A grant as a part of the Congressionally Directed Spending Allocation from Nick Langworthy’s office was set to help the city dredge some channels of the Chadakoin River. P-J file photo

Back in May with the help of Congressman Nick Langworthy’s office, Jamestown’s Department of Development received a grant as a part of a Congressionally Directed Spending Allocation. The funds from that have since been rescinded, but with the hope that the funds will be restored in the next round in 2026.

“That came out of, when the president first took office we had the pause and things were shifted around and that was one of the things that was rescinded,” city development director, Crystal Surdyk, said. “Our communication with Nick Langworthy has been that he anticipates it will be restored with the next round of Congressionally Directed Spending.”

While this means the Department of Development would not see the funds until 2026, Surdyk said they remain hopeful that they will still get it. The plan for this funding is for stormwater management, including dredging of the channels in the wetland area of Jones and Gifford Avenue, along with some other areas along the Chadakoin River that are channels that were formerly used for steamboats and other boats to use.

Surdyk said those channels need to be dredged, which is primarily the biggest expense for the stormwater management in the city right now. The city is also looking to do some other types of stormwater management practices along that area, set to help mitigate some of the flooding seen on Jones and Gifford, along with stabilizing the river banks and cleaning some things up a bit more.

While this is a little different than other grants the city has received in the past, as it was a very specific ask, Surdyk said they are still pursuing other funding sources to be able to get this work done.

“The project overall is a pretty big project, so it will likely take more than just the Congressionally Directed Spending,” Surdyk said. “We haven’t waited to find out if we’re going to get it. We’re still continuing to seek other sources for this specific need that we have.”

Additionally, Surdyk said the department is always looking for different grant opportunities or ways to address some of the issues that they have. Joseph Calimeri, executive assistant to the mayor, added that grants are very important to the work that the city does, praising the city’s grant writer for all of the work that they do and the grants they are able to secure for them.

“We’re always looking for funding to help fund some of these projects,” Calimeri said. “And like Crystal said it’s all about partners and multiple partnerships too, and that’s key, city, state, federal, county, everything, we all are trying to do the same thing and we want the same results and that partnership is key as well. I feel like we have a great partnership with everybody.”

Resiliency and sustainability are very important to the community, Surdyk said, and the Chadakoin River plays a big part in that. There are multiple other projects involving the river, as it remains an important asset for the city, as well.

“It’s really important for us to make sure we do what we can to prevent degradation of the roadway, but also to ensure that while we’re taking care of the transportation part of it we are also taking care of the health of the river and that wetland area,” Surdyk said. “So, we feel it’s a really critical project and it’s a big project, but it’s also just a piece of the larger picture for our community.”