JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Post-Journal says the Ellicott Town Board has joined with four other municipalities in approving the use of herbicides in a designated area of Chautauqua Lake.
The action was taken Thursday during an emergency meeting of the board.
The other municipalities that have signed off on the herbicide use by the Chautauqua Lake Partnership (CLP) include the towns of Ellery, North Harmony and Busti along with the village of Celoron. Only the village of Lakewood has not signed off on the matter.
While the municipalities have given permission, it’s not known where funding for the treating the 190 acres designated by the DEC will come from. Ellicott has already said it is unable to financially support the project, and the county hasn’t expressed any interest in offering money. The CLP has said it would cost approximately $300,000 to pay for the chemicals and apply them to the designated areas.
The window to apply the herbicide has been designated for next week.
]]>JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Post-Journal says the Lakewood Village Board will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday to discuss a proposal to apply herbicides in portions of Chautauqua Lake’s south basin.
The Chautauqua Lake Partnership, with the backing of the towns of Ellery, North Harmony, Busti and Ellicott and village of Celoron, had applied for eight permits to use herbicides on roughly 1,000 acres of Chautauqua Lake. Department of Environmental Conservation officials issued three permits on May 15 approving herbicide use for 181 acres of the lake.
The Busti Town Board applied for the herbicide treatment application for the portion of the lake that falls within the town’s boundaries. However, some of that area includes portions of the village of Lakewood shoreline and village officials have expressed concern over the herbicide use on that area of the lake, saying they haven’t signed off on the chemicals being used along their shoreline.
The Village attorney, John LaMancuso, reportedly said that even though the village didn’t apply for a permit, it still is the only person or body that could possibly approve the spraying of (herbicides) adjacent to its own shorelines.
]]>LAKEWOOD – The state Department of Environmental Conservation has approved chemical treatments in designated areas of Chautauqua Lake for this summer.
That’s according to a report in the Jamestown Post-Journal.
The Chautauqua Lake Partnership, with the backing of the towns of Ellery, North Harmony, Busti and Ellicott and village of Celoron, had applied for eight permits to use herbicides on roughly 1,000 acres of Chautauqua Lake. DEC officials issued three permits on May 15 approving herbicide use for 181 acres of the lake.
However, the Lakewood board held a meeting Monday night and expressed concerns of the town of Busti’s intention to spray herbicides on Lakewood’s shoreline without approval from the village first.
The village of Lakewood is located in the Town of Busti, and village officials feel that just because the town signed off on the permit application doesn’t mean the village is also giving approval to the process.
Lakewood mayor Cara Birrittieri said village officials first want to determine how herbicide use will impact the algae problem, and also provide assurance that it won’t be a health problem.
Busti officials approved the resolution to allow the use of herbicides on Monday night and also said they were surprised the village waited until the 11th hour to voice concerns, given that the herbicide question has been well publicized for the past several months.
]]>
ALBANY – The town of Busti was the focus of a recent audit by the State Comptrollers Office that found the town had unnecessarily increased taxes for some residents.
The audit states that the town board and town supervisor unnecessarily increased tax rates for town residents residing within the village of Lakewood, and subsequently lowered tax rates for town residents living outside of the village. At issue was how the town allocated the cost of a $135,000 truck for the highway department in 2014.
Due to the special circumstances, the report stated that the board should have acted on a resolution that stated how the funding would be spent, rather than simply include it in the budget.
Town officials responded to the letter by acknowledging the oversight, but also stating they were within their right to appropriate the money the way they did because of a shared service agreement the town has with the village.
]]>Since last year, officials from both municipalities have been discussing a new long-term contract agreement for police services. The town of Busti contracts with the village of Lakewood for services from the Lakewood-Busti Police Department.
The last five-year agreement between the two entities ended in 2012. Under terms of the agreement, the town of Busti will pay for 37 percent of the police department’s budget, with that amount being based on the police department answering around 37 percent of calls outside of the village. Prior to the new agreement, the town was paying for just 28 percent.
In other business, there will be a public hearing scheduled at 7 p.m. Monday, June 3, for a special-use permit for the business expansion at Southern Tier Brewing Company.
]]>