The event begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Busti Firemen’s Grounds on Lawson Road and also will feature a car show by the Southern Chautauqua Car Club.

The entrance fee for tractors is $10 a hitch, and for car show cars the fee is $5. There is no charge for spectators. The car show judging and trophy presentation will be at 1 p.m. with the tractor pull continuing until a winner is determined. The Busti Fire Department Auxiliary will also have a food concession stand on site.

For more information, visit https://townofbusti.com/ or call (716) 763-8561.

Solar Liberty Energy Systems

Solar Liberty filed an application with the town in December 2020 to build a solar panel system at 1255 South Main Street Extension. Following that, the town Planning Board issued a positive declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) on September 27, 2021.

In March 2022, the town board approved a resolution accepting the positive declaration despite communication from Solar Liberty urging them not to. According to Solar Liberty’s filing in Chautauqua County State Supreme Court, the town of Busti was then required by state law to publish the Positive Declaration in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental Notice Bulletin, but that never happened.

Solar Liberty said a letter was received in March 2023 from the town board withdrawing the company’s application due to the company not submitting a draft scoping document nor taking any other steps to proceed with the application.

In their filing, Solar Liberty said there was never any deadline provided by the town for which to complete the South Main Street project and that the company had intended to complete the SEQRA process once the approvals for another solar project in the town of Busti on Orr Street was received.

The company is asking the court to void the letter from the town that ended the special use permit application for the South Main Street Extension project, saying that the town’s action is in “violation of lawful procedure and due process.”

The town first incorporated in 1823 and is named after Paul Busti, who came here from Philadelphia where he worked for the Holland Land Company.

Bicentennial activities begin Wednesday, April 12 with a “Busti Talk” by long-time town resident and historian Norman Carlson at the Fenton History Center. On Friday, April 14, the Busti Fire Department Auxiliary will hold the “Miss Busti” competition at the Busti Fire Department with the winner receiving a scholarship donated by Cummins Engine and the Busti Hamlet Committee.

For more information on entering, go to the town’s website at www.townofbusti.com.

A kick-off celebration will take place from 1:30 to 8:30 p.m., Sunday, April 16 at the Lakewood Rod and Gun on Terrace Avenue in Lakewood. Supervisor Jesse Robbins will introduce the new “Miss Busti” for the bicentennial. Past Supervisor Dale Robbins will be the Grand Marshall for the year’s events. The town board will also hold a special meeting wearing clothing from the 1823-period. Jesse Robbins says the celebration will include a chicken barbecue, a corn hole tournament, and musical entertainment until a fireworks show at 8:30 p.m.

Other activities are planned throughout this summer culminating with a celebration at the Busti Firemen’s Grounds on September 21 through 23.

For more information, call 716-763-8561 or visit www.townofbusti.com.

The current total assessed value of 381 Fairmount Avenue is $9.26 million. Washington Prime Group attorneys argue that the assessed value should only be $827,500 with a full market value of $1 million.

According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, this is now the fourth attempt by Washington Prime Group to reduce its taxable assessment in state Supreme Court, having previously filed in 2020, 2021, and updated a filing in March of this year.

Washington Prime Group had emerged from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year following its CEO stepping down, completing the company’s financial restructuring and the implementation of its plan of reorganization.

Target Corporation is also petitioning in Supreme Court to get the assessment lowered on the former Kmart store it purchased on Fairmount Avenue.

The current assessed value is $3.4 million. Attorneys for Target are petitioning to reduce to assessment to $1.7 million, saying the assessed value of the property is higher than other similar properties.

Target purchased the property at 975 Fairmount Avenue for $3.15 million in October 2021. The former Kmart in that location closed in October 2019.

Under New York State’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (“MRTA”), local municipalities have the opportunity to opt out of allowing retail dispensaries and on-site consumption licensees to operate within their jurisdiction. To do so, the town, village, or city’s legislative body must adopt a local law to ‘opt out’ by December 31, 2021. In August alone, the boards of three local townships have voted to opt out: Ellicott (on Aug. 16), Carroll (on Aug. 11), and Busti (on Aug. 2).

But even with the town board’s approval to ‘opt out’, the local law is still subject to a permissive referendum governed by New York State Municipal Home Rule Law. State law provides that the proposed local law takes effect 45 days after its adoption, unless a valid petition requesting a permissive referendum is filed with the municipality’s clerk within that 45-day period. Any individual who was qualified and registered to vote in the last general election can file a petition calling for the permissive referendum. In order to force a public vote on the local law, the petition must be signed and authenticated by at least 10 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor during the last gubernatorial election in the respective municipality.

The last gubernatorial election was in 2018. In the town of Ellicott 3,455 people voted for governor that year, meaning a minimum of 346 signatures would have to be collected to force a public vote. Meanwhile, the total number of votes for governor in the Town of Busti was 3,319, meaning 332 signatures would have to be collected. In the Town of Carroll the number was 1,445, meaning 145 signatures would have to be collected.

Besides any qualified local resident having the opportunity to submit a petition, any member of the town board can also present a resolution within 45 days of the local laws passage, calling for a public vote on the matter. If a majority of the town board approves the proposed resolution, a public vote would then take place.

In addition to townships having the ability to ‘opt out’, each village in the township also has the choice to opt out or allow dispensaries to open, regardless of what their township does. For example, even though the Town of Ellicott opted out, both the village of Celoron and the Village of Falconer would also have to pass their own Opt Out local law, in order to disallow marijuana dispensaries from operating in their respective jurisdictions.

Clymer is another township in Chautauqua County that has decided to ‘opt out’ of allowing marijuana dispensaries from opening. But officials made that decision in Mid-June, meaning the 45-day window to file for a permissive referendum has already passed.

Brookdale Living Senior Solutions & Emeritol are also suing the Town of Busti in County Supreme Court after their assessment went up dramatically. The lawsuit has the proper assessment listed as $375-thousand dollars with the town listing the assessed value at $3-million-750 thousand dollars. The company, which owns Brookdale Lakewood, a senior care housing facility on Southwestern Drive, is also asking that the assessment be reduced.

The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting that that the Town of Ellery won’t sign be signing the MOA presented by Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello last month. The unwillingness to sign the document is primarily due to it restricting herbicide treatment to only the southern basin of the lake during the next two years. A portion of the Town borders the northern basin of the lake and Ellery officials say residents may want to treat that area with herbicide if weeds get bad during the summer months.

Of the 16 agencies and municipalities that were requested to sign the MOA, Ellery is the only one that will not. Even the Chautauqua Lake Partnership, which voiced reservations earlier this month, eventually signed off on the document.

Borrello has already said that the MOA will not be altered or changed for at least the first two years it is in place. But he did say it could be changed in 2021 following a review by stakeholders and the county.

Ellery’s unwillingness to sign the MOA also jeopardizes their chances of receiving outside funding for lake management efforts they endorse. That’s because Borrello had said that organizations should sign off on the MOA if they wish to qualify for funding.

“Any funding from the county, and from many of the local foundations, for efforts dealing with in-lake projects will flow through the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance. The executive board of the Alliance has preliminary agreed to only fund those organizations who participate in the Consensus Strategy by the signing the Memorandum of Understanding,” Borrello said during his State of the County Address in February.

The consensus strategy was developed through a collaboration of the County Executive’s Office, Chautauqua County Department of Planning & Development, representatives from the Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), and the consulting firm, Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E&E).

A copy of the MOA, along with the 24 tenets, is available on the County Executive’s website.

Chautauqua Institution President Michael E. Hill poses on Thursday with Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello, moments after Hill signed the memorandum of agreement for the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy on the Institution’s behalf.

CHAUTAUQUA – Chautauqua Institution has signed on to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy.

The MOA is a document that was finalized and put forward by Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello last week. It was unanimously approved by the Chautauqua County Legislature on the same day it was made public.  The document seeks to bring together lake stakeholders so they can more effectively work together to manage invasive aquatic plants, nuisance native vegetation, and hazardous algal blooms in the lake.

Chautauqua Institution President Michael Hill said the MOA represents a comprehensive and scientifically sound approach for Chautauqua Lake conservation.

“I proudly signed this memorandum on behalf of Chautauqua Institution because it represents the comprehensive and scientifically sound approach for Chautauqua Lake conservation that we’ve been advocating for many years,” Hill said. “We are hopeful that all other agencies and municipalities will join us in signing the MOA and supporting this incredibly important strategy. We thank County Executive Borrello for his resolute leadership on this crucial issue. While Chautauqua Lake faces many challenges, we’re confident that with an independently sourced, science-based comprehensive approach and the support and leadership of a consensus of stakeholders, we will save and preserve Chautauqua Lake as the source of so much of our livelihood in Chautauqua County.”

The consensus strategy was developed through a collaboration of the County Executive’s Office, Chautauqua County Department of Planning & Development, representatives from the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), and the consulting firm Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E&E). E&E, which is headquartered in Lancaster, New York, facilitated three meetings earlier this year, where it met with key lake stakeholders to discuss their most pressing issues and concerns surrounding the management of weeds and harmful algal blooms in Chautauqua Lake. These stakeholders included representatives from Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua Fishing Alliance, Chautauqua Lake Association, Chautauqua Lake Fishing Association, Chautauqua Lake Partnership, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Town of Busti, Town of Chautauqua, Town of Ellery, Town of Ellicott, Town of North Harmony, Village of Celoron, and Village of Lakewood. Other input, which was also considered in the development of the MOA, was communicated to the county executive during informal meetings and in written form.

As part of the information-gathering phase for the consensus strategy, Hill and Chautauqua Vice President of Campus Planning and Operations John Shedd accompanied Borrello and several other county officials and leaders on an October trip to Lake George, New York, to learn about a successful model for lake conservation. In just five years, Lake George stakeholders have united behind a consensus strategy that uses sound, validated science to spur decisions, greatly and demonstrably improving the health and water quality of a lake with challenges similar to Chautauqua Lake.

Last year Chautauqua Institution led an effort to sue the state, saying it didn’t follow proper procedure when approving an application to use herbicides in certain areas of the lake. That challenge took place in Erie County Supreme court and was dismissed near the end of December.
But the lawsuit was just one example of the infighting that has taken place in regards to lake Management and it lead to Borrello to call for a “cease fire” amongst the various stakeholders, via the consensus document.

The Institution is one of the first stakeholders to sign off on the MOA for the consensus. The deadline to sign on to the MOA is April 17.

Those that do not are in jeopardy of missing out on funding for projects they support to battle the weeds and algal blooms that have been occurring more frequently on the lake in recent years.

Pictured above from left to right: Mark Geise, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development; George Borrello, Chautauqua County Executive; Dave McCoy, County Watershed Coordinator; Pierre Chagnon, County Legislator and Chairman of the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance; and Tom Heins, P.E., Principal of Ecology & Environment, Inc. (Image courtesy of the County Executive’s Office, Chautauqua County).

MAYVILLE – An effort to get all Chautauqua Lake stakeholders literally on the same page when it comes to managing invasive weeds and other nuisances has taken a major step forward.

On Wednesday morning Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello unveiled a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy.

According to Borrello, the MOA brings together lake agencies and organizations, as well as the municipalities located around Chautauqua Lake, so they can more effectively work together to manage invasive aquatic plants, nuisance native vegetation, and hazardous algal blooms on the lake while being considerate of man’s uses and the environment.

“There are many agencies and stakeholders around Chautauqua Lake that are committed to improving the quality and usability of the lake,” said Borrello. “The differences of opinion regarding how this should be done have resulted in a contentious environment where little forward progress can be made. This consensus strategy will help bring everyone together as we work toward our common goals of addressing and controlling the weeds in Chautauqua Lake while protecting its ecology.”

Borrello says the consensus strategy was developed through a collaboration of the County Executive’s Office, Chautauqua County Department of Planning & Development, representatives from the Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), and the consulting firm, Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E&E).

“Working closely with E&E, we were able to identify essential issues and concerns of the primary stakeholders associated with weed management in Chautauqua Lake,” said Mark Geise, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development. “With this input, we identified key topics, as well as consensus positions for each of these themes, which are important to these stakeholders. These essentially became the 24 tenets of the strategy’s MOA, which will help guide future weed management initiatives.”

Borrello said the plan will involve all of Chautauqua Lake but will immediately address concerns in the lower end of the lake near the Burtis Bay area between Lakewood and Celoron. He said it will call for a multifaceted approach to dealing with the weed problem that has plagued that area of the lake the past few years.

“This is going to be the first opportunity for us to combine the use of herbicides along with creating some strategic buffer zones, essentially. Using the natural weeds that are there to trap  a lot of the fragments while having channels through those weeds to help with navigation. I believe that over the long-run we’ll be able to do this and use this as a model for other areas as well,” Borrello said during a Wednesday morning press conference.

Key lake stakeholders also offered input. They included the Chautauqua Fishing Alliance, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua Lake Association, Chautauqua Lake Fishing Association, Chautauqua Lake Partnership, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Town of Busti, Town of Chautauqua, Town of Ellery, Town of Ellicott, Town of North Harmony, Village of Celoron, and Village of Lakewood.
The MOA was approved by the county legislature in an emergency resolution last night and other stakeholders are expected to sign off on it in the coming days.

A copy of the MOA, along with the 24 tenets, is available on the County Executive’s website.

Since last year, officials from both municipalities have been discussing a new long-term contract agreement for police services. The town of Busti contracts with the village of Lakewood for services from the Lakewood-Busti Police Department.

The last five-year agreement between the two entities ended in 2012.  Under terms of the agreement, the town of Busti will pay for 37 percent of the police department’s budget, with that amount being based on the police department answering around 37 percent of calls outside of the village. Prior to the new agreement, the town was paying for just 28 percent.

In other business, there will be a public hearing scheduled at 7 p.m. Monday, June 3, for a special-use permit for the business expansion at Southern Tier Brewing Company.