CITY PARKS, RECREATION & CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Meeting held Tuesday, January 2, 2018
PROCEEDINGS BY AUTHORITY
State of New York, City of Jamestown
The regular meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Conservation Commission of the City of Jamestown, New York, was held on Tuesday, January 2, 2017 at 5:00 in Jamestown New York.
Those present representing the Commission were:
Commissioner John Bauer
Commissioner Russ Diethrick
Commissioner Cindy DiNapoli
Commissioner Chris Prinzi
Commissioner Jim Walsh
Commissioner Jason Stronz
Others Present:
Julia Ciesla-Hanley, Recreation Coordinator
Dan Stone, Arborist
John Williams, Parks Manager
Absent:
Commissioner Dave Anderson
Commissioner James Ventura
The meeting was called to order by Julia Ciesla-Hanley.
Election of Officers
Chairman: Commissioner Bauer motioned to nominate Commissioner DiNapoli as Chairman. Commissioner Diethrick seconded the motion. Carried.
Vice-Chairman: Commissioner Diethrick motioned to nominate Commissioner Bauer as Vice-Chairman. Commissioner Prinzi seconded the motion. Carried
Secretary: Commissioner Walsh motioned to nominate Commissioner Prinzi as Secretary. Commissioner Bauer seconded. Carried.
Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting.
A motion was made by Commissioner Bauer and seconded by Commissioner Stronz to approve the minutes of the October 3 and November 7, 2017 meetings. Carried.
Opportunity for Persons to Address Commission.
None.
Reports of Committees and Projects.
Report from the Riverfront Management Council/Riverwalk Project Update: The RMC did not meet in November and December.
Holiday Items: John Williams said he is waiting for the weather to break to take down the Christmas tree and lights. Christmas tree pick-up begins Monday, January 8th. He said there are not as many trees to pick up as in decades past, but there’s still a lot put out. Commissioner Diethrick said there were as many as 10,000 trees to pick up way back when the city was still burning them. John Williams said they will pick up stragglers as late as March and as they see them. Commissioner Diethrick said the holiday lights really stood out this year downtown.
John Williams said JRC’s Christmas Parade went well.
John Williams said the carol sing event in Allen Park didn’t go well. He said there was an incident where the horse carriage tipped over with three people on board. There were no significant injuries. He said the uneven road combined with a short radius turn in snowy conditions were the cause. Commissioner DiNapoli said the riders were checked out at WCA Hospital. Commissioner Diethrick asked who provided the carriage. Commissioner DiNapoli said it was Magic Moments, who have been used by the Allen Park Women’s Club (APWC) for this event because they are insured. John Williams said the APWC will need to do a special event application for the event later this year and make sure to have the carriage ride company names the City of Jamestown as additional insured on their certificate of liability. Commissioner Prinzi asked what would happen if anyone sued in regard to the incident. John said that they could come after the city and the Allen Park Women’s Club, so we have to make sure everyone is protected in the future. He added he suggested APWC President Shannon Neubaurer contact a lawyer just in case.
Trees: Dan Stone passed out information on tree work done in 2017 (2017 Tree Report). He received confirmation that the City of Jamestown will receive the “Tree City USA” designation for its 37th year. Dan said he did electric wire safety training to get workers certified before the tree season.
Dan said crews planted 180 trees in 7 days. The trees removed number doesn’t include what was removed on the Chadakoin Bike Trail and in Allen Park. Dan met with Randy Swanson, Tory Irgang, and June Diethrick at Chautauqua Region Community Foundation in regard to future projects. He thinks Allen Park will be the project for 2018. He added there are 305 varieties of trees in the city now with 7 new varieties for 2017.
Dan said two more Oak trees on West Third Street will be coming down this year. One is between Lakin and Hallock with the other one located near Lind Funeral Home. These will probably come down at the end of January or beginning of February. Dan said a Basswood tree was cut down at Fenton Park. The tree was split in the middle and had a huge hollow. Dan said the tree originally came from President Washington’s Mount Vernon property in Virginia. It was planted by the Daughters of the Revolution 82 years ago. Dan hopes to get them involved again in a new planting. Commissioner Stronz suggested having a bat made out of the wood from the Basswood tree. Commissioner Diethrick said it could be used at the World Series this summer. Dan said that’s a good idea and that he’s had items made out of trees taken down in the past.
Dan is working on tree trimming, which is difficult with all the snow. Commissioner Diethrick said it would be good to send a story to the media about the variety of trees in the city and about the work being done.
Good of the Order:
- Dan Stone thanked everyone for being part of the Parks Commission. The Tree City USA paperwork requires a park or tree board. He added the Tree City program is only 40 years old and the City of Jamestown has received the designation for 37 of those years.
- Commissioner Bauer said that John Williams is being honored by the Chautauqua Chamber of Commerce at a dinner on February 5th at Shawbucks.
Adjournment
The next meeting is Tuesday, February 6, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Julia Ciesla-Hanley
