Chautauqua Opportunities Inc.’s Josiah Lamp presents to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation (June 21, 2023)
The Jamestown Local Development Corporation will vote in July on awarding $1.5 million in Non-Profit Assistance Program funds.
Nine organizations have requested a total of $2,756,457 toward$43,462,532 in project costs.
Council President and JLDC Board member Tony Dolce said there are some options to consider with the over $1.2 million gap between requests received and funds available, “If we add $1.2 million more and give everybody what they want, or you can decrease everybody by an equal percentage, or you can then weight them and decrease some more than others, or you can eliminate some completely and fund totally others.”
Council member at Large and JLDC board member Kim Ecklund said she’d prefer to see what can be done with $1.5 million allocated before considering a proposal to add more funds to the grant program.
Both Dolce and Ecklund requested a staff review and recommendation of the nine applications received. Dolce also wanted to know that if there was a cut to the request by organizations, was there a point for any of them where they couldn’t go forward with their proposed use of funds.
The grant program will provide grants of up to $200,000 with applications exceeding $200,000 being reviewed on a case by case basis. Awards are structured as a 50% grant and 50% forgivable loan.
Requests approved for over $200,000 would be subject to a PILOT agreement with the city.
Mayor Eddie Sundquist stated at a previous city council meeting that while non-profits do not pay taxes, with the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, the organization would pay a percentage of what their tax burden would be as a not-for-profit. The amount organizations would pay would be equal to 10% of the estimated annual property tax payment if the property were subject to being taxed.
The organizations that have requested funding is as follows:
– Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. – $181,393 ($3,776,568 project cost) for the development of an 18-bed homeless shelter for women
– Collaborative Children’s Solutions – $96,850 ($123,000 project cost) to create a youth community program to address trauma, abuse and/or neglect
– Jamestown Center City Development Corporation – $500,000 ($4,805,200 project cost) for interior build-out of TheZone at the Northwest Arena
– Jamestown YMCA – $1 million ($30,747,722 project cost) for the construction of a new YMCA
– National Comedy Center – $200,000 ($400,000 project cost) to replace $2.3 million in lost revenue due to the Pandemic along with costs for implementing safer operating procedures
– Robert H. Jackson Center – $350,000 ($750,000 project cost) to renovate the Cappa Theatre, including audio/visual equipment
– Roger Tory Peterson Institute – $82,500 ($500,000 project cost) to hire a Development Director to expand fundraising
– St. Luke’s Episcopal Church – $200,000 ($2,030,036 project cost) to restore the bell tower and create a year round agricultural program
– YWCA Jamestown – $145,714 ($330,006 project cost) for a female youth leadership program
Rubric of Organizations that Have Applied for Non-Profit Assistance Program Funding
The board is expected to vote on these request at their next meeting on July 19.
The JLDC Board also approved at its meeting on June 21 two requests for Downtown Programming funds.
The Scandinavian Folk Fest will receive up to $7,200 to use toward bringing in a Swedish boat for the festival and to help pay for lodging costs. The festival is scheduled to take place at Northwest Arena on Saturday, July 15 and Sunday, July 16.
Lunar Pyros was approved up to $10,200 to use toward insurance costs and the costs of a parks employee for their weekly “Wednesday Night Get Down” event at McCrea Point Park that will feature hand drums, fire flow, and LED performances.
Leave a Reply