City workers are pictured last week under the Main Street railroad viaduct. A homeless encampment was cleared due to “several safety concerns,” Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

Noting an increase in reported fights and calls for service, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist confirmed a homeless encampment was recently cleared.

Workers with the city Parks Department and Jamestown Board of Public Utilities were at the Main Street railroad viaduct late last week removing garbage and other items left behind. The site, along with an area down near the Chadakoin River, has become more populated with homeless individuals.

Sundquist said “several safety concerns” had arisen recently. Chief among them, he told The Post-Journal in an interview this week, was the encampment’s proximity to the heavily-traveled Main Street by both motorists and pedestrians.

The mayor also noted an uptick in reported fights and police responses.

“In that area we tried several times to have them move or clear out,” Sundquist said, “but they would come back within hours.”

Toward the end of the week, Sundquist said those within the encampment were “asked to collect their things and move along.” He added that officers with the Jamestown Police Department involved in helping to clear the area had a list of resources ready to make available. That included information for Chautauqua Opportunities, the UCAN City Mission, The Salvation Army, St. Susan Center and Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services, among others.

Sundquist said the individuals were only asked to move from the area. By last Thursday, a city parks employee was seen changing a nearby garbage container while items were swept up under the viaduct.

A BPU garbage truck was briefly parked under the viaduct to assist with garbage removal.

By Tuesday morning this week, a few had returned to the viaduct, though the area was visibly less active and no tents could be seen.

Meanwhile, Sundquist said a meeting has been scheduled for next week to bring local churches together to discuss the homeless problem and how churches might be able to partner with other resource agencies in the community.

“We’re inviting all of the churches for a conversation how they can be partners,” the mayor said.

Sundquist noted the upcoming winter and need to find locations for the city’s unsheltered.

“This is not an easy solution,” he said. “It’s not lost on me that there are folks who don’t have a place to go.”