Council President Tony Dolce, R-Ward 2, reflected back on the last year for city council and thanked outgoing council members during Monday’s voting session. Screenshot courtesy of the city of Jamestown’s website

City Council President, Tony Dolce, R-Ward 2, took the time at the end of Monday’s voting session to reflect back on 2025 and his term for the city council, while also recognizing the four outgoing members who were in attendance for their final council meeting.

Dolce began by thanking the council for electing him as council president and trusting him with the responsibility for the last term of two years, calling it a privilege to work alongside the other city council members and Mayor Kim Ecklund and her administration.

“When you serve as a member of city council you realize how much work and public scrutiny you take,” Dolce said. “This can be a very difficult, challenging and thankless job at times. But, I believe I speak for the entire council in saying that we do this as a service to our community.”

Something that Dolce said he is proud of when it comes to the Jamestown city council is that even when they do not agree there remains a level of respect and professionalism and decorum between everyone. As president he added that he has always tried to allow for both public comment and comments from city council members while remaining professional, something Dolce said can be noticeably lacking in other governing bodies at all levels of government at times, especially in “today’s politically charged environment.”

Other items of note that Dolce highlighted from the past year included the required allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds, used for housing initiatives, public safety initiatives, upgrades to parks, capital improvement projects, infrastructure improvements, and economic initiatives. This past term Dolce also highlighted the efforts that the council has put into neighborhood and housing issues, such as putting local laws into effect, dealing with code enforcement and quality of life issues, and becoming more aggressive on pushing for demolitions and rehabilitations of those sites.

The other big item of note from the past year was the financial challenges.

“This council along with the mayor and her administration worked very hard to handle the financial challenges that Jamestown has been and currently is facing,” Dolce said. “We worked to reduce the impact of increasing taxes with balancing and passing fiscally responsible budgets.”

Dolce then thanked the four outgoing members of the city council who will not be returning in the next year; Councilman Bill Reynolds, R-Ward 5, Councilman Joe Paterniti, R-Ward 4, Councilman Randy Daversa, R-At Large, and Councilman Jeff Russell, R-At Large.

Beginning with Reynolds, Dolce said Reynolds has served as Ward 5 representative for two terms, along with the chair of the housing committee for this last term. Reynolds has also served on the public safety committee and as a member of the Fenton History Board and Lakeview Cemetery Board.

“Bill is a retired JPD officer who previously served as a town supervisor in the Town of North Harmony and a street supervisor in Bemus Point,” Dolce said. “Bill’s years of experience in administration, public safety and his involvement on many boards and commissions in our community will be sorely missed on this council.”

Paterniti has represented Ward 4 over the past two years, along with being a member of the public safety committee and on the planning commission. Paterniti has been active in the community as a member of the Italian American Association and helped raise thousands of dollars to help fight cancer in the Jamestown community.

“Although Joe only served one term, he was a very active member who asked many important questions and was a strong voice for his constituents,” Dolce said.

Daversa served two terms on city council, serving as chairman of the public works committee and the parks and recreation commission. Daversa is a retired state department of public works employee with over 30 years of experience in the public works field, along with being an active volunteer in the city’s midget football program.

“His many years of experience in public works will be greatly missed,” Dolce said.

Lastly, Russell has served three terms as a councilman At-Large, also serving as chair of the public safety committee, and is a retired Jamestown police officer. Russell has served as a member of the Board of Public Utilities board and the Jamestown Local Development Corporation. Dolce said Russell has also chaired the “very important health insurance board”, which worked to help save the city “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in health insurance costs.

“Jeff’s experience and leadership as well as his hard work that he has put into this position as a council member will be very difficult to replace,” Dolce said. “I’d like to thank all four of these outgoing councilmen for their dedication, work, and commitment to the city and wish them well.”

Dolce noted that 2026 will bring many changes to city council, and most likely many challenges that they will have to face.

Following Dolce, Reynolds expressed his thanks to Dolce, other council members, the administration, and citizens of Jamestown, especially his own constituents in Ward 5. He also thanked his wife and family for putting up with his decades of civic service. He addressed the history of his family in the city, and that his grandmother was instrumental in getting him into public service to give back to the city that has given them so much.

“There is something very rewarding for public service,” Reynolds said. “To find out how special, you just have to get involved.”

Ecklund also thanked the outgoing members on behalf of the city, presenting them with letters and gifts before the meeting was officially suspended, following the typical protocol for the last meeting of the year. The meeting will be reconvened at the next work session on Monday, to begin the new term of city council.