Chautauqua County Legislature Oath of Office (1/3/2022)

Four new legislators were sworn in at the Chautauqua County Legislature‘s organizational meeting Monday.

Republican Marty Proctor replaced Bill Ward in District 18 with Dave Wilfong replacing Bob Whitney in Jamestown District 11. Both Procter and Wilfong had previously served on the Legislature. Democrat Billy Torres replaced Chuck Nazzaro in Jamestown District 9. Nazzaro had chose not to run again. Democrat Susan Parker replaced Christine Starks in Fredonia District 4.

The legislature also voted to replace Mark Odell on the Legislature with John Penhollow of Sinclairville. Odell had resigned in July after moving out of the district, but his name remained on the ballot. Penhollow was appointed to fill his term last year.

Legislator Pierre Chagnon was unanimously elected the chair of the Legislature.

The legislature approved the reappointment of Ned Barone as Public Defender. The appointment is a 2-year term.

They also appointed Olivia Lee as the new Clerk of the Legislature. Lee replaces Kathy Tampio, who is retiring after 10 years as Clerk. Legislator Chagnon and County Executive PJ Wendel presented Tampio with a commendation for her service at the meeting.

County Legislature Honors Outgoing Legislator Chuck Nazzaro

The Chautauqua County Legislature has approved a local law increasing salaries for the Undersheriff, Captain, Warden and Corrections Lieutenant.

Legislator Terry Niebel said when the local law was introduced he asked the County Sheriff and Human Resources to research salary information in other counties for comparison, “They ended up looking at 32 other counties. The salary range before us now puts us somewhere in the middle of those 32 counties. We are looking at an increase of two or three ranges for each position. But given today’s situation with law enforcement, I believe these increases are warranted.”

The local law passed unanimously.

A resolution to increase landfill and transfer station fees also passed by a vote of 16 to 2. Legislators Bill Ward and John Penhollow were the two votes against. The new fees go into effect January 1st.

Legislators approved by block vote a host of resolutions that included several resolutions that adjusted American Rescue Plan funding toward emergency services department projects. Legislator Chuck Nazzaro said while the resolutions were being handled quickly by the full legislature, that they were discussed thoroughly in committee, “As you know, we received $24.6 million in ARPA funding, the American Rescue Plan. And to date, now with what we have before us tonight we will have approved just under $10.2 million in projects. So each year we receive $12.3 million for 2021 and $12.3 million for 2022 and we’ve spent or awarded $10.2 million today.”

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon presented outgoing Legislators Christine Starks, Chuck Nazzaro, Bob Whitney, and Bill Ward with commendations for their time and service on the Legislature.
Memorials also were read for former County Legislators who died this past year including Ron Szot, Vickye James, Mac Crowe, Bob Duff, and Tom Harte.

The next County Legislature meeting will be its organizational meeting at 4pm, Monday, January 3, 2022.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Chautauqua Rails to Trails President Bill Ward and President Emeritus Jim Fincher on a new trail project that is being developed in the town of Carroll.

Chautauqua Rails to Trail President Emeritus Jim Fincher said they own the former railbed from Frewsburg to Ackley, Pennsylvania and had started working on developing part of the trail.

He said the property on the north end of the trail owned by the Lobb family had been flooded by beavers building dams, “There’s at least five dams in there now and because it was wet, it became wetland. You’ve got the kind of soil, you’ve got the kind of plants, the kind of animals that define it as a wetland. To do much with a wetland, you’ve got to get a permit which is what we did.”

Fincher said the trail will be 10 feet wide and covered with gravel. He estimates that the trail will be open for use by this summer. For the full interview with Jim Fincher and current Chautauqua County Rails to Trails President Bill Ward, tune into Community Matters this Thursday at 5pm here on WRFA.

Chautauqua County Legislature

The Chautauqua County Legislature unanimously passed the 2022 budget with a property tax and tax levy decrease.

The new property tax rate will be $8.10 per $1,000 assessed value, which is 40-cents lower than the current rate. The real property tax levy will be $66,912,293, which is $271,102 dollars lower than the current levy.

Audit and Control Chair Legislator Chuck Nazzaro thanked everyone involved in the budget process, saying County Executive PJ Wendel had presented a structurally sound budget back in September, “This budget provides property tax relief, there’s no use of undesignated fund balance, it creates a contingency account for those unexpected expenses, and meets our five-year plan.”

Legislator Terry Niebel said he supports the budget but urged some caution, “We did create 42 new positions this year. And I realize that many of these positions are 100% funded either by the state or federal government, but look, two or three years from now we’re going to have to decide how we’re going to fund these positions or if we’re going to fund these positions at all.”

The Legislature also approved via block vote 13 resolutions related to spending American Rescue Plan funds. A resolution on a new handgun project was pulled. Projects that were approved for funding included the $4.68 million to purchase a crane, two dump/plow trucks, a snow blower, and long-arm excavator. The use of $1.4 million to purchase property to turn them into shovel-ready sites as approved. The Frank W. Bratt Ag Building will receive $1.1 million for building upgrades. And over $2 million dollars will go toward economic development initiatives such as bolstering the bed tax fund, providing marketing assistance, workforce development initiatives, and funding the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth.

A resolution to spend $72,000 in ARP fund to do a study of the Jamestown Airport on bringing back Essential Air Service failed by a vote of 4 to 15.

Legislator Elisabeth Rankin voted no, saying so much work has already been done on the airport, “I am totally in favor of any infrastructure investment that will help the county. And I’ve been the beneficiary of years of flying in and out of Jamestown Airport. However, I do believe we’ve given it its chance and I think its time has come and gone. And I’m not in favor of a study, of spending money on a study that I don’t think is going to get us anywhere.”

Legislators Chuck Nazzaro, Jay Gould, and Bill Ward also voiced their opposition to spending money on another study of the airport.

Legislators did unanimously approve a contract with the the County Sheriff’s Supervisor’s Association. The contract agreement runs from January 1st, 2022 through December 31st, 2025. It includes modifications to longevity, employer and employee cost share of the health plan, the retiree cash-out benefit, the addition of a cell phone stipend of $50 per month, an increase to the clothing allowance, and a change from a three to a four step salary schedule.

Chautauqua County Legislature

Following public comments over the last several months over concern about governmental overreach, the Chautauqua County Legislature passed a motion last night that calls on elected officials to act within the boundaries of the U.S. Constitution.

Legislator Bill Ward asked to table the motion due to wanting more clarity on what “kind of teeth” the motion has, but the tabling request did not receive a second to move forward.

Legislator John Davis, who was one of the sponsors of the motion along with Legislator Dan Pavlock and County Executive PJ Wendel, said each legislator has been sworn to uphold the Constitution, “It has become clear, in my opinion, especially during this Pandemic, that there are some elected officials at the state and federal levels who have used mandates to push the limits of their constitutional authority as they seek to achieve their own policy objectives. This motion serves as a reminder to all elected officials of their oath to uphold the Constitution.”

The motion passed 13 to 6.

A second motion asking New York State to consider alternative preventive procedures against COVID-19 transmission and infection for those healthcare workers who decline to get vaccinated also passed.

Legislator Bill Ward said if daily testing can be done for healthcare workers, that’s a step forward versus the current mandate, but he emphasized he endorses the vaccine for everyone who is eligible. He also expressed worry about the intent of the Legislature’s motion given that many constituents have said they want an ordinance versus a motion, “If this is a step towards moving us toward a county that disobeys the law, it’s not gonna happen. That has to happen in court. If you want to change a law you have to go to court. We can’t do this in this body we can’t do it certainly with a motion.”

Legislators Chuck Nazzaro, Terry Niebel, Christine Starks and Elisabeth Rankin also voiced that they support the COVID-19 vaccine but don’t want to see the healthcare industry unnecessarily burdened by requiring workers be vaccinated. The motion passed 17 to 2.

County Legislator Bill Ward said Slab City Organics owner Greg Rater has been trying for over 20 years to get permission from the State Department of Environmental Conservation to do the composting, “What he does is an anaerobic static composting which is a fairly untouched resource, at least in this part of the world. What it’s going to do is enable is us to be able to, and him, Chautauqua County, to take advantage of the State mandate that’s happening in 2022.”

The New York State Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law requires large generators of food scraps – defined as having an annual average of 2 tons or scraps per week or more – to separate and donate edible food, or separate and recycle all remaining food scraps if located within 25 miles of an organics recycler.

Rater said his goal is to keep biodegradable items out of the landfill, “My goal is to have a zero tipping fee when I get this operation set up. That means, instead of taking stuff to the landfill and spending $30 a ton, once we get this set up they’ll be bringing it here for free. That would be a huge goal for everybody, the restaurants. And go biodegradable, so like everything from McDonald’s on that tray could be composted.”

Rater said that Slab city will eventually provide three-year chemical-free organically certified topsoil through the facility.

State DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, “Americans currently waste about a quarter of all the food purchased, which directly leads to the creation of methane and other greenhouse gases and negative environmental impacts. These wasted food resources can now be used to help people in need instead of contributing to climate change. The regulations released are a perfect example of a common-sense approach to promoting food recycling while also helping the hungry and reducing waste to build healthier, environmentally sustainable communities.”

The law will not apply to New York City, which has its own local law; hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, K through 12 Schools, and farms.

Legislator Chuck Nazzaro said this is a big win, “To reconstruct the runway at the Chautauqua County Airport and there is no local share on this and normally there would. So the $6.2 million is greatly appreciated and will benefit this county.”

The legislature also approved a memorandum of understanding with the City of Jamestown for the purchase of new fire software. Jamestown City Council had approved the purchase at its June voting session. Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon said the new software will increase efficiency for fire reporting and help the department maintain compliance with the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

Resident and Democratic candidate for County Executive Norm Green spoke at the first privilege of the floor on the resolution, saying he doesn’t think the county should charge the city for the software, “Charging the City of Jamestown $111,000 just doesn’t make sense. This is absolutely what we should be all about – sharing services. And we certainly have other areas of the county of sharing of services such as the fly car, such as the Sheriff’s Department itself. Some 20% of the county’s population resides in Jamestown.”

Legislator Chuck Nazzaro responded to that, saying the county is helping the city of Jamestown, “Currently, the County of Chautauqua subscribes to the public safety software program and what we’re doing is letting the City of Jamestown purchase the fire records module of this software for their benefit. They would not be able to do that if we didn’t already subscribe to this software program.”

A resolution amending the rules of the County Legislature to not require verbatim transcripts of meetings passed. Legislator Bill Ward said he initially had reservations supporting the resolution, “I am satisfied, however, after investigating and discovering of course that all of the Legislature meetings will be transcribed verbatim and that technology exists that help us to review all of the committee meetings, perhaps in an even better way, because they’re going to be preserved in audio files and video files.”

A motion requesting that existing boundaries of the 23rd Congressional district be preserved was defeated by a vote of 11 to 6. It required 13 votes to pass and 2 legislators were absent.

The Chautauqua County Legislature, County Executive PJ Wendel, State Senator George Borrello, and a representative from Congressman Tom Reed’s office also held a commendation ceremony for Jamestown Police Officer Mark Conklin. Officer Conklin was recognized for his heroism in rescuing 2 people from a fire in Jamestown on July 19th. The Legislature also issued a commendation for outgoing Legislator Mark Odell, who announced his resignation effective the end of July.

LAKEWOOD, NY – The 2021 WRFA Great American Picnic, taking place on Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at Southern Tier Brewing Company. An annual fundraiser for Community Radio in Jamestown!  This year’s fundraiser focused on music from the 90s, and featured performances from Sixpence, Bill Ward and Friends, Cindy Love, Gary Peters and Friends, Cold Lazarus, Feverhawk, and Black Tooth Grin!  Over $2600 was raised as part of the fundraising effort. Thank you to all who supported the cause!

Carroll Town Supervisor Russell Payne was the only incumbent to win their primary, defeating Laura Smith by a vote of 191 to 110 for the Republican line. Payne will still face Smith in November as she has the Working Families Party line.

County Legislator Bill Ward lost his Republican primary for District 18 to Martin Proctor in a vote of 105 to 285. Ward remains on the ballot with the Democrat and Working Families lines with Proctor also having the Conservative line. Ward issued a statement saying, “Despite significant party committee interference, a healthy number of primary voters still support our campaign. While we didn’t get over the top, It’s clear that folks want to keep a legislator in office who works for all the people in District 18 and Chautauqua County.”

In Fredonia, Legislator Christine Starks lost the District 4 Democratic Primary against Susan Parker by a vote of 151 to 35. Christine Starks has the Working Families Party line and will still face Parker in November.

In the City of Dunkirk, Ward 1 Representative Don Williams also lost his Democratic primary against Natalie Luczkowiak by a vote of 427 to 266. Both will face off again in November as Williams has a third party line.

For all Primary results, visit www.votechautauqua.com.