Jamestown council creates Fort Getty ad hoc committee, sets June 2026 reporting deadline

The Jamestown Town Council voted unanimously to create a Fort Getty ad hoc committee charged with reviewing the park’s physical condition, historic military structures, docks and boat ramp, beaches, camping facilities and parking, and to report progress in six months and final recommendations by June 2026.

Council members debated the committee’s composition, timeline and the need for staff representation before approving an amended version of the resolution. The approved charge calls for representatives from the planning or planning staff, recreation department, the harbor commission, a conservation commission designee and four citizens at large, with the citizens constituting a majority of the committee.

Council members said staff participation would help the committee with technical knowledge and historical context and that the harbor and recreation departments’ familiarity with docks, camping operations and facilities maintenance made their involvement important. One councilor argued the committee should not be “fully a citizen committee with no staff” and favored a balance of staff and citizen members; another councilor warned that a six‑month deadline might be too tight given past effort that took longer.

Concerns raised in the discussion included: the schedule for RV contract renewals (noted to begin in January 2026), deferred maintenance at Fort Getty including aging electrical pedestals and a leaking water line, and the need to avoid limiting the town’s ability to perform essential safety and maintenance work while the committee studies options.

The council amended the draft charge to explicitly include the harbor director and the recreation director or their designees, clarified that one representative would come from the conservation commission, and set the committee’s citizen membership at four. Council member Mary, who moved approval as amended, said the council owed the town “a point of view on this in the next year.” The motion passed by voice vote; the transcript records the vote as all in favor.

The council and speakers discussed whether the committee should be allowed to request town resources or outside consultants to accelerate work such as conducting a community survey and preparing designs; several council members said the committee should convene first and then identify required resources, which the council could then consider providing.

The council’s action directs the ad hoc committee to produce an interim progress report in approximately six months and to submit final recommendations to the council by June 2026. No specific budget appropriation for committee work was included in the approved resolution; councilors left open the possibility the committee could request staff time or outside consulting funds after it convenes.

The council noted Fort Getty’s heightened public interest — including a canceled town meeting that had been oversubscribed — when weighing the timetable. Speakers repeatedly emphasized continuing routine maintenance and safety work (for example, water-line and electrical pedestal repairs) regardless of the committee’s deliberations.

What happens next: the council will begin soliciting appointments that match the approved charge; if the committee requests outside resources or additional staff support, the council said it would consider those requests at a later meeting.