It’s no secret that Jamestown has a deferred maintenance problem. Before the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing $28.3 million ARPA shot in the arm, deferred maintenance or replacement of city vehicles and equipment was a common talking point as city department heads discussed their budgets with City Council members each fall. It’s still a topic, but the influx of federal money certainly improved the situation.

But what we didn’t realize until the past couple of years was how far maintenance of the city’s physical environment had been neglected as city leaders tried to manage the city budget.

In addition to the federal funding announced earlier this year, the City Council approved more than $900,000 in federal ARPA funding to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy in 2022 and 2023 to trim trees, remove debris downstream of the Warner Dam, use herbicides to kill and then remove Tree of Heaven, an invasive species that attracts the spotted lanternfly and removal of two large beaver dams off Jones & Gifford Avenue. The project involves roughly 1.2 miles of channels that the DPW will be looking to clean out and remove about 14,000 cubic yards of material. The project also includes creating access to the channels so equipment can get to the area, with those channels also able to be used for access to the Chadakoin River when the DPW isn’t using them.

The good news is the state Transportation Department has allocated the full cost of the project, which is $5.5 million, though there is a 20% match the city will have to pay totaling $1.1 million. Roetzer said he is still working to reduce the project’s cost, including discussions with the county to reduce landfill tipping fees, the use of local work crews and additional grants.

The city had little choice but to approve ARPA funding for Chadakoin River cleanup work. The same is true with the $1.1 million matching grant for the north side maintenance project. But the two projects, coming in such close proximity to each other, make us wonder what other environmental maintenance projects have been deferred over the years and will need attention. It’s a question council members should keep in the back of their minds as they discuss the north side project this month.