Talking town Michael Box, Jamestown’s mayor, pictured with his daughter Willa Wolfe Box. Mayor Box took over in June 2021, after the previous mayor, Tara Schoedinger, resigned due to a work-related transfer. PHOTO BY KIRK C. WATKINS[/caption]

Michael Box, Jamestown’s mayor since June 2021, was appointed by the Jamestown Board of Trustees after the former mayor, Tara Schoedinger, resigned her position due to a work-related move. Box had been a member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) for about five years before being voted into the new position and is going to complete Schoedinger’s term which extends through March 2022.

Mayor Box doesn’t plan on being just a short-term replacement. “Essentially I’m just filling out her term. There will be an election in March, and I’ll likely run again,” he said, “I do enjoy it for the most part. It’s a volunteer job, just like all of our government positions…so all of our elected officials are volunteers like a lot of small towns. I enjoy it, being a service to the community.”

He was nominated by the BOT as he was one of the more senior members of the board, had been active in a number of town projects and had previously worked with many members of the board.

He said that there was an opportunity for any resident of Jamestown to run, but nobody else did. “A lot of the elections around here are unopposed, so it’s kind of a ‘taking turns’ situation.”

Now that Mayor Box is taking his turn at the helm of the Jamestown executive board, he has several different plans and programs that he is committed to keeping on track. “I don’t want to say that I want to maintain the status quo, because that’s not who I am as a person,” he said, “but things are going pretty well in Jamestown, and I don’t really want to disrupt things too much.”

He went on to explain that the community is currently supporting several sustainability efforts and trying to improve several town facilities. “There’s been a lot of interest in improving the town park, so we’re overseeing that process,” he said. “The board does most of the work and then the mayor… runs the board meetings and acts as the executive for the town.”

Mayor Box says there are also new projects being considered, and new funding available for the town. “The ARPA, the American Recovery Plan Act, which is Joe Biden’s stimulus bill that came through.” One such project the town plans to complete is the resurfacing of the tennis court at Elysian Park.

“If you were to ask me what are the things I’m interested in promoting, it’s sustainability and self-reliance as a community,” he said, “whether that’s supporting the community gardens or expanding any of the home-rule style sustainability efforts that we’re doing, like the community food share… they get a ton of support from us. We’ve got some other interesting projects that go with that, we’re going to be doing some composting projects with the town supporting and being funded through some different non-profits.”

While he says that much of the items that the town has in mind, or are in the works, are basic maintenance projects, he includes the task of updating ordinances and working on language in town ordinances to reflect the current penalty structures, to ensure that they reflect just and equitable consequences for infractions.

Community growth concerns, and short-term rental issues are being talked about by the board. “Also keeping community events going strong, keeping the fire department well supported, keeping our town staff and our water plant well supported,” he said, “Jamestown is really lucky that we have our own fully functional municipal water system that was not entirely, but mostly rebuilt after the flood. Making sure we’re making enough capital investments.”

Mayor Box understands the necessity of developing a strategy that would allow for sustainable development for the coming decades. And although he claims to be simply maintaining what he took over, his focus for the future and for a responsibly planned and developed community, combined with his time already spent on the BOT of Jamestown, makes him uniquely qualified to lead his community. His commitment to serving his community is evident from his priorities, and he stands to have an active voice in Jamestown’s conversation for the foreseeable future.