Chautauqua County Legislature voting session (April 26, 2023)

Despite calls to table the measure for more discussion, the Chautauqua County Legislature approved using $1 million in American Rescue Plan funding for the Jefferson Project.

One of a handful of public comments opposing the funding included Chautauqua-Conewango Watershed Consortium representative Jane Conroe, who stated the Legislature should be leading with science, “Why would we pay for understanding algae mechanisms that we already have information for? The very comprehensive ‘Harmful Agal Blooms Action Plan for Chautauqua Lake’ that we already have has much of this information. California, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project has done extensive research along with Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The need for a complete agal DNA reference library has been taken up by this organization.”

Former County Executive Vince Horrigan submittted a letter in support of funding the Jefferson Project saying the project “brings a professional outside and an objective approach” to identifying issues in Chautauqua Lake.

The Jefferson Project is a collaboration of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, IBM Research, and the Lake George Association that is conducting water quality and Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) research. It was introduced to Chautauqua Lake in 2020 in partnership with the Chautauqua County Government, Chautauqua Institution, and the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance.

Legislator Tom Nelson made a motion to table the resolution, saying more discussion was needed. The motion failed 5 to 14.

Legislator John Hemmer echoed the need for more discussion, saying there was not enough information for how the $1 million would be spent and what would be done, “I listened to the presentation that was given and it was a lot of talk about testing and research. And nowhere in the presentation did they say anything about the solution to the problem being presented at the end of the research.”

Legislator Bob Bankoski said it was advantageous for the Legislature to move forward with the project, “I do agree with some of the people that made comments today. I think some of this stuff is very vague and I really, really hope that we have some locked down answers. When they’re done with this project I want an action plan from them that tells us exactly what to do.”

An amendment by Legislator Tom Harmon to add language to the resolution saying that “this funding would be used for research and ongoing work in 2023” did pass.

The final vote was 17 to 2 with Legislators John Hemmer and Susan Parker being the only no votes.

Former Chautauqua County Executives recognized at the Robert H. Jackson Center

The eight men who have led Chautauqua County in the nearly 50 years since the County Executive position was created were honored at an event held at the Robert H. Jackson Center Friday.

Until 1975, the Chautauqua County Board of Supervisors appointed a chair to serve as chief executive of county business. The Board of Supervisors system was challenged as being unconstitutional, with the challenge succeeding and the county required to rewrite its charter. The new charter included the establishment of a County Legislature and the County Executive position.

The former County Executives all shared memories of successes and challenges during their tenure.

The County Executives who have served Chautauqua County include:
Joseph Gerace (serving Jan. 1, 1975 to May 10, 1983),
John “Jack” Glenzer (serving Nov. 25, 1983 to Dec. 31, 1989),
Andrew Goodell (serving Jan. 1, 1990 to Dec. 31, 1997),
Mark Thomas (serving Jan. 1,1998 to Dec. 31, 2005),
Gregory Edwards (serving Jan.1 2006 to Nov. 17, 2013),
Vincent Horrigan (serving Jan. 1 2014 to Dec. 31, 2017)
George Borrello (serving Jan. 1, 2018 to Nov. 27, 2019)
Paul “PJ” Wendel (serving Jan. 1, 2020 to present).

Current County Attorney Stephen Abedella also was in attendance and was recognized for serving as Acting County Executive from November 18 to December 31, 2013. While not in attendance, David Dawson was recognized as well for his service as an Acting County Executive from May 10 to November 25, 1983.

We’ll be sharing the full recognition event on WRFA at a later date.

Vince Horrigan and State Senator George Borrello

Former Chautauqua County Executive and United States Air Force Colonel Vince Horrigan has been inducted into the New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame. The ceremony was held on Veterans’ Day at the Chautauqua County Veterans Service Agency in Jamestown.

Horrigan logged over 35-hundred hours as a fighter pilot in front-line fighter aircraft including the F-4, F-15, and F-16. His assignments included service as a United States Air Force fighter weapons school instructor, NATO tactical systems and readiness evaluator, security assistance program manager for the Pacific Rim Countries, and Deputy Commander for Combat Air Forces for the 50th Fighter Wing in the United Kingdom and 3rd Air Force in Europe. As a senior officer, he held Command, Pentagon and NATO international assignments.

A resident of Bemus Point, Mr. Horrigan is the former Executive Director of the Southwestern NY Chapter of the American Red Cross. He also served as a Chautauqua County Legislator and County Executive.

The New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame was created in 2005, to honor those veterans who have distinguished themselves in their military service and continue to devote themselves to serving their neighbors, communities and country.

Town of Chautauqua Mobitrac assists the Town of Ellery with the Shore Acres Canal Clean-up Project (Source: Alliance).

MAYVILLE – (MEDIA RELEASE) – At the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance’s May Annual Meeting, Interim Executive Director Vince Horrigan indicated that more can be accomplished regarding near-shore and shoreline clean-up if organizations work together and unify efforts. Over the past month, municipalities and lake organizations have been collaborating with each other to get an early start on near-shore and shoreline clean-up through the coordinated removal of decaying macrophytes and debris.

Over the past month, two projects have taken place in two different municipalities that involved the removal of debris jams, which were causing impairments to navigation, water movement, aesthetics, and fish passage.

The Vukote Canal Clean-up Project was executed on May 13 and involved collaboration among the Alliance, Town of Busti, and Town of Chautauqua. The Town of Chautauqua provided a Mobitrac, which is an amphibious tracked machine with an 8-foot-wide rake that is capable of navigating in tight spaces such as canals. This machine removed a debris blockage from the canal and offloaded the material onto dump trucks owned by the Town of Busti for disposal. In total, work by the Town of Busti Highway Department and Town of Chautauqua Mobitrac removed 14 truckloads of debris from the canal, which provided improved aesthetics, water flow, navigation, and fish passage.

The Shore Acres Canal Clean-up Project was completed on May 28 and involved collaboration among the Alliance, Town of Ellery, and Town of Chautauqua. The Town of Chautauqua provided a Mobitrac to gather and remove the debris from the canal, which was trucked away by the Town of Ellery. This project resulted in the removal of 3 truckloads of debris from the canal, which restored navigation, water flow, aesthetics, and fish passage.

“These two projects are great examples of how unity of effort can produce responsive and effective results,” the Alliance stated.

Over the past week, the Chautauqua Lake Association (CLA) has been out on the lake performing pre-season shoreline clean-up. These efforts have been targeted at removing nuisance accumulations of decaying debris, which if left unchecked would have contributed excess nutrients into Chautauqua Lake, along with large debris that can pose risks to navigation and safety. Over the past week, the CLA has removed 8 truckloads of shoreline debris.

Starting in July, the CLA and the Town of Chautauqua will begin their inaugural joint near-shore and shoreline clean-up operations program, which aims to increase efficiency and responsiveness to near-shore and shoreline conditions.

The Alliance applauds the collaborative efforts of these member organizations whose work has led to the removal of 25 truckloads of shoreline debris from Chautauqua Lake thus far through a combined approach of near-shore and shoreline maintenance operations. These services provided by the CLA, Town of Chautauqua, Town of Busti, and Town of Ellery not only reduce in-lake nutrient loading by removing macrophytes prior to their decomposition but also promote water movement, improved recreation, and a more aesthetically appealing shoreline environment. Funding for these projects was provided in-part through grants from the Alliance in partnership with the Chautauqua Region Community, Ralph C. Sheldon, and Lenna Foundations.

Michelle Knapp, St. Susan Center employee, and Frank Smith, long-time St. Susan Center volunteer, pack meals to serve local residents in need during the coronavirus outbreak. A recent grant from the Chautauqua County Crisis Response Fund will assist St. Susan Center in packing to-go meals.

JAMESTOWN – Nearly two weeks after the public launch of the Chautauqua County Crisis Response Fund: COVID-19, the first round of emergency funding, totaling $127,084 has been awarded to eight local organizations.

Organizations receiving funding include:

• Catholic Charities,
• Chautauqua County Rural Ministry,
• Community Helping Hands,
• Feed More WNY,
• Jamestown Community Learning Council,
• Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County,
• The Resource Center,
• and Westfield Community Kitchen.

These dollars are being immediately released to address food security needs, as well as, to help older adults and vulnerable families overcome barriers to accessing essential resources.

“It is inspiring to see how our community has come together during this difficult time to support each other,” said Bonny Scott-Sleight, St. Susan Center executive director. “We are grateful to receive this much needed assistance to continue serving our guests.”

According to Vince Horrigan, Decision Committee chair, every funding request has been very carefully reviewed by the committee, utilizing their expertise in various professional capacities.

“We are looking at all of these funding requests very closely,” Horrigan said. “It is important that what we fund is the very best use of the dollars we have been so generously given by our community to make an immediate impact for those in need from all across Chautauqua County.”

Additional funding requests will be reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the current crisis and recovery phases. At this time, priority is given to requests for needs not served by other federal, state and local resources as it relates to food security, services for older adults, child care services, mental health and wellbeing, and basic human needs.

Since March 23, the Crisis Response Fund has raised more than $860,000 of its $1 million goal from individuals, community organizations and local foundations.

The fund is administered by the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County on behalf of a coalition of philanthropy, government and business partners including the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation and United Way of Northern Chautauqua County.

More information, including how community members can make online tax-deductible donations, can be found on the United Way’s website, UWaySCC.org.

Individuals can also give by mailing a check made payable to the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County to 2018 Pine Street, Jamestown. Please include Crisis Response Fund on the memo line.

George Borrello

MAYVILLE – Several feet of snow in the village of Mayville didn’t prevent Chautauqua County’s new executive from making the trip from his home in Hanover to in order to be sworn into office on New Year’s Day.

County executive George Borrello (R-Irving) was inaugurated on Monday afternoon by Chautauqua county Judge David Foley. In addition, County Clerk Larry Barmore was also sworn in to his second term in office.

Both Borrello and Barmore won election November. Borrello is taking over for previous county executive Vince Horrigan, who opted not to run for a second term in office this past year.

Outgoing County Executive Vince Horrigan has proposed the Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency as a way to help  provide recommendations on how to develop and establish a future lake district.

The agency itself would have no authority or power and will primarily focus on advising and offer input on the possible establishment of a future lake district. Any recommendations involving the creation of a lake district would ultimately still have to be acted on by the legislature, with state approval also likely being required.

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

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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.

The Chautauqua County Legislature during its August 2017 meeting.

MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Legislature has unanimously approved a 2018 budget that contains no tax increase.

During last night’s meeting, lawmakers approved a revised $234 million spending plan that contains a slight tax decrease of $0.04 per thousand, bringing the new tax rate to $8.44 per thousand assessed value for 2018.  That means for property valued at $100,000, the county tax will be $4 lower in 2018 than in 2017.

Legislator Pierre Chagnon (R-Bemus Point), who chairs the legislature’s Audit and Control Committee, said it was a group effort to bring the tax rate down, compared to what had been presented in County Executive Vince Horrigan’s (R-Bemus Point) initial spending plan.

“It was a tough mountain we had to climb this year, I said that when the county executive put out his tentative budget. It was a ten cent increase in the tax rate and we were hoping to have  a fourth year of a tax decrease,” Chagnon said following the meeting. “With the help of the chairman of the legislature, we let all the legislators know this was going to take team work and everyone had to come to the pump on this one, everyone’s got to be part of a solution here. So every member of the legislature contributed to this. We had even had department heads coming to us and saying, ‘I have a suggestion on how you can reduce my budget.’ Unbelievable. It was such a team effort this year and we climbed the mountain and we went over the top.”

Horrigan, who is not running for reelection this year, said that while his initial budget did call for a tax increase of 2 percent, he’s comfortable with what lawmakers did to finalize the budget and will sign off on it.

“I didn’t want for my last budget to submit a big property tax cut that I can ride out of town with and say, ‘Yay I did that.’ And leave it is some sort of last win for me. No. This has got to be something that is good for this county for the next five years and this budget will keep us financially stable with sufficient reserves through the year 2022. That has been my biggest goal,” Horrigan said.

The biggest adjustment lawmakers made to bring the spending down was a $350,000 cut in safety net funding – which is used to help families in need. Lawmakers agreed that fewer county residents were in need of that fund and as a result, felt it could be adjusted.

The county sheriff’s office also took a $235,000 hit in its budget, with $100,000 being eliminated from the jail budget.

Chautauqua County Sheriff Joe Gerace said was disappointed the funding was removed, especially for the county jail which has seen chronic over-crowding in recent years, but said he’ll do his best to make it work.

“Hopefully all the work that we are trying to put toward reforming the criminal justice system and rightsizing the county jail, having the people in there that truly belong there and making sure that we move others to state prison more rapidly will help, but it’s going to take the effort of a lot of people. Hopefully that will solve our issues and our budget will be okay. But I am concerned with unexpected board-out fees,” Gerace said.

According to the sheriff, the county pays $85 per day for every county inmate that has to be sent to a jail outside of the county due to exceeding maximum occupancy in the county jail.

It was the fourth year in a row that lawmakers were able to vote on a budget that actually included a tax decrease. That’s partly due to the sale of the Chautauqua County Home in 2014, along with an increase in the County Sales Tax in 2015. This year, the county also sold the south county office building, providing a one-time revenue generator of $1.7 million.

During Wednesday’s Public Safety Committee Meeting, Gerace provided information on shifts and time-off slots at the Chautauqua County Jail in an effort to illustrate who it’s important the county maintain the amount of overtime funding that was initially included in county executive Vince Horrigan’s proposed budget. During budget deliberations earlier this month, lawmakers recommended cutting $50,000 to overtime in the Sheriff’s Office as part of its effort an effort to rein in spending.

In addition, the Sheriff’s office also faces tentative cuts to the deputy sheriff’s road patrol and a decrease in food expenses at the jail. The total suggested decrease for the office equals $218,000.

Chautauqua County Public Defender Ned Barone was also on hand to discuss the proposed cutting of one assistant public defender in next year’s tentative budget. Following the conversation with Barone, the committee voted to restore funding for his office.

The county budget will be further discussed and finalized during the legislature’s meeting next Wednesday night in Mayville.