Councilman Bill Reynolds, R-Ward 5 and Housing Committee chairman pictured center, looks on as Councilman Brent Sheldon, R-Ward 1, speaks. Crystal Surdyk, city development director, is pictured looking at a document. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

After months of searching, the city of Jamestown has officially hired a new principal planner and a new building and zoning enforcement officer.

During Monday’s housing committee meeting, Crystal Surdyk, city development director, said Larry Scalise, current building and zoning enforcement officer, is retiring, with Friday being his last day. His replacement, Kenny Garcia, will be joining the team on July 7.

The city has also hired a new principal planner, Jason Kulaszewski, coming from the Buffalo area.

“Kenny is relocating from South Carolina, and is moving his family here,” Surdyk said. “Jason Kulaszewski is coming from the UB Regional Institute. He has been in town several times, he’s looking for apartments and he will also be making the move.”

Garcia has worked for the state of South Carolina, doing mostly asbestos inspections and permits, but also works part-time as the building and zoning code enforcement officer in the town in South Carolina where he lives.

“He does all of the site reviews, and it is a smaller town, so he is kind of a one-man-band, and wears a lot of hats in that role,” Surdyk said. “So, he’s got many years of experience and a young family and a wife that is from the Findley Lake area.”

Kulaszewski currently serves as the UB Regional Institute’s Clean Energy Coordinator. According to their website, he has taken the lead on UBRI’s Clean Energy Communities initiative, which supports local municipalities to implement clean energy actions, save energy costs, and improve environmental stewardship in Western New York. Kulaszewski also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Planning with a Minor in Geography from the State University at New York College at Buffalo, where he was recognized by the American Planning Association in 2012.

Councilman Joe Paterniti, R-Ward 4, asked if there was any sort of facilitation that the city had when hiring out of state to have the new hires move to Jamestown as opposed to Lakewood or somewhere else nearby like the Bemus Point area. Surdyk said formally there was not, but informally they know the housing in the area and give new hires from out of state several names information to help find housing.