CELORON – It appears that “Scary Lucy” will have a new home in Jamestown upon completion of the National Comedy Center next year.

On Monday, the Celoron Village Board unanimously approved a motion that would grant the comedy center possession of its infamous bronze sculpture of the late comedian Lucille Ball while retaining village ownership of the statue.

The motion was approved two weeks after Tom Benson, chairman of the National Comedy Center, appealed to the board regarding relocation of the statue to the forthcoming comedy center in exchange for funding that would allow for the creation of a new statue to be made and placed in Celoron’s Lucille Ball Memorial Park. The board made the agreement contingent upon the comedy center’s fulfillment of this promise, as well as its formal acknowledgment of Celoron’s ownership upon its display in Jamestown.

During Monday’s meeting, Mayor Scott Schrecengost said Benson’s presentation was reasonable and addressed the interests of both parties.

“I myself thought it was a pretty good idea,” he said. “Right now we’ve got a lot of attention on it because of all the publicity it’s had, but do we really need two statues in the park?”

Several board members expressed their steadfast desire that the statue remain where it is until funding has been fully received and a new statue created. Trustee Norman Mattison suggested on more than one occasion that the village sign a contract with representatives of the National Comedy Center to ensure that the terms expressed in the agreement between the parties are adhered to. Also included in the motion was the stipulation that the comedy center be responsible for maintaining insurance on the statue.

Provided these terms are met, Mary Keeney, trustee, described the agreement as a “win-win.” Schrecengost said the agreement would likely stimulate economic growth in both Jamestown and Celoron.

“We’re both helping each other out,” he said.

Lou Deppas, vice president of the National Comedy Center, assured board members that none of the aforementioned contingencies and stipulations should prove problematic in moving forward with the agreement.

“None of the conditions you’re discussing are a problem,” Deppas told the board. “In fact, I think it all falls in the parameters of exactly what we would expect to happen. The statue stays where it is until you get have a replacement; obviously both groups would have incentive to raise money for you to get a new statue; of course we would insure it; and we would be happy to acknowledge that it’s from the village of Celoron.”

Upon approval of the motion, Deppas expressed his gratitude to the board and Schrecengost said he would be in contact to finalize the details and move forward with the agreement.

Benson was not in attendance for Monday’s meeting but did release a statement: “We are extremely pleased with the decision made by the Celoron Board today. We are excited to embrace the statue in a different light; not as likeness of Lucille Ball, but as a tribute to what she was all about – making people laugh. This piece of comedy history has made millions of people laugh since going viral, and we look forward to working with the board of Celoron to find creative ways to showcase it in Comedy Center Park and the upcoming National Comedy Center, set to break ground during this year’s Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, and open in August 2016.”