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.

Jefferson Project research on Chautauqua Lake (photo provided by Chautauqua Institution)

Chautauqua Institution is applauding the County Legislature‘s approval of funding for the Jefferson Project.

The approval of $1 million in American Rescue Plan funds to continue research in 2020 has received $4 million in funding from Chautauqua Institution.

Institution President Michael Hill said in a statement, “The work of The Jefferson Project is informing mitigation efforts that will eventually save Chautauqua Lake. Chautauqua Lake will not survive unless we make the right decisions now.”

The Jefferson Project is a collaboration between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, IBM Research, and the Lake George Association that exists to collect and process massive amounts of data on freshwater bodies to create a new model for environmental monitoring and prediction.

The group is working on efforts to reverse negative environmental conditions, including Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and invasive weed growth, include watershed conservation, weed harvesting and targeted herbicide applications.

According to a release by the Chautauqua Institution, The Jefferson Project researchers compile data using platform buoys, called vertical profilers, that are situated in selected locations in the lake to take measurements at increments from the surface of the water to the bottom of the lake. The funding from Chautauqua County will enable the expansion of this effort to tributaries that feed the lake. They said the next step is to create a “smart lake” to allow for real-time monitoring and analysis leading to short- and long-term solutions.

Researchers also are using boats to conduct water sampling every two weeks.

Chautauqua Lake was designated as impaired by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the early 2000s because its phosphorus levels were, and continue to be, too high.

Hill said the Institution is still seeking additional financial support for lake work from private and public sources.

Chautauqua County Legislature voting session (April 26, 2023)

Despite calls to table the measure for more discussion, the Chautauqua County Legislature approved using $1 million in American Rescue Plan funding for the Jefferson Project.

One of a handful of public comments opposing the funding included Chautauqua-Conewango Watershed Consortium representative Jane Conroe, who stated the Legislature should be leading with science, “Why would we pay for understanding algae mechanisms that we already have information for? The very comprehensive ‘Harmful Agal Blooms Action Plan for Chautauqua Lake’ that we already have has much of this information. California, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project has done extensive research along with Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The need for a complete agal DNA reference library has been taken up by this organization.”

Former County Executive Vince Horrigan submittted a letter in support of funding the Jefferson Project saying the project “brings a professional outside and an objective approach” to identifying issues in Chautauqua Lake.

The Jefferson Project is a collaboration of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, IBM Research, and the Lake George Association that is conducting water quality and Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) research. It was introduced to Chautauqua Lake in 2020 in partnership with the Chautauqua County Government, Chautauqua Institution, and the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance.

Legislator Tom Nelson made a motion to table the resolution, saying more discussion was needed. The motion failed 5 to 14.

Legislator John Hemmer echoed the need for more discussion, saying there was not enough information for how the $1 million would be spent and what would be done, “I listened to the presentation that was given and it was a lot of talk about testing and research. And nowhere in the presentation did they say anything about the solution to the problem being presented at the end of the research.”

Legislator Bob Bankoski said it was advantageous for the Legislature to move forward with the project, “I do agree with some of the people that made comments today. I think some of this stuff is very vague and I really, really hope that we have some locked down answers. When they’re done with this project I want an action plan from them that tells us exactly what to do.”

An amendment by Legislator Tom Harmon to add language to the resolution saying that “this funding would be used for research and ongoing work in 2023” did pass.

The final vote was 17 to 2 with Legislators John Hemmer and Susan Parker being the only no votes.

Legislator Terry Niebel and County Attorney Pat Slagle present to the Administrative Services Committee (April 17, 2023)

The Chautauqua County Legislature is considering a property tax exemption for volunteer fire fighters and ambulance workers.

Legislator Terry Niebel and County Attorney Pat Slagle presented the proposal to the Administrative Services Committee to adopt a local law to give enrolled members of an incorporated volunteer fire company, fire department or incorporated voluntary ambulance service a 10% exemption on their assessed value of their property taxes.

Niebel said he is recommending legislators adopt the 10% exemption, “Now, the actual law, which was enacted on December 9, 2022, provided for an exemption of five to ten percent. Okay? But, I’ve talked to fire chiefs, I’ve talked to fire advisory board, emergency services council, our own emergency services department, past chiefs association.. everybody that I talked to seem to think that 10% would be better than the 5%.”

Niebel pointed out that the village of Mayville recently adopted a similar property tax exemption in the amount of 10%.

The local law requires that members have at least two years of service before they can claim the exemption. It also provides a lifetime exemption for any active volunteer who has 20 years of active service.

Neibel said there are an estimated 1,600 volunteers in Chautauqua County, which based on a sample comes out to be $85 per volunteer, “Not all 1,600 people will be entitled to this because this is on your residence and some people rent, some people have their residences in their spouse’s name. So, again, in talking to some of the folks in the fire service, we figure probably the effective number is 1,200. So, 1,200 times $85 is roughly $102,000.”

Niebel added he hopes the exemption will help attract and retain volunteer firefighters.

The entire Administrative Services Committee requested to be added as sponsors to the local law. There will be a public hearing on the local law at the Legislature’s voting session on Wednesday, April 26.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel at Boat User Fee meeting (April 12, 2023)

Chautauqua County will move forward with studying a potential boat fee for users of Chautauqua Lake.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel hosted a public forum that was attended by about two dozen people Wednesday to see if there was a willingness to look at implementing the fee, “We saw a show of hands. The majority of people want to continue. So, we’ll go back. We’ll talk to Planning and Economic Development and start to implement what we’re going to do. Barton & LoGuidice were here. They’ll review what we do going forward and what the scope of work will be.”

Wendel said he expects some pushback but is optimistic about the process.

He said a boat fee would be used to help fund lake maintenance efforts that are currently being done as well to help fund the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance, who uses a metric system to distribute funds for lake efforts. Wendel said this would help reduce the amount local foundations have to support lake efforts.

For 2023, total funding requests for lakes and waterways is $2,953,296 with only $234,000 available funding from the 2% occupancy tax that goes toward protection of lakes and streams. The other 3% of the occupancy tax is designated toward promotion of tourism.

Wendel said a committee to study the boat fee could include members from fishing associations, boat clubs, elected officials, and travel and tourism, “What we’d be looking at is an annual fee. What that fee is is yet to be determined. But you purchase a sticker. The hopes are.. could we work with marinas could we work with other agencies that put the boats in and out, or working with local establishments. Again, we have a couple places that sell fish licenses every weekend. So, working with our businesses around Chautauqua Lake to provide those stickers for people, if they’re coming in for a day, for a week, and understand what that fee would be.”

Wendel said the county still needs to determine how the committee is implemented in terms of whether it needs legislative approval to appoint members or not.

Should a recommendation to create a boat user fee be approved by the Chautauqua County Legislature, it would still require Home Rule approval from New York State in order to be implemented.

State Assemblyman Andy Goodell, who was present at the meeting, said given the legislative calendar, if this moves forward this is something that likely wouldn’t be acted on by the state until 2024 for implementation in 2025.

View slideshow from the Boat User Fee Meeting.

Tune to Community Matters tonight at 5:00 p.m. to hear the Boat User Fee Informational Meeting.

The Chautauqua County Board of Elections’ website at votechautauqua.com provides the information who has filed petitions to run in the November 7 elections.

Some new names are in the filing, including Jamestown Democrat Travis Knight, who has filed to run against Republican incumbent Brent Sheldon for City Council Ward 1.

In County Legislature filings, Democrat Bob Whitney has filed petitions for another rematch against Republican Incumbent Dave Wilfong in Legislative District 11.

Republican incumbent Lisa Vanstrom in District 15 will be facing Democrat Kurt Gustafson.

Marcus Buchanan has filed petitions for the Democrat, Conservative, and Working Families lines to run against Republican Incumbent Kevin Muldowney in District 1.

Democratic incumbent Bob Bankoski will face Republican Dennis Welka in District 2.

Republican incumbent Bob Scudder will have an opponent with Democrat Nevin Ecklund submitting petitions for District 3.

A couple Republican incumbents in the County Legislature appear to have decided not to seek re-election. This includes Legislative District 16 representative John Davis and Legislative District 19 representative John Hemmer.

The candidates who have submitted petitions for those districts include Republican Dalton Anthony in District 16, and Republican Fred Johnson Sr. and Democrat Braiden McElhaney in District 19.

April 10 was the last day to file petitions for the primary.

April 18 is the last day to fill a vacancy after a candidate has declined to run with April 24 being the last day to authorize a substitution after a candidate declines to run.

April 18 is also the first day for folks seeking signatures for independent, or third party, petitions.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel delivers his State of the County address to the Chautauqua County Legislature.

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

Irwin Bay Cottages owner Julie Holland addresses Chautauqua County Legislature (March 22, 2023)

The Chautauqua County Legislature has rejected a proposal to increase the occupancy tax rate.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel had proposed, as part of the occupancy tax renewal with New York State, to raise the current rate from 5% to 8%.

His proposal included dedicating the additional 3% in tax income toward funding waterways in the county. Currently, of the 5% collected, 60% is used to promote tourism with 40% going toward enhancing waterways.

A handful of lodging-related business owners spoke out against increasing the tax, including Maple Springs Lakeside Inn owner Rosary Stage who said she owns lakefront property and is just as concerned about Chautauqua Lake as anyone, “But I think at same, increasing the occupancy tax is not the solution to our problems. We have millions of unspent COVID money. Please use that. Our guests do know when our taxes increase. When they examine their bill at the end of their stay we get constant feedback about the amount of tax that has to be paid. When they compare the total bill to other vacation areas, we will become more uncompetitive and crossed off of future vacation lists.”

Irwin Bay Cottages owner Julie Holland questioned how the additional funds would be used, “Will they be used for yet another study, growing administrative costs that are going to entities already supported with county funds, or will they be used for definitive actions that will enhance our lakes and waterways? Funding for lakes and waterways is a broad term.”

A motion by Legislator Bob Scudder amending the resolution to remove the 3% increase to the rate was approved unanimously by the 14 legislators present.

Legislator Susan Parker said facts were lacking in the proposal received nine days prior to the meeting about the need for the increase, “Which would give Chautauqua County the highest occupancy tax in New York State. A study of the benefits versus the cost was not included, nor was a public discussion of the inclusion of stakeholders in consideration of this increase, nor any plans for use of the funds. A lot of questions remain.”

The amended resolution requesting a renewal of the 5% occupancy tax also passed unanimously.

County Executive Wendel said he wasn’t aware any legislators had issue with the resolution until just before the meeting, “I just wished somebody would have reached out.. I did hear from residents, who were here, this week, here tonight, and spoke tonight, and they called me. I said in my speech, I have an open door. People can feel free to call me, email me. Mr. Patel (hotel owner) has on several occasions. We’ve talked. I haven’t heard anything from anybody on whether this was supported or not supported.”

Wendel said while the current 5% rate doesn’t expire until November, the Legislature needed to submit a renewal request before the end of the state legislative session in June. He said if the proposal had been adopted, the new rate wouldn’t have gone into effect until January 1, 2024.

Wendel added that he will be “going back to the drawing board” in terms of looking at ways to fund Chautauqua Lake and county waterway needs.

Wendel will highlight successes of 2022 while sharing goals for 2023 in a presentation during the regular meeting of the County Legislature, which starts at 6:30 p.m.

The Legislature’s monthly meeting also will include voting on a request to New York State to renew the county’s occupancy tax. The resolution also requests increasing that tax from 5% to 8%.

Both the County Legislature and the New York State Legislature must give approval in order for an increase to go into effect.

According to a report by the Jamestown Post-Journal, County Executive Wendel wants the additional 3% increase to go toward funding efforts around the county’s lakes and tributary streams. Currently, of the 5% collected, 60% is used to promote tourism with 40% going toward enhancing waterways.

The Legislature also will vote on whether to establish a County Salary Commission. If approved, a commission of seven citizens would be convened to recommend salary adjustments for county elected officials.

The Legislature’s meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Legislative Chambers of the Gerace Office Building in Mayville. It is open to the public and will be live streamed on the Chautauqua County Government YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@ChautauquaCounty/streams.

Democrat and current Mayor Eddie Sundquist previously announced he is seeking re-election for a second term with Republican Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund recently announcing she will be running against him for the seat.

The City Democratic Committee has endorsed local attorney John I. LaMancuso to run for City Court Judge. His father, John L. LaMancuso, has held that position for 29 years. Republicans have not endorsed a candidate for that race.

Democratic endorsements for City Council At Large include Isaiah Rashad II and returning candidate Alyssa Porter. Republicans have endorsed incumbents Jeff Russell and Randy Daversa; as well as Russ Bonfiglio.

Republican Ward 1 Council member Brent Sheldon and Ward 2 Council member and Council President Tony Dolce are running unopposed.

Ward 3 Democratic Incumbent Regina Brackman will again face Republican Robert Reedy. That race in 2021 was determined by three absentee ballots.

Democratic incumbent Marie Carrubba has been endorsed again to represents Ward 4 and will face Republican Joe Paterniti.

Republican Incumbent Bill Reynolds will face Democrat Kaycee Colburn for Ward 5 and Republican Incumbent Andrew Faulkner will be running against former Council Member at Large Vanessa Weinert in Ward 6.

For the County Legislature endorsements, Democratic incumbent Billy Torres and Republican Phillip Landy have been endorsed for District 9.

Republican incumbent Jamie Gustafson will face newcomer Democrat Julie Jackson-Forsberg for District 10.

Republican incumbent Dave Wilfong is unopposed for District 11.

District 12 endorsements include Republican Elisabeth Rankin against former Democratic County Legislator and former County Attorney Fred Larson.

Democratic Incumbent Tom Nelson will face Republican Joseph Tickle for District 13.

Candidate petitioning to get on the election ballot begins tomorrow, February 28 and ends April 6. Any primaries necessary will be held on Tuesday, June 22, 2023.