State law gives the counties the option of creating a sewer agency for the purposes of evaluating sewer infrastructure needs, prepare maps and plans, and make recommendations to the legislature to create or expand the sewer districts as deemed necessary.

Once in place, the County Sewer Agency would be charged with considering plans for the North Chautauqua Lake Sewer District and South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District extensions. It would then make any necessary recommendations to the county legislature.

The sewer agency would consist of seven members, including County Legislators David Himelein and Pierre Chagnon; the town supervisors from Chautauqua, Ellery and North Harmony; and two members appointed by the county executive.

While not the most sexy of topics, the issue of sewage and sewer districts has become an important topic in 2015 for the county, with officials hoping to expand the current sewer service around the lake to help reduce the number of septic systems in use along the lake. That would help to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering the lake, which can be harmful to overall lake health.

In other business, the legislature is expected to act on the adoption of a Complete Streets Study. The study details various issues that need to be considered when doing road construction so that all modes of transportation – including pedestrian and bicycle traffic – is considered whenever planning for a new road project.

Wednesday’s legislature meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public.

On Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a total of $715.9 million has been awarded to a total of 824 projects across the state, including several in Western New York and Chautauqua County.

Among the local projects, a total of $1,000,000 will go to Chautauqua County for the Chautauqua Regional Water District, which will modernize infrastructure in the Dunkirk area to help industrial businesses improve efficiency.

Other projects set to receive funding include:

• City of Dunkirk – Two Grants for Seawall and Lake Front Boulevard Improvement Project – $790,620.00
• City of Jamestown – Continuation of its Riverwalk project – $499,995
• Lake Effect Trailbreakers – Groomer Grant – $192,000
• Chautauqua Lake Snowmobile Club – Groomer Grant – $139,600
• Jamestown Community College – Machinist Training Program – $99,900
• Village of Celoron – Improvements to Lucille Ball Memorial Park  – $82,845
• Reg Lenna Center for the Arts – Purchase of a new digital projector – $75,000
• Chautauqua County – Northern Chautauqua County Local Waterfront Revitalization Program – $65,000
• South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District – Wastewater Consolidation Study – $50,000
• Westfield School District – Centralization Referendum Assistance for Brocton and Westfield Schools – $13,500

A centerpiece of the Governor’s strategy to jump start the economy and create jobs, the regional councils were put in place in 2011 to redesign the state’s approach to economic development from a top-down model to a community-based, performance-driven approach. This was the third round of funding from the initiative.