Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance
Minutes of the Board of Directors – Work Session
Thursday, April 14, 2022
4:30 p.m. at the BWB Building, 201 West 3rd St. Jamestown, NY 14701 & via Zoom
Directors Present: Bruce Erickson, Don Emhardt (Zoom), David Shepherd (Zoom), Pierre Chagnon (Zoom), Mike Latone, Mary Hutchings (Zoom), and Paul (P.J.) Wendel, Jr. (Zoom)
Directors Absent: Rob Yates, Jim Andrews
Staff in Attendance: Randall Perry – Alliance Executive Director, Taylor West – Alliance Project Manager, and Jay Young–Communications Coordinator.
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I. Call to Order
B. Erickson called the Board Meeting of the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance (Alliance) to order at 4:31 PM. A quorum of 7 out of 9 Alliance Board Members were present at the start of the meeting.
II. Approval of the 3/10/2022 Board Meeting Minutes
M. Latone made a motion to accept the minutes from the 3/10/2022 Board Meeting. The motion was seconded by P. Wendel and was approved unanimously.
III. Alliance Committees
a.) Data Analysis & Research (DAR) Committee
D. Shepherd indicated there was no report from the Data Analysis & Research Committee.
B. Erickson indicated that the Committee was sent materials from the 03/23/2022 Lake Management Committee Meeting at his request.
b.) Lake Management Committee
M. Latone indicated that the Lake Management Committee met on 3/23/2022. M Latone indicated that the meeting included discussion of preliminary information related to herbicide treatments and permitting.
R. Perry indicated that the Lake Management Committee set its next meeting date for May 11, 2022. R. Perry indicated a Letter of Notification (LON) dated 4/5/22 and maps of proposed herbicide treatment areas with use restrictions have been posted on the Alliance website and are in the meeting packet.
B. Erickson asked about the location of the next Committee meeting.
R. Perry indicated that the meeting will be held at the BWB Building, 201 West 3rd St. in Jamestown at 4:30 p.m.
c.) Watershed Management Committee
R. Perry indicated that the Watershed Management Committee has not met since the previous Board Meeting. R. Perry indicated that Alliance staff have been speaking with Members about potential watershed projects for the upcoming New York State Consolidated Funding Application (CFA).
IV. Lake and Watershed Data and Information Update
R. Perry and T. West presented information to the Board regarding Alliance objectives, lake data and information, and the use of that data and information to help support those objectives and assist with decision making.
R. Perry indicated that Chautauqua Institution recently announced that it will host a Chautauqua Lake Water Quality Conference on June 18, with more details to follow.
B. Erickson indicated that portions of the information shared by R. Perry and T. West were shared at the 3/23/2022 Lake Management Committee meeting and then forwarded to the DAR Committee at his suggestion.
D. Shepherd indicated that the information update offered a useful synthesis of different data and initiatives, and indicated that he is looking forward to a continuation of the process.
A discussion followed regarding organizations conducting plant surveys and data collection on the lake.
P. Chagnon complimented staff for their work on the information update. P. Chagnon indicated that having different initiatives presented in a holistic narrative was helpful in understanding the big picture of how these efforts can complement one another.
V. 2022 Consolidated Foundation Grant Update
R. Perry indicated that contracts and payments for Consolidated Foundation Grants are in progress. R. Perry indicated that a few payments have been sent out to those who have executed contracts.
VI. 2022 Hultquist Foundation Grant Request Update
B. Erickson indicated that the Hultquist Foundation has provided $80,000 in grant funding for 2022 herbicide treatments.
R. Perry indicated that meeting materials provided to the Board include an updated funding table which includes the additional allocation from the Hultquist Foundation.
M. Hutchings asked for a clarification on when Consolidated Foundation Grant funding amounts were presented at a public meeting.
R. Perry indicated that grant funding was presented to the public at the March Board Meeting.
M. Latone asked for a clarification on the Hultquist Foundation Grant as it relates to distribution of the funding and the Chautauqua Lake Partnership.
A discussion followed of the specifics of the Hultquist Foundation Grant and administration of the herbicide treatment program.
M. Latone made a motion that the $80,000 Hultquist Foundation Grant for herbicides be granted to CLP who would then distribute funds based on actual costs. The motion was seconded by P. Chagnon.
D. Shepherd asked when the CLP anticipates the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) granting 2022 herbicide permits.
M. Latone indicated that the CLP anticipates hearing back from the NYSDEC regarding the 2022 curly-leaf pondweed permits during the week of 4/18/22. M. Latone indicated that the CLP anticipates receiving permit-related information for Eurasian watermilfoil approximately one week after the curly-leaf pondweed permits are received.
D. Shepherd asked if the Alliance has received the grant check from the Hultquist Foundation.
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance has received the check.
D. Shepherd asked about timing of the 2022 herbicide treatment program.
M. Latone indicated that the CLP anticipates the curly-leaf pondweed treatment occurring around late-April or early-May and the Eurasian watermilfoil treatment occurring around June.
Discussion occurred regarding municipal participation in the treatment program.
The motion was approved unanimously.
R. Perry asked for a clarification on the administration of herbicide program funds separate from those from the Hultquist Foundation. R. Perry indicated that the Village of Celoron submitted its own application for herbicide treatment, while other municipalities pursued herbicide treatment grants in partnership with CLP.
P. Chagnon recommended that R. Perry reach out to the Village of Celoron asking for a letter that authorizes direct payment to the CLP.
VII. Holmberg Foundation Grant Discussion
B. Erickson indicated that there is $5,000 remaining from the Holmberg Foundation’s 2021 grant to the Alliance. M. Latone asked if the grant was specific to a project. R. Perry indicated that the 2021 grant from the Holmberg Foundation was not specific to any particular lake or watershed project.
M. Latone made a motion that the remaining $5,000 balance of the grant be allocated for Town of Chautauqua Mobitrac shoreline cleanup. The motion was seconded by M. Hutchings.
D. Shepherd recommended that R. Perry contact M. Moore regarding a possible 2022 allocation to the Alliance.
M. Hutchings asked if the Mobitrac allocation should be made provisionally until approved by the Holmberg Foundation. R. Perry indicated that the funds that would be awarded to the Mobitrac program have already been secured by the Alliance and they have previously been approved by M. Moore for use on early season 2022 lake needs to be determined by the Alliance Board. R. Perry indicated that the award to the Mobitracs would be reported to the Holmberg Foundation after the Alliance Board makes the decision, but seeking permission from the Holmberg Foundation is not required.
The motion passed unanimously.
VIII. County Agency Allocation Discussion
B. Erickson indicated that $150,000 in County Agency Allocation funding has yet to be allocated.
B. Erickson provided information related to past uses of the County funds, projected CLA operating costs, and changes to this year’s CLA revenues compared to last year. B. Erickson indicated that as Chairman he would not make a motion but asked if the Board would consider allocations of $100,000 to CLA and $50,000 to CLP.
P. Wendel made a motion that $50,000 be allocated to the CLA and $50,000 to the CLP with the remaining $50,000 being kept in trust and determined at a later date.
After discussion, the motion was seconded by P. Chagnon and was passed unanimously.
IX. Alliance Board Election Procedure
B. Erickson indicated he was aware of three nominations for two available at-large positions and was not aware of any nominations for the one open municipal seat.
A discussion followed of election nominations. M. Latone indicated that he would follow up with some municipalities who may be interested in submitting a nominee.
R. Perry indicated that there was a discussion at the previous board meeting regarding nomination procedures for municipal seats.
B. Erickson indicated that clarification of those procedures can be addressed on an as-needed basis moving forward. The Board agreed that a municipal nomination of an elected official needs to be authorized by that municipality.
X. Staff Activities Update
a.) Communications Update
J. Young indicated that updates are continuing to be made on the Alliance website, including to the Projects menu which will serve as a repository of Alliance-partnered projects moving forward. J. Young indicated that the first three editions of the Chautauqua Current column have been published in The Post-Journal, and indicated that edition No. 4 is being drafted with a focus on watershed projects. J. Young indicated that a tentative schedule of future articles has been mapped out, and that Chautauqua Current columns can be found on the News menu of the Alliance website after they are published.
b.) NYS Soil & Water 2022 Water Quality Update
T. West indicated that staff attended a NYS Soil & Water Symposium recently hosted by the New York State Conservation District Employees Association. T. West indicated that soil health, auto-CAD drafting software, LIDAR, ArcGIS online, Survey 123, culvert design, and social media were some of the topics of these training sessions. T. West indicated that information from the symposium was already being put to use with Members, as staff had recently met with officials from the Town of North Harmony and Town of Ellery regarding potential stream and culvert projects.
XI. Other
No discussion occurred under this agenda item.
XII. Adjourn
M. Latone made a motion to adjourn at 6:04 p.m. The motion was seconded by D. Emhardt and carried unanimously.
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The Alliance Board of Directors passed a motion to approve these 04/14/2022 Meeting Minutes on 5/12/22.