costs to replace the bridge on Baker Street in the town of Busti over the Western NY and Pennsylvania Railroad. The engineering cost is estimated to be $350,000 and the entire cost of the bridge replacement is $2.5 million. The county will be responsible for 5% with the federal government paying the balance. A timeline for the bridge replacement was not announced.

– The county agreed to pay the electric bill for the Fluvanna Fire District’s 3496 Turner Road station in exchange for the county having one of its Fly Cars operate out of there. The building had been mainly used for storage in the past.

– The county approved a contract amount of $632,382 for the town of Hanover to pay the county for enhanced police protection services annually for 2026 and 2027.

– The county approved a contact amount of $70,000 annually for the town of Ripley to pay the county for enhanced police protection services for 2026 and 2027.