Pictured is the proposed Jamestown CHQ Transit hub. County officials hope the work will be done by the fall. Submitted photo

The cost of a new public transportation center in Jamestown continues to rise.

During the recent Chautauqua County Legislature meeting, lawmakers agreed to spend an additional $155,258 to renovate 215 E. Third St., Jamestown, where CARTS has been operating out of since 2018 and purchased at the end of 2020.

Last year CARTS (Chautauqua Area Regional Transit System) was officially rebranded as CHQ Transit, although the name CARTS still exists on the county’s website.

During a committee meeting the week prior, Public Facilities Director Tim Card and CARTS Senior Project Coordinator Michelle Westphal gave an update on the project.

According to Card, the bids for the full remodeling project came in at $820,000.

“Our funds are a little short,” he said, which is why they were requesting additional funding.

Card said they have $605,000 from the Accelerated Transportation Grant from New York state and the legislature previously approved to spend $100,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act funds the county received from the federal government in response to COVID-19.

Card noted that when the county bought 215 E. Third St. four years ago, it cost around $158,000, but that money came from the state.

When the project is finished, Card said the public will be able to enter the building and stay in a waiting room. There will be a break room and bathroom, but those will not be for riders to use.

“There’s no facilities for the public,” he said.

Legislator Tom Nelson, D-Jamestown, said he’s glad the building is being renovated. “It’s an eyesore, right across from City Hall,” he said.

The project was proposed before Card was appointed as the county’s Public Facilities director. He noted that the cost has ballooned over the past four years.

“When we first started this project … we we’re talking $500,000 to get it done,” he said.

Card said the county had to wait for the city to remove the former gas tanks on the property before they could start the project.

“With the waiting and everything, the cost of materials and supplies, and the way things have gone, this is where we’re at today,” he said.

The full legislature unanimously approved the additional funding. The money is coming from the county’s capital fund reserves.

Card said he hopes the renovations will be completed by the fall.