County Lawmakers Approve Lease for Future South County Government Offices in Jamestown
7/23/2026 8:03:15 AM
By Greg Larson, News Director
The Chautauqua County Legislature has approved a new agreement with a developer to move most of the South County Office facilities in Jamestown to the Lynn Building next year. The building, located at 310-322 East 3rd Street, is being purchased by East Third Ventures, which is headed up by Jamestown native Joe Roosa. Prior to the 12-5 vote, Roosa told lawmakers that his team is committed to Jamestown and making this work...
Joe Roosa: commitment to Jamestown
The vote during Wednesday's legislature meeting came following more than an hour's worth of discussion and debate by lawmakers and the public. Many of the concerns were over the fate of the Infinity Visual and Performing Arts and Chautauqua Striders programs. To that end, Republican Majority Leader Jamie Gustafson introduced two amendments...
Jamie Gustafson: eliminate having probation housed, keeping Infinity and Striders
Minority Democrats complained that the proposal to lease space from East Third Ventures was first proposed nine days prior. One was Jamestown's Fred Larson...
Fred Larson: being asked to decide multi-million-dollar investment
However, Ellicott Republican Lisa Vanstrom noted that four Democrats voted for the new lease in committee...
Lisa Vanstrom: a perfect fit
Once the final vote was taken, two Democrats joined with Republicans to vote for the proposal. Wednesday night's meeting was held at the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown.