EMS Council Chair Larry Barter addresses Chautauqua County Legislature (April 26, 2023)

A local law that gives volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers a break on property taxes has been approved by the Chautauqua County Legislature.

The local law provides a 10% exemption on real property taxes for volunteers who have been in the service for at least two years. For volunteers who are active and have 20 years of service, it provides a lifetime 10% exemption. A second local law approved allows the spouses of volunteers killed in the line of duty to retain that tax exemption as long as they don’t remarry.

Legislator Terry Niebel, one of the sponsors of the bill, spoke in support of the local law, “Without their services, we could easily be spending millions of dollars. Like most counties in New York State, Chautauqua County is experiencing a serious shortage of volunteers. With the two local laws on the agenda this evening, we’re offering the best benefit package allowed by the state.”
Niebel also urged other taxing districts in the county to consider offering the exemption.

The legislature also approved using $50,000 in American Rescue Plan funds toward a market study for the Jamestown Airport. The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency had approved $25,000 in funding toward the $75,000 project in January.

County Executive PJ Wendel said the study is a necessary part of the Essential Air Service (EAS) application to the U.S. Department of Transportation. He said EAS provides subsidies to airlines to reduce the ticket prices, thus making it more affordable for flyers, “Once this (study) comes back, we are ready if we need to pivot and focus from a commercial airport to a general aviation airport. Shannon (Barnhart) has the tools and the skills. We’ve already got some plans and things we’ve talked about in chatter on what we can do as far as increasing smaller what they call T-hangers, increasing the operability of the airport.”

Wendel said with the Legislature’s approval the county will now do a request for proposals (RFP) to contract with someone for the study.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel about the City of Dunkirk‘s recent DRI announcement, funding for Chautauqua Lake, an Airport Market Analysis, and more.

PJ Wendel

Jamestown Airport

The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency Board has approved using $25,000 toward an Airport Market Analysis Study.

IDA CEO and Deputy County Executive of Economic Development Mark Geise said the goal is to do the study as part of hopefully bringing back Essential Air Service to the Jamestown Airport.

The County had proposed in 2021 using $75,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for the feasibility study, but the County Legislature voted it down.

Geise said the IDA’s contribution of $25,000 will lower the cost of the study to the County to $50,000.

Jamestown Airport Manager Shannon Barnhart said the study will look at various data points, “You know, it’s a possibility that air service may not be the best thing for Chautauqua County, but we don’t know. We hope that it is. But without any data showing that people are actually going to fly, we hear every day people want air service back, but, ‘Did you ever fly? You know, are you going to fly? How many times are you going to fly? Where do you spend your money now?’ Someone has to get out there and do that. We do not have the resources within the county, or myself, to go out and do that study on our own.”

Barnhart said the feasibility study is the missing piece in the application to the Department of Transportation. She said it’s the County’s intention to use the study to work with an airline in the application for EAS designation.

County Executive PJ Wendel said there’s also a plan in the event that the study doesn’t go they way they expect, “And Shannon has a plan to shift gears and move towards how do we make this a general aviation airport and how do we start to gain revenue and build that base up again? So, I think this is important, it’s vital, and it’s really going to finally answer the question we’ve been asking and that question hasn’t been answered.”

Geise said he anticipates a resolution will be brought before the County Legislature in February for the remainder of the $50,000 needed to fund the study.

EDITOR’S NOTE: As a point of transparency and disclosure to our audience, the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency is a corporate underwriter for WRFA and has provided a financial contribution for the general operations of the station within the past year. Funding we receive for General Operations is not used to fund our coverage of local news in the community. That is only made possible through a Community Service Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.