County Legislature Chairman and Chautauqua Lake Protection & Rehabilitation Agency Chair Pierre Chagnon addresses crowd at CLPRA Meeting (January 19, 2023)
The concept of a Chautauqua Lake Tax District is dead in the water.
Members of the Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency voted Thursday night before a crowd of nearly 100 people to not recommend the formation of a lake tax district to the Chautauqua County Legislature.
The motion was made by Chautauqua Town Supervisor Don Emhardt, who said he thought the whole thing “got off to a bad start,” “And the negative publicity and the number of negative emails I’ve received over the last week, week and a half.. It wasn’t gonna pass. So, we might as well just call it now rather than going through another two or three years of making a final recommendation.”
The CLPRA was initially formed in 2018 and tasked with forming a lake protection and rehabilitation district.
County Legislature Chairman and CLPRA Chairman Pierre Chagnon said the agency has been working with consultants, Barton and LoGuidice, on a possible structure of a tax district to be presented to the state and, if approved, then sent to the County Legislature.
He said that changes with the motion made by the CLPRA members to stop the process where it’s at, “…And make our recommendation to the legislature not to pursue a district. That motion was carried by a majority of the (CLPRA) agency members. So the agency’s task, which it was tasked by the (County) Legislature to make a recommendation, is complete.”
Chagnon said he thinks this outcome happened partly due to the discussion changing from generalities about there being a fee or a tax to discussions of what the fee might be for different tiers or parcels, “And then it started to become more of a reality to people, other than a generality, of what this could be to the property owners. And I think that that reality, I know from talking to at least a couple of agency members, that realization, that reality really opened their eyes and changed their view of the whole process.”
Chagnon said with their task complete, the CLPRA is considered dissolved.
He said the County could look at other lake funding options like a boat fee, but that would still require approval from the state.
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