The city of Jamestown might be hiring additional legal assistance to aid in the lawsuit involving Tracy Plaza.

The Jamestown City Council will discuss a proposal today to hire Wright, Wright and Hampton attorney Joseph Calimeri for a cost not to exceed $10,000 in the case against Patterson-Stevens, the contractor hired by the city to renovate Tracy Plaza.

In a staff report from Elliot Raimondo, city corporation counsel, to Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, Raimondo states that he reached out to Calimeri because he specializes in municipal litigation and has represented the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, as well as other local municipalities, in the past.

In July, Patterson-Stevens Inc. of Tonawanda filed the lawsuit against the city in State Supreme Court in Chautauqua County. According to the lawsuit, Patterson-Stevens claimed it has suffered monetary damages in the amount of at least $306,048 because the city allegedly breached the contract by delaying the start of the project, issued an improper stop work order, interfered with the contractor’s performance of the contract, improperly withheld payments or failed to pay or rejected invoices as required by the contract and improperly delayed completion of the project well beyond the scheduled June 30, 2018, completion date. Patterson-Stevens asked the court to order the release of the $306,048 payment, but also pay any interest, attorney fees, costs and disbursements, along with any further relief as the court deems necessary and proper.

According to the lawsuit, the city entered into a contract with Patterson-Stevens in July 2017 to oversee phase two renovation work of Tracy Plaza, which included the replacement of the plaza deck, which also serves as a roof over the Jamestown police and fire departments. The initial contract called for a payment of $1,534,864 to the firm. Additional change orders raised the total to $1,645,689.

Funding for the Tracy Plaza renovation project came mostly from a $1.48 million New York State Green Innovation Grant program funding the city received in December 2016.

In September 2017, a rain storm led to significant flooding of the Jamestown Police Department. According to city officials, the flooding was due to Patterson-Stevens not properly securing the deck during the renovation project. The flooding caused damage to city equipment, files, computers and radios. The main entrance to the police department was closed to the public for months.

In September 2018, city officials claimed additional damage was done to the Jamestown Fire Department when again rain water poured into the interior during the ongoing renovation work. Again, city officials claimed Patterson-Stevens was at fault for the water damage.

In February 2019, the city, through its insurance company, filed a lawsuit in Chautauqua County Supreme Court against Patterson-Stevens seeking $2 million in payments due to the water damage. The case is ongoing and hasn’t been settled.

In the lawsuit filed by Patterson-Stevens, the contracting firm states the city delayed the start of the project in the summer of 2017 by one month. It also says that it undertook efforts to protect the surface below the plaza deck from water and moisture, including the installation of a temporary roof.

In April 2018, the city issued a stop work order for the project and ordered Patterson-Stevens to remove the temporary roof. The firm claims the damage that was done after April 2018 was due to the city’s improper stop work order. According to the lawsuit. the city at times also withheld payments for work being done. In total, Patterson-Stevens officials claim the city still owes them $306,048.

In other business, the council will also discuss a resolution to operate a parking ticket amnesty program during the month of October. The program will allow people with a parking violation to bring a donation to waive any penalties on the ticket. The donation could be school supplies, canned goods or an item for the elderly. The amnesty program will only apply to the five oldest tickets owed, with one donation for each ticket.

In February, Sundquist discussed the possibility of the parking ticket amnesty program with the council. He said there is more than $587,000 in uncollected parking ticket fines. He added city officials should be looking for ways to collect as much revenue as possible. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the parking ticket amnesty program wasn’t started.

The city of Jamestown last ran a parking ticket amnesty program in 2016. The program was announced in March 2016 and operated during the month of April. The program allowed vehicle owners with outstanding tickets to pay the face value of those tickets, waiving any penalties or fees that may have accrued.

City officials in the spring of 2016 reported raising between $25,000 to $30,000 from the one month parking ticket amnesty program.

The council will also discuss resolutions dealing with installing smart parking meters downtown. The one resolution will authorize the mayor to enter into an agreement with ID SignSystems Inc. for $472,788. The majority of the funding for the project comes from the Transportation Alternatives Program/Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant the city received in 2017 to fund a “Smart Tourism” initiative that will assist city officials to install smart parking meters and develop signage to help people navigate downtown easier.

According to the resolution, The Gebbie Foundation is funding $100,000 of the $122,000 of the local match. The other $22,000 of the local match will be allocated from the 2020 city contingency budget.