MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Legislature has decided to wait on hiring a real estate marketing firm to market the County Home in Dunkirk. By a close vote of 13 to 11, the legislature voted to table a resolution entering into an agreement with the firm Marcus and Millichap.

The motion to table was made by Dunkirk’s Keith Ahlstrom, who thought it may be better to wait until January when eight new people join the legislature.

“The fact of the matter is that eight people sitting here tonight are not going to be here next year or the following year, when, if we do decide to this, the decision is going to have to be made,” explained Ahlstrom. “So we are giving a voice to eight people who don’t have any final say and we are taking away a voice from eight people who are going to be asked to make a [final] decision.”

Jamestown’s Maria Kindberg also supported tabling the measure. But her concern was more with allowing the human services committee an opportunity to discuss selling the home, which she equates to the hiring of a marketing firm.

“I guess I would’ve liked to have seen this first passed through [the Human Services Committee]. I noticed that it failed there,” said Kindberg. “And then what we should have had on the floor was a discussion about whether or not we wanted to sell the home. We seem to have skipped over that critical part of this completely.”

Not every lawmaker was in agreement with tabling the measure. Legislature Chiarman Fred Crosscut of Sherman expressed his concern with the cost of operating the home, saying the county really doesn’t have many other options to explore other than sitting down with employees and asking if they are willing to help find a solution…

“If [Local CSEA President] Rose Conti and other union people have some other alternatives, let’s get them out there,” said Crosscut following the meeting. “[People ask] ‘What’s the hurry up?’ We’ll, we’re not trying to hurry it up, but as you heard tonight, we’re going to lose three million dollars on the county home next year. That is significant money.”

The action to table the motion to hiring the firm came after Marcus and Millichap representative Joshua Jandris spent half an hour discussing his firm, saying that the county would still have control on how the home would be marketing, including setting the terms and conditions of any possible sale.

RIFLE HUNTING AMENDMENT GETS SHELVED

MAYVILLE – The legislature last night also tabled a measure to amend the county hunting law. Under a motion introduced by Sheridan’s Bob Duff and Lakewood’s Rudy Mueller, hunters who use rifles would be required to hunt at least 1,000 feet from the nearest residence. Several hunters spoke against the motion prior to the vote, including Craig Robbins, Chautauqua County Sport Hunting and Fishing Coordinator, who says that until recently, hunters were going elsewhere because of the county’s ban on hunting with a rifle.

“Hunting and fishing in Chautauqua County is big business and it’s something we all take pride in. We’ve got a great area. We’ve got a great resource and a lot of people come in to share that resource,” explained Robbins. “Recently we’ve seen a decrease in the gun season licenses and we attribute that to them not being able to use their firearm of choice. Which is a legal hunting implement: the rifle.”

Robbins said that if the proposed amendment were put into place, it would make it extremely difficult to hunt anywhere in the county with a rifle and hunters would go elsewhere. The potential financial impact of the law may have on the county was the main reason Legislator John Gullo of Fredonia made a motion to table the amendment. It was passed by a vote of 15 to 9.

CITY MAN CHARGED IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE

JAMESTOWN – A Jamestown man faces charges related to domestic violence after city police responded to an incident Tuesday afternoon. Officers were called to investigate a domestic incident that took place in an apartment at 532 Lakeview Ave shortly after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. After an investigation, police learned that 24 year-old Aaron Boyd allegedly choked and held a female victim against her will. The female was not injured in the incident and Boyd was charged with criminal obstruction of breathing and unlawful imprisonment.

CRCF CELEBRATES NATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION WEEK

JAMESTOWN – This week is National Community Foundation Week, and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation will be holding a special open house from 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow at its office at 418 Spring St.

The open house will offer the foundation officials an opportunity to thank donors for all their generous support and focus on what the foundation has been able to accomplish through the generosity of others. It also provides a forum for area residents to visit the foundation. Refreshments will be served.

This year’s event will highlight the community gems the foundation has helped support throughout the region. For more information, call 661-3390 or visit www.crcfonline.org – or tune in tonight during community matters as WRFA General Manager Dennis Drew interviews Chautauqua Region Community Foundation Executive Director Randy Sweeny.