Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel announced the new department will be known as the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene and Social Services.

He also formally announced his appointment of Carmelo Hernandez as the new department’s director.

Wendel said in a statement, “This integrated department will provide enhanced services and treatment opportunities to county residents while preventing residents from slipping through the cracks when dealing with multiple county agencies. ”

Hernandez began his position as Director of Community Mental Hygiene Services on September 7, 2021 filling the vacancy left by former director Pat Brinkman, who retired in April of 2021.

Prior to being hired by Chautauqua County, Hernandez previously served as a lead therapist at Alssaro Counseling Services in New Rochelle and a mental health consultant at WestCOP in Westchester.

He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership at Mercy College and holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from New York University.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel delivers State of the County address (March 22, 2023)

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel said the county is “on the precipice of greatness” in his  State of the County address.

Wendel said the 2022 contribution to the general fund balance was $19.4 million, “This contribution is created in part by holding our teams to fiscally responsible budgets, an increase in the tax foreclosure auction, an overdue settlement of the tribal compact, as well as continued success in our sales tax revenue. With the work of our fiscal team and my guidance, we’ve been able to provide a tax rate reduction for the last two years, totaling 71-cents per thousand while maintaining the ability to provide contributions to the fund balance.”

Wendel said the fund balance contributions over the last three years have met and exceeded recommended levels under the five-year financial management plan.

He said there were record investments in the county in 2022, “The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency reported 50 approved projects with a combined total of $501 million of committed investments. The committed investments will create nearly 300 new jobs, retain an additional 774 existing jobs, and create construction projects and construction jobs throughout our county.”

Wendel also cited the restructuring of the Department of Mental Hygiene with the Department of Social Services, that included the separating of the Department of Health out as a separate department. He also recognized the Sheriff Department‘s new Unsolved Cases Teams that has resulted in new leads on homicides and missing persons cases.

Securing state and federal funds for the phase two expansion of the West Side South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District, was another highlight for Wendel, “I remain committed to improving our water and sewer infrastructure around Chautauqua Lake. And this phase two will divert an estimated 62 million gallons of wastewater a year to the proper wastewater treatment facilities.”

Wendel said he’s continuing to advocate for healthcare in the north county, including contacting Governor Kathy Hochul‘s office to push for funding to be released for the Brooks Memorial Hospital project.

He also said the county and Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency are working on creating a 150 acre shovel ready industrial site in the western part of the county.

Wendel cited record inflation, unfunded state mandates like Medical Assistance Treatment at the County Jail, as well as the possible clawback of over $4 million in Enhanced Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentages in the proposed state budget as challenges facing Chautauqua County.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel’s State of the County slideshow – March 20, 2023

PJ Wendel

The Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene will be merging with the County Department of Social Services.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel, speaking with WRFA in his monthly interview, said New York State has no consistent model for how departments should be organized or merged.

He said the merger that Chautauqua County will do is similar to what has been done in Chemung and Orange Counties, “What it’s going to be are stand alone departments, if you will. Social Services is going to continue as Social Services. Jon Anderson is the Deputy Director right now and Leanna Luka-Conley. So for the people across the street at SCOB (South County Office Building), it’s just going to be the same reporting structure. There’s a few high level executive people that’ll have a different reporting structure that will report to Jon and Carmelo Hernandez. Mental Hygiene is going to stay where it is.”

Wendel said the idea behind the merger is to create a “one-stop shop” for residents, “Because many of those residents, not all, but many of them are receiving services from both our mental hygiene department and social services. Now, again, that’s not always the case, but many times we’ve found that there are cases where the two departments overlap. And we felt what better way to make sure that we don’t have anybody slipping through the cracks and that we are doing the most we can for our residents to provide effective, efficient services.”

Wendel added that currently, when it comes to Mental Hygiene and Social Services, there is client information that can’t be shared and with merging the two departments, waivers can be signed to make that sharing possible.

Hear the full interview with County Executive PJ Wendel on this topic and more on this week’s Community Matters at 5:00 p.m., Thursday, November 24th on 107.9 WRFA-LP.

The funding is part of $46 million distributed by the state for its Summer Youth Employment program.

The state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance administers the program which introduces young people from low-income families into the labor market so they can develop useful skills that will help them improve school performance and become responsible adults.

The Summer Youth Employment program supports communities across the state in creating summer jobs for youth from low-income families, including communities where youth are vulnerable or susceptible to gun violence. Participants work in entry-level jobs at places such as parks, nursing homes, summer camps, childcare organizations, senior citizen centers and community recreation centers, among others.

To be eligible for the 2022 program, young people must be ages 14 to 20 and have a household income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level or $46,060 for a family of three. Employers can use the funds to subsidize wages, support education and training activities, as well as offer case management and employment-related services, such as transportation to and from work. Young people interested in participating can contact their local department of social services.

The program served more than 18,500 young people last year, providing them with valuable workforce experience, and often results in improved academic performance afterward.

Chautauqua Opportunities

The award is part of $17.3 million in state funding announced by Governor Kathy Hochul that will provide emergency and permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals.

COI Director of Housing and Community Development Josiah Lamp said they’re excited to be able serve women who are homeless in the community, “So this project is to build a temporary shelter for women who are over the age of 18. It’ll have about 18 total beds in the shelter and be located in downtown Jamestown in a building that is currently a mixed-use, multi-unit; and rehab that building and make it suitable for serving the homeless.”

Lamp said the only homeless shelter for women currently available is a domestic violence shelter. He said the benefit of the location is that it will be close to services.

Lamp added that the end of the eviction moratorium on January 15 that had been in place due to the Pandemic has increased the number of homeless people in the county, “Since the beginning of January, there have been 176 people who have been in a homeless shelter, at least for one night, which is definitely an increase over what what we have experienced over the last year. And we’re expecting that to continue to be a trend as more cases go to court and we see more evictions pending.”

Lamp said those needing to access services can call the County Department of Social Services in Jamestown at (716) 661-8200. He said the homeless shelter is scheduled to open in 2023.

Susan McNamara

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has selected Dr. Susan McNamara as the recipient of its 2015 Pam Lydic Coalition Builder Award. The Award will be given at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting at noon, Friday, Dec. 11, at Moon Brook Country Club, Jamestown.

Dr. McNamara is Assistant Professor of Management at Fredonia State University of New York and is also an executive coach and business consultant. She teaches Strategic Management, Organization Behavior and Entrepreneurship. McNamara was previously Executive Director of Chautauqua Works, worked in the Chautauqua County Department of Social Services, and had a corporate career with Motorola.  She is also the adviser for the Fredonia Enactus team, which uses entrepreneurial approaches to address social, environmental, and economic issues in the community.

The Pam Lydic Coalition Builder Award recognizes an individual or organization in Chautauqua County that has worked to bring groups of people together around a common goal or objective and has helped move the region forward in a positive direction through collaboration and by building partnerships.

According to Chamber president Todd Tranum, the chamber was especially impressed with Dr. McNamara’s work with Enactus. “We view Enactus as a way to bring together an array of student groups to work on current projects, while also developing leadership skills with a focus on service in a new generation of prospective business people,”Tranum said. “It truly teaches community service and community building on a basic level, demonstrating that business and community go hand-in-hand.”

Through her work connecting Fredonia students to local businesses and non-profits, McNamara brings an experiential approach that allows students to apply their academic learning through critical thinking to deal with a community need or business challenge. Under her leadership, Enactus at Fredonia has grown from 10 to 77 members including students in 19 different majors. To date, 130 local organizations have worked with business capstone students to solve a strategic challenge or opportunity. McNamara has also worked with 15 student researchers and coached 25 student entrepreneurs for Regional Entrepreneurship business plan competitions.

Formal invitations for the Chamber Annual Meeting will be mailed to all Chamber member businesses. For more information about the event or the chamber, call 716-484-1101.

Edwards said that during his time in office, county residents have seen both the property and sales tax rates decrease, adding that they are actually still lower now than they were in 2006. He also assured residents that if the county home would be sold this year, he could guarantee there would be no tax increases for 2014.

Edwards also highlighted three success stories in the county that can be found nowhere else in the state. They included the merger of the county’s Department of Social Services and Health Departments, the effort by the Army Corps of Engineers to undertake a project to improve the quality of Chautauqua Lake without any local cost to residents, and the said he county is actually using fewer taxes and fees from county residents now than it was in 2006.

As for projects on the horizon, Edwards pointed to six major projects he hopes to either undertake this year or see to completion. Those projects involved:

• Undertaking a study to see the impact of centralizing the county highway department services at the Sherman Shop in Sherman
• Turning the county airport in Dunkirk over to a private owner
• Creating a smoke-free environment on all county campuses
• Continuing a partnership with the Seneca Nation of Indians so that an outlet mall can be completed in the north county
• Working toward improving the conditions of Chautauqua Lake by creating a lake-wide sewer district
• Continuing the effort to upgrade the north county water district for communities along Lake Erie.

Edwards State of the County was greeted by a standing ovation by nearly all the lawmakers in attendance. The full version can be found on the county executive’s website.

WRFA will also replay the State of the County tonight during our Community matters Program at 6 p.m.

County lawmakers feel an increasing number of residents on social service programs is draining county tax dollars and would like to see an initiative that puts more of them to work and eventually off the welfare rolls. The action plan is expected to be discussed during the legislature’s Human Services Committee meeting on June 20.

Legislator Vicky James (D-Jamestown) also introduced an amendment that called for the creation of a plan to increase the number of education and training programs, to go along with an increase in participating work sites. While the amendment was only approved by a vote of 14 to 9, the welfare-to-work resolution itself ended up receiving unanimous support. Prior to the vote, legislator and majority leader Larry Barmore said the action plan is needed to help build a better work ethic among those who are currently receiving public assistance.

“We all know times have been getting tough over the past couple of years and as a result there’s been more people applying for temporary assistance statewide – it’s not just a Chautauqua County issue,” Barmore said. “But the upstate average increase in recipients over the last two years is just a shade over 12 percent, while at the same time Chautauqua County’s increase in recipients was almost 28 percent….. basically Chautauqua County for whatever reason – and we’re not here to dwell on whatever the reasons may be – has become a mecca for people trying to accept temporary assistance.”

While lawmakers all supported the measure, County Executive Greg Edwards took some issue with the bill, saying the numbers being used to justify its passage are based on the time period prior to the current Director Kristine Schuyler taking over as head of the Department of Social Services.

“There has been dramatic improvements in our [welfare-to-work] numbers since they bottomed out at about the same time the number of people who qualified went through the roof with the deterioration in our economy and the significant influx of people into Chautauqua County that qualified for benefits,” Edwards said. “So I’m pleased that they want to talk about it and I’m pleased they want to find out more about these programs, Because they more they find out about it, the more impressed they are going to be with the work that has already gotten under way months ago, really into last year.”

Edwards added that the subsequent amendment that was added to the bill by legislator James may also create additional work and costs to the department. He said he would have preferred to have lawmakers talk with Schuyler and other members of his staff prior to drafting the measure and voting on it.

The resolution is being sponsored by six republicans, including Legislature Chairman Jay Gould of Ashville, P.J. Wendel of Lakewood and Bob Stewart of Ellington.

According to a report over the weekend in the Jamestown Post-Journal, as of January 2012, only 10 percent of welfare recipients in Chautauqua County were involved in the welfare-to-work program. Those rates are far below that state average of 34.2 percent. If the resolution were to pass, the county department of social services would be required to provide monthly progress reports to the legislature’s Human Services Committee on the action plan’s progress.