Officials cut the ribbon on the completion of Phase One of the West Side Sewer Expansion Project (June 12, 2023)

Officials cut the ribbon Monday in Stow on Phase 1 of the Westside Sewer Extension.

The $16.9 million project brings sewer and water along Route 394 from Ashville to Stow and services approximately 450 developed properties in the Town of North Harmony.

Chautauqua County Legislature Chairman and South & Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District Board member Pierre Chagnon said the project began nine and a half years ago when then County Executive Vince Horrigan put together a steering group to look at options for putting in public sewers around Chautauqua Lake,  “Nine years ago this month was the first meeting of the project team, working with the O’Brien and Gere Engineering Team, to begin developing the integrated sewage management plan for Chautauqua Lake. The integrated sewage management plan was completed in October of 2014. And the highest priority in that plan was given to completing the sewers on the westside of the lake.”

South & Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District Board member Tom Erlandson had done two surveys in the 1960s and 1980s to ask homeowners about putting sewers around Chautauqua Lake.

He said sewering is important not just for the lake but for public health as well, “It will remove septic tanks from near people’s wells. 41%, in my surveys around the lake, 41% of the houses were contaminating their own wells with their own sewage.”

Phase one of the project was financed through a combination of grants and New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation Clean Water State Revolving Fund funding at a rate of zero percent for 30 years.

Officials plan to break ground on Phase 2 of the project in Fall 2024.

Budget Director Kathleen Dennison, Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, County Executive PJ Wendel (May 24, 2023)

Chautauqua County Government‘s Budget Director is retiring.

Kathleen Dennison will retire from her position effective June 2, 2023.

She first began her career with the County on July 7, 2011 as a Principal Account Clerk with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office. She was later appointed as an Accounting Supervisor, a position she held for two years, before being appointed as Budget Director for the Chautauqua County Department of Finance on Feb. 1, 2017.

In her roles with the Sheriff’s Office, Dennison was responsible for budget preparation, grants administration, financial reporting, payroll processing for over 300 employees, and contract negotiations.

As Budget Director, Dennison assisted with the creation and completion of six county budgets. These budgets have grown the County’s fund balance to approximately $34.14 million in accordance with the County’s financial management plan. Dennison served on the Chautauqua County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) working group, and helped develop the County’s ARPA spending plan to fund 66 ARPA projects.

County Executive PJ Wendel and County Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon recognized Dennison for her service with a commendation at the May 24 legislature meeting.

Wendel has stablished a search committee to assist him with finding a replacement for Dennison.

Dave McCoy, Pierre Chagnon, PJ Wendel, Chuck Schumer, and Mark Geise

Chautauqua County officials recently met with U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer in Washington DC to discuss needs of the county.

County Executive PJ Wendel, County Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency CEO and Deputy County Executive of Economic Development Mark Geise; and County Watershed Coordinator Dave McCoy went over ongoing community, business and infrastructure needs.

Schumer said in a statement, “Whether it is securing millions for our local and county governments in the American Rescue Plan or delivering critical investment to keep our waters clean, airports humming and harbors bustling, I always have the people of Chautauqua County at the top of my mind – and will always fight to make sure their voices are heard in Washington. I am eager to continue to work closely with the County Executive Wendel and leaders across Chautauqua to continue to deliver federal investment that will help breathe new life into our downtowns, energize our rural areas and farms, and preserve Chautauqua County’s natural beauty for generations to come.”

Ellery Town Supervisor Larry Anderson addresses Chautauqua County Legislature (February 22, 2023)

The Town of Ellery has asked the Chautauqua County Legislature to support and help implement a six-point plan for improvement of Chautauqua Lake.

Legislator Lisa Vanstrom requested that Legislative Clerk Olivia Lee read the letter outlining the proposal from Ellery Town Supervisor Larry Anderson out loud for all members present to hear.

The plan for future lake improvement includes lakeside municipalities, the county, and state leaders reaching an agreement on the goal for Chautauqua Lake management. It also calls for contracting with a university-led group of scientists, engineers, and project managers to develop a multi-year management plan. The third point requests that $7 million in the County’s American Rescue Plan funds be designated toward the development and implementation of the plan. The fourth point seeks to revisit a county-wide funding mechanism for Chautauqua Lake protection and rehabilitation including use of existing property, sales, and occupancy tax revenue with the potential for increases in those tax rates.

The proposal would use an organization of lakeside municipality mayors and supervisors with support from county government to oversee the development and implementation of the plan and manage lake and watershed activities consistent with the goal set. This organization would be unaffiliated with lake organizations.

The last point in the proposal asks State Senator George Borrello and Assemblyman Andy Goodell to work to obtain state funding for the lake and to work with the State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Larry Anderson, speaking at the second privilege of the floor, thanked the legislature for reading the letter and said it took 50 to 60 years for Chautauqua Lake to “get this bad,” “And it’s not going to get fixed overnight. It’s going to take some time. But I really feel that our six-point plan is the way to start and if we can get enough support and everybody comes together with the townships, the villages along the lake, that I think we can finally go in the right direction.”

The Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency, which was formed in 2018 to study the creation of a lake protection and rehabilitation district, voted in January to not move forward with a tax district.

Bemus Point Mayor Jeff Molnar also addressed the Legislature and said after attending various CLPRA and lake organization meetings, it was clear that “not everyone was rowing in the right direction,” “I’ve learned about the proposal that the town of Ellery has put forward. And unless I get any negative feedback from my Board of Trustees in the village, then I intend to support, at least, the portion about the mayors and supervisors organization.”

Mayville Mayor Rick Syper also made a short statement saying he supports Ellery’s plan.

County Executive PJ Wendel said the lakeside municipality leaders group proposed by Ellery to oversee the effort would be a new group.

He said while 3 of the 9 leaders are in agreement, it’s been tough to get consensus, “I don’t think they’re too far off but everybody has their different opinions and philosophies. And we’ve said this, we’re not going to get a unanimous consensus, but we do have to look at what’s happening. My push for this year is a collaborative effort. We have yet to do that in Chautauqua Lake. We harvest and we use herbicides. But I have a big push with our working group, if you will, between the Watershed (Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy) , CLA (Chautauqua Lake Association), and CLP (Chautauqua Lake Partnership) to have a collaborative plan this year to start.”

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon gave credit to Ellery for developing the plan. He said there’s significant overlap between what the town and County Executive Wendel are working on, “I know that the County Executive has met with the town of Ellery representatives to discuss his directions and their plan. Personally, I think that it’s exciting, the concept of getting all of the towns and villages around the lake agreeing on what should be done and working together to help the lake.”

Chagnon said he’s looking forward to learning more about Wendel’s plan in the near future.

County Legislature Chairman and Chautauqua Lake Protection & Rehabilitation Agency Chair Pierre Chagnon addresses crowd at CLPRA Meeting (January 19, 2023)

The concept of a Chautauqua Lake Tax District is dead in the water.

Members of the Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency voted Thursday night before a crowd of nearly 100 people to not recommend the formation of a lake tax district to the Chautauqua County Legislature.

The motion was made by Chautauqua Town Supervisor Don Emhardt, who said he thought the whole thing “got off to a bad start,” “And the negative publicity and the number of negative emails I’ve received over the last week, week and a half.. It wasn’t gonna pass. So, we might as well just call it now rather than going through another two or three years of making a final recommendation.”

The CLPRA was initially formed in 2018 and tasked with forming a lake protection and rehabilitation district.

County Legislature Chairman and CLPRA Chairman Pierre Chagnon said the agency has been working with consultants, Barton and LoGuidice, on a possible structure of a tax district to be presented to the state and, if approved, then sent to the County Legislature.

He said that changes with the motion made by the CLPRA members to stop the process where it’s at, “…And make our recommendation to the legislature not to pursue a district. That motion was carried by a majority of the (CLPRA) agency members. So the agency’s task, which it was tasked by the (County) Legislature to make a recommendation, is complete.”

Chagnon said he thinks this outcome happened partly due to the discussion changing from generalities about there being a fee or a tax to discussions of what the fee might be for different tiers or parcels, “And then it started to become more of a reality to people, other than a generality, of what this could be to the property owners. And I think that that reality, I know from talking to at least a couple of agency members, that realization, that reality really opened their eyes and changed their view of the whole process.”

Chagnon said with their task complete, the CLPRA is considered dissolved.

He said the County could look at other lake funding options like a boat fee, but that would still require approval from the state.

Chautauqua County Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon delivers remarks to Legislature (January 3, 2023)

Chautauqua County Legislators have again named Pierre Chagnon to lead them as the Legislature Chairman.

Chagnon said 2023 will bring changes to County Government, “We have a relatively new County Attorney, DPF Director, HR Director, Airport Manager, and a reorganization of Chautauqua County’s three largest Human Services programs. As legislators, you have abundant skills, life experiences, and community connections, so I urge you all to share in the helping.”

Chagnon listed off challenges facing the Legislature this year, including inflation, the state’s energy policies, and the opioid crisis, “..managing workforce retention and recruitment; ongoing effects of the Pandemic, increasingly burdensome state mandates, workforce development needs, and pursuit of economic development opportunities. But please join me in being motivated by the words of Martin Luther King Jr., ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.'”

This is the fourth year Chagnon has served as the Chairman.

Chautauqua County Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, County Legislator Jay Gould, County Executive PJ Wendel (December 21, 2022)

Longtime Chautauqua County Legislators Jay Gould and Paul Whitford were honored for their service at the County Legislature meeting Wednesday night as they both announced their retirement.

Jay Gould represents District 17 which covers the towns of Clymer, Panama, Harmony and Busti. His over 20 year tenure on the legislature began in January 2000. Gould also served as Chairman of the Legislature from 2012 to 2016. He served on the Human Services, Public Facilities, and Audit & Control Committees.

As a legislative representative, Gould also served on the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board, Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District Board, Southern Tier Railroad Authority, and Southern Tier West.

Gould thanked everyone and said he really enjoyed his time with the legislature, “I’d like to tell legislators – remember why you were sent up here. You were sent up here to watch your constituent’s money. That’s what you’re here for.”

Paul Whitford represents District 13 which covers the eastside of the City of Jamestown around UPMC Chautauqua. He first began to serve on the legislature on December 17, 2014. Whitford has served on the Administrative Services, Human Services, and Public Safety Committees. As a legislative representative, he also served on the Chautauqua County Land Bank Board of Directors, Chautauqua Opportunities Board, and Office for the Aging Advisory Council.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel said he’s known Whitford for over 20 years, “His exemplary service to the county, but also to the city of Jamestown on multiple boards and political positions he’s held. So, Paul has definitely been a tireless servant for the residents of Chautauqua County both at the city and county level. So again, very sad he won’t be with us anymore but I’m sure he’s going to be enjoying his retirement after many, many years of dedicated service to the residents.”

It is anticipated that the Legislature will vote at its January 3, 2023 organizational meeting to appoint the new legislative representatives of Districts 13 and 19.

Retiring County Attorney Stephen Abdella also was recognized and honored for his decades of service.

Abdella began as an Assistant County Attorney in 1988, working his way up to County Attorney in 1992. He held that position until 1997 and then again from 2006 to the present. He also served as the Legislative Attorney from 1999 to 2005 and then again from 2008 until the present. Abdella served as Acting County Executive twice in November through December of 2013 and 2019.

Wendel said there were a lot of daunting things to face when he became County Executive three years ago, “But, as it’s stated in the commendation, Steve was a very calming, very relaxed. And again, very thorough in any issues or problems we had that arose.”

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon said legislators often turned to Abdella for questions about the past, “Steve would always have the answer. I always referred to him as the ‘Corporate Memory’ because he remembered so much about county operations over such a long span of time. And he was so quick with the recall and so willing to share that it was invaluable to us as legislators in our considerations and deliberations.”

Abdella unfortunately was unable to attend the meeting as he was sick.

First Assistant County Attorney Pat Slagle has been appointed to take over as County Attorney on January 1, 2023.

On the agenda are a local law setting new legislative districts at 17, which is a decrease from the current 19 district map. The other local law redraws district lines at the current 19 districts.

Two resolutions proposed by Fredonia Legislator Susan Parker will still be on the agenda that call for a public referendum on the reapportionment maps. If approved, that would send the map to voters to vote yes or no on in November. The two resolutions failed in the Administrative Services committee.

The Legislature also will vote on appointing Jamie Gustafson to lead Legislative District 10. She would replace Ken Lawton, who is moving out of the district. District 10 represents the southwest side of Jamestown, the Village of Lakewood and part of the Town of Busti. Chairman Pierre Chagnon will honor Legislator Lawton with a commendation at the beginning of the meeting.

The Legislature will also vote on a local law to create a Chautauqua County Landfill Commission.
The commission would advise the County Executive and Legislature on matters relating to the construction, renovation, operation, or discontinuation of any solid waste disposal and solid waste related facility.

The proposed commission would have seven members appointed by the County Executive including two County Legislators as well as representatives of the government of the Town of Ellery, a large municipal customer, a large private customer, a waste hauler, and a representative of a community hosting a County transfer station.

The Chautauqua County Legislature meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Public hearings on the reapportionment maps, creation of the Landfill Commission, the amendment of the County’s Self-Insurance Plan, and on the creation of a Public Information Officer’s position will take place at 6:35 p.m.

The meeting takes place in the Legislative Chambers of the Gerace Office Building and is open to the public. It also will be livestreamed on Chautauqua County Government’s Facebook page.

A new Grinder Pump installation in Phase 1 area.

Phase 2 of the Westside Sewer Extension project has been approved.

The South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer Districts’ Board of Directors approved the map and plan report at its March meeting with the maximum amount to be spent on the project being $24 million.

The South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer Districts (SCCLSD) initiated the construction of Phase 1 of the project in 2021. Phase 1 would extend the district to the Hamlet of Stow and it is anticipated to be complete in 2023. Phase 2 is ready to be initiated which will extend the Districts from the Hamlet of Stow to the North Chautauqua Lake Sewer District border, near Prendergast Creek.

Board member and County Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon said the Westside Sewer Extension Phase 2 will complete the public sewers on the entire west side of Chautauqua Lake and is another milestone towards this end.

The Phase 2 Extension will be comprised of properties on the western shore of the Lake in the Towns of North Harmony and Chautauqua, generally along New York State Route 394. The proposed wastewater collection and conveyance facilities will extend the public sewer and provide direct benefit to the estimated 350 developed parcels. The area is currently serviced by private septic systems and individually maintained by the corresponding property owner.

Many of these systems are failing or reaching the end of their useful life. These failing systems are a contributor to elevated phosphorus levels within Chautauqua Lake and private water well contamination.

The proposed improvements include the construction of a new low-pressure force main sewer system with approximately 250 grinder-pumping stations. Each developed parcel will be served by a grinder pumping station that connects to the sewer main located along the road of each property. All sanitary waste from each developed parcel would then be pumped to the Wastewater Treatment Facility, located in Celoron. Following the installation and connection to the grinder pumping station, the septic system would then be cleaned and decommissioned.

The proposed Phase 2 project is eligible for State and Federal grant monies including New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Water Quality Improvements Project (WQIP) and New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC)’s Water Infrastructure Act (WIIA) funding. The County would be eligible to apply for a 30-year, interest-free loan through EFC’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund program. The financial aid of these funding agencies will ensure that the Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) cost does not exceed $1,000 per year.

Chautauqua County Legislature meeting – March 23, 2022

A resolution regarding a Wastewater Surveillance Pilot Program passed 16 to 2 in the Chautauqua County Legislature Wednesday night.

Legislator and County Board of Health member Liz Rankin said the program is not mandated and the county had originally planned to use American Rescue Plan monies to fund doing it before the grant was received. She said the grant had already been accepted with the resolution on the agenda adopting a budget for the grant.

Rankin said she was voting yes not just to fulfill the grant obligations but also because she believed in what the grant supports, “The wastewater surveillance program is an early warning system for managing COVID and to give a community profile, give us a heads up, not to isolate and quarantine people, but to mobilize staff and resources, first responders, and long term care systems. Public health surveillance has been around for a very long time.”

Rankin added wastewater surveillance has been done for decades including being used in the 1940s for polio, in the 1980s for Hepatitis A virus and norovirus outbreaks, and in the 1990s as well, “We are not creating something new. We are folding in a technology that’s going to work for us now. This is a great opportunity for us to stay on top of public health trends. The samples are collected at publicly owned central treatment plants and not in neighborhoods and not at specific houses. We’re not targeting anyone in particular. It is planning for the community based on results.”

An amendment proposed by Legislator Tom Harmon added language that would limit the collection of wastewater samples to publicly owned wastewater treatment plants. The amendment also stated a spreadsheet report on the collections would be provided after the pilot program ended on July 31, 2022.

Legislators John Davis and Bob Scudder were the two no votes.

The legislature unanimously approved a $2 million grant from the State Department of Health to hire fellows to work with the County Health Department.

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon said he spoke with an epidemiologist who lives in his district who worked on the creation of the fellowship program. He said the program was established six months into the pandemic when state and local counties realized they didn’t have enough health care workers to deal with the pandemic effectively, “So the concept was, how do we get more people involved in public health, trained in public health, educated in public health. So this was created as a means of encouraging people to become more educated in public health by putting them to work in fellowships working with public health departments in the counties, doing work on the ground, learning about public health.”

Chagnon said under the program, fellows will be employed by not-for-profit organizations and work for and at the direction of the County Health Department, “Not at the direction of the state at all. So, they’re there to help the county health department, public health department. And they’re there to learn and experience the public health field first hand so that they can become better educated about the practice of public health and also to encourage those who are interested in pursuing education in public health.”

Chagnon emphasized the concerns he’s heard about the fellows working for the state are misinformed.

The legislature also passed a resolution accepting a a $25,000 grant for the Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene Department‘s Mobile Crisis Unit. The grant is to be used for education and training; billing, equipment and electronic medical record expenses.