Jamestown Community Baseball

Dolce will join manager and Director of Baseball Operations Jordan Basile in leading the Tarp Skunks this season. He interned with the Tarp Skunks for one season and worked as the Assistant of Business Operations last year.

Dolce is a Jamestown native and recent graduate of John Carroll University where he earned his Bachelors of Arts and Science in Sports Studies and Athletic Administration, while minoring in Business.

In addition to his two years of working with the Tarp Skunks, Dolce has held positions working with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, Babe Ruth World Series Baseball, John Carroll Wrestling, and the 2021 NFL Draft.

Former Director of Business and Sales Jacob Kindberg will continue to work with the Tarp Skunks as an advisor while Mike Ferguson will be brought in as a Marketing Executive focusing on sponsorship and activation.

The Jamestown Tarp Skunks are a member of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, a collegiate summer baseball league with teams across New York state. The Tarp Skunks will be back playing baseball this summer at Diethrick Park in June 2023.

Pictured left to right, Mayville Mayor Ken Shearer, County Executive George Borrello, Chautauqua Lake Pops Communications Director Mike Ferguson, and Mayville Trustee Ben Webb.

MAYVILLE – The former Bemus Bay Pops program will be returning as the new Chautauqua Lake Pops in Mayville.

For over 20 years, the Bemus Bay Pops program offered a summer concert series, programs, and special events for local residents and visitors alike.  But the future of the Pops, as well as the floating stage they played upon, was unknown after it was announced in 2018 the venue would be leaving Bemus Point. That changed on Friday, April 12 when organizers announced the floating stage and the Pops would be relocated to Mayville.

“We are excited to bring this great program back to the lake,” explained Chautauqua Lake Pops Chairman and President Dan Dalpra. “Mayville has come forward with an opportunity and partnership to make this happen and we are excited to work with them on creating a revitalized destination. I hope everyone will help us secure the new Chautauqua Lake Pops program and donate to help keep the Pops afloat for years to come. This affordable program of bringing the arts to the people can only work with public and private community support.”

Joining Dalpra and others in making the announcement was Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello.

“I am excited to see the return of the Pops to Chautauqua Lake. Thank you to all of those who worked so diligently to make this a reality and I am happy that the county can play a part in it. The return of this popular program will further enhance the positive momentum we are seeing around Chautauqua Lake and throughout our county,” Borrello explained.

The effort to relocate the Pops received help from both the village of Mayville along with technical assistance and support from the county.

“I am so glad we could play a role in resurrecting the Floating Stage and the Pops venue in Mayville,” said Mark Geise, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development/CEO of the CCIDA. “Once again, Chautauqua County, and especially Mayville, is capitalizing on its wonderful natural assets as we attract people to live, work, conduct business, and recreate here. Ken Shearer and the leadership team in Mayville, along with Dan Dalpra and his team, are to be commended for making this concept a reality.”

Mike Ferguson, Pops Communications Director, said, “We’d like to thank Mayor Shearer and the entire Village Board for their tireless efforts to make this happen. A lot of time, effort and discussion took place to make sure this was the right fit as we knew it would be.”

Organizers of the not-for-profit organization claim it’s been responsible for bringing thousands of hours of regional, national and world-wide entertainment to the shores of Chautauqua Lake on one of the world’s only Floating Stages. They say that economic impact studies have determined that the Pops has generated between $12 to 14 million annually for Chautauqua County in past summers and is poised to do so again.

The Chautauqua Lake Pops will open its season in Mayville on Saturday, June 29 at 8 p.m. with the music of Absolute Journey.

For more information  visit www.chautauqualakepops.com.

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MAYVILLE – George Borrello will be Chautauqua County’s next County Executive.

The town of Hanover Republican and current member of the Chautauqua County Legislature defeated Mike Ferguson (D-Fredonia) by 63-37 on Election Night. The two were running for the open county executive seat following the announcement at the start of this year that current executive Vince Horrigan would not seek reelection for a second term in office.

Borrello talked with WRFA following his victory on Election Night and said he wants to continue focusing on moving Chautauqua County in what he feels is the right direction.

George Borrello

“We have all but eliminated politics in Mayville and I am proud to be a leading force in that,” Borrello said. “We’re going to continue that on throughout Chautauqua County, because this is not about political party politics. This is about what is best for everyone in Chautauqua County and I am confident that we are going to elevate the county to the next level.”

Borrello also said that just like he pledged during the campaign, his main focus will be on chipping away at the multiple layers of government in the county.

“That is thew quickest path for us to reduce taxes, reduce the burden of government, and restore jobs here in Chautauqua County,” Borrello said. “This is not something that the county executive or the legislature will make a decision on, this is something the [affected] voters will make a decision on. I just want to make sure that people will have the opportunity to get the right information and I am confident that they will make the right decision when it comes to shared services and consolidation.”

In the other county-wide race, incumbent County Clerk Larry Barmore (R-Gerry) easily won reelection to a second term after defeating challenger LeeAnn Lazarony (D-Cassadaga) by a 58 to 42 percent margin. Barmore ran for reelection on his record of improving the clerk’s office over the past four years, which included relocating the Department of Motor Vehicles’ Jamestown office and helping to reduce the annual cost for that office in the process.

George Borrello (left) and Michael Ferguson, the 2017 Candidates for Chautauqua County Executive

MAYVILLE – Election Day 2017 has arrived and by tonight most if not all the candidates around Chautauqua County will find out if they have been elected to public office.

BORRELLO VS. FERGUSON FOR COUNTY EXEC

The highlight of this local election year is the race for Chautauqua County Executive, which features George Borrello (R-Irving) and Mike Ferguson (D-Fredonia).

Borrello has touted his work as a private businessman and elected official on the Chautauqua County Legislature as reasons why residents should select him. Meanwhile, Ferguson has prided himself on being able to serve as a top administrator at a number of private and nonprofit operations, including a past GM of the Jamestown Jammers professional baseball team, the former GM of the Northwest Arena, a member of the county’s tourism board, and as current executive of the Fredonia Place skilled nursing facility.

• Listen to WRFA’s Community Matters’ Interview with Ferguson (Oct. 12)
• Listen to WRFA’s Community Matters’ Interview with Borrello (Sept. 28)

Larry Barmore (left) and LeeAnn Lazarony

BARMORE VS LAZARONY FOR COUNTY CLERK

Another county-wide election will feature the race for Chautauqua County Clerk, where incumbent Larry Barmore (R-Gerry) will square off against former Cassadaga Mayor LeeAnn Lazarony (D-Cassadaga).

• Listen to WRFA’s Community Matters’ Q&A with both Larry Barmore and LeeAnn Lazarony

COUNTY LEGISLATURE HAS NINE CONTESTED RACES

All 19 seats of the Chautauqua County Legislature are also up for a vote, but only nine of them feature contested races. The main focus will be to see if Democrats are able to cut into the Republicans Stronghold over the legislature, where currently the GOP outnumbers its counterparts 15 to 4.

In Jamestown there are two contested races for the Legislature.

In District 11, which is the northwest portion of the city, incumbent David Wilfong (R) who’s also the county GOP committee chair, is being challenged by local businessman Frank Besse (D).

In District 12, which covers the northeast portion of the city, incumbent Elisabeth Rankin (R) will face challenger Dave Reinhardt (D).

Another local race of interest features the open seat in District 16, which is currently held by Ron Lemon (R-Frewsburg). Lemon has opted not to run for reelection and as a result, that race will feature John Davis (R-Frewsburg) squaring off against Terry Walker of (D-Kennedy). District 16 covers the towns of Kiantone, Carroll, and Poland.

A map of the legislative districts for Chautauqua County.

Other contested races include:

District 8 – Towns of Ellery and North Harmony

• Pierre Chagnon* (R, Con, Ind – Bemus Point)
• Jeri Ann Simora (D, WF – Stow)

District 18 – Towns of Chautauqua, Mina and Sherman

• Ella Ames (D, Ind, WF, WEP – Mayville)
• David Himelein* (R, Con – Findley Lake)

District 19 – Towns of Ripley and Westfield

• Laurel Adams (D, WEP – Ripley)
• John Hemmer* (R, Con, Ind – Westfield)

District 1 – Dunkirk

• Kevin Muldowney* (R, Con, Ind – Dunkirk)
• James Palmatier (D-Dunkirk)

District 3 – Fredonia

• Robert Dando (D, WF, WEP – Fredonia)
• Robert Scudder* (R, Con, Ind – Fredonia)

District 6 – Hanover (Borrello’s current seat)

• Gary Cerne (R, Con, Ind – Irving)
• Kevin O’Connell (D, WF – Silver Creek)

Local legislators Paul Whitford (D), Chuck Nazarro (D), and Lisa Vanstrom (R) – all  of Jamestown – along with PJ Wendel (R) of Lakewood, are all running unopposed.

For more information on Election Day 2017, visit www.VoteChautauqua.com.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 9 p.m.

The two-hour event, which begins at 7 p.m., and will feature the candidates for Chautauqua County Executive – Mike Ferguson (D-Fredonia) and George Borrello (R-Hanover) – and Chautauqua County Clerk – Larry Barmore (R-Gerry) and LeeAnn Lazarony (D-Cassadaga).

Also, there will be several Chautauqua County Legislature candidates on hand.

The event is open to the public.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (left) talks with Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi at the Gateway Train Station in Jamestown during his visit and tour of the city on Friday, Oct. 13, 2017. (image courtesy of Mayor Sam Teresi’s Facebook Page)

JAMESTOWN – New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli was in Jamestown last Friday to get an update on state-funded economic development efforts in the city, along with meeting with and endorsing two candidates for Chautauqua County Government.

DiNapoli met with Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi Friday afternoon to tour the city and learn the details about the development efforts that are being funded with the $10 million New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant.

Following his tour of the city, the comptroller appeared at a local Democratic Political meeting and announced his endorsement of Mike Ferguson (D-Fredonia) for Chautauqua County Executive and LeeAnn Lazarony (D-Cassadaga) for Chautauqua County Clerk.

Ferguson is squaring off against Republican George Borrello (R-Hanover) in the executive Race and Lazarony is facing incumbent Larry Barmore (R-Gerry) for County Clerk.

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A debate featuring the 2017 candidates for Chautauqua County Executive – George Borrello (R – Irving) and Mike Ferguson (D-Fredonia) – hosted by the Jamestown AM Rotary Club and taking place Monday, Oct. 2, 2017 at the Robert H. Jackson Center.

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WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with Chautauqua County Executive Candidate George Borrello (R, C, I – Irving) about why he’s running for executive and how he plans to deal with several issues affecting Chautauqua County.

Originally airing Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017.

The interview is the first part of a two-part series focusing on the County Executive’s Race. The second interview, featuring candidate Mike Ferguson (D, WF, WEP – Fredonia), was broadcast on the Thursday, Oct. 12 edition of Community Matters.

The election for county executive in Chautauqua County is an open race, following the January announcement by current county executive Vince Horrigan (R-Bemus Point) that he would not be seeking a second term in office.

More details on the Borrello Campaign at www.VoteBorrello.com.

More details on the Ferguson campaign at www.FergusonForChautauqua.com.

George Borrello

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MAYVILLE – Outgoing Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan presented his final budget proposal Wednesday to the Chautauqua County Legislature, which included a 2 percent increase in property taxes, the first increase in property taxes in the last three years.

As presented, total county spending for 2018 would be $236.4 million, up 3.3 percent from the $228.8 million budget for the current year. Horrigan attributes the spending increase to a number of factors, including increasing the number of social service, county jail, and district attorney and public defender positions. In all, 21 new positions would be added in 2018 under Horrigan’s proposal.

County Executive Vince Horrigan Delivers the 2018 Budget to the Chautauqua County Legislature on Sept. 27, 2017.

Horrigan said that the state’s Office of Child and Family Services also hit the county with an unexpected steep increase in costs for juvenile detention. In addition to the cost escalating from $340,000 to $1.2 million dollars, the office is also calling on the county to pay an additional $715,000 in retroactive payment for the year 2015.

To offset the additional costs, Horrigan is proposing the county use $1.4 million of its unrestricted fund balance, in addition to increasing property taxes by 2 percent – going from $8.48/thousand to $8.58 per thousand.  Put another way, it would be a $10 increase for property assessed at $100,000.

Horrigan told WRFA following his presentation that while he didn’t want to call for a tax increase, he also wanted to ensure that he is leaving the county on sound financial footing.

“When I leave as county executive, I don’t want to leave a cliff. I don’t want something that will look good while I step out the door, I want something long term,” Horrigan said. “The legislature can reduce this, there’s different way they can do it. But, in my judgement, this is the best budget for Chautauqua County.”

Horrigan has opted not to run for reelection, with Republican Legislator George Borrello of Hanover and Democratic Businessman Mike Ferguson of Fredonia running for the office in this year’s election.

The spending plan now goes before the County Legislature for its consideration and members on both sides of the aisle say they will take a close look and see if they can’t bring some of the spending down.

“Our work now begins,” explained Jamestown Democrat and Audit and Control Committee Member Chuck Nazzaro. “We’ll be here four days next week meeting with each department manager going through the budget. I don’t want to micromanage the budget because we have a great team. But I think we need to look at the overall picture and see where that spending increase comes from.”

The legislature will have to finalize the spending plan by Dec. 1, 2017.