Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance

Minutes of the Board of Directors – Work Session

Thursday, February 29, 2024

3:00 p.m. at the BWB Building, 201 West 3^rd St. Jamestown, NY 14701 & via Zoom

Directors Present: Bruce Erickson, Ellen Barnes, Don Emhardt, Paul (P.J.) Wendel, Jr., Janis Bowman, Jim Andrews, JoDee Johnson, Martin Proctor

Directors Absent: Mike LaTone

Staff in Attendance: Randall Perry – Alliance Executive Director, Taylor West – Alliance Project Manager, and Jay Young – Alliance Communications Coordinator

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I. Call to Order

B. Erickson called the Board Meeting of the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance (Alliance) to order at 3:00 p.m. A quorum of 8 out of 9 Alliance Board Members were present at the start of the meeting.

II. Approval of 1/11/2024 Board Meeting Minutes

D. Emhardt made a motion to accept the minutes from the 1/11/24 Board Meeting. The motion was seconded by P. Wendel and was passed unanimously.

III. Financial Report

R. Perry indicated that the meeting packet includes an updated financial summary report. R. Perry indicated that the latest report includes an end-of-year 2023 balance sheet and a profit and loss statement. R. Perry thanked E. Barnes for her review of the materials.

M. Proctor made a motion to accept the financial report as presented. The motion was seconded by J. Andrews and was passed unanimously.

IV. Alliance Board of Directors 2024 Election Update

R. Perry indicated that the terms of both D. Emhardt and B. Erickson will be expiring as of the May 9, 2024 annual meeting. R. Perry indicated that both D. Emhardt and B. Erickson are eligible to be re-nominated for election in 2024. R. Perry indicated that D. Emhardt currently occupies a municipal seat while B. Erickson occupies an at-large seat. R. Perry indicated election results will be tallied at the annual meeting at The Lawson Center, which will be followed by the regular Alliance public board meeting. R. Perry indicated that any questions related to the 2024 election can be directed to him, and indicated that an election overview will be distributed to Members at the Alliance March public meeting and via email.

B. Erickson indicated that he will not be eligible to serve another term as Board chair.

R. Perry indicated that both B. Erickson (Chair) and D. Emhardt (Vice Chair) will not be eligible to serve another term in their respective officer seats. R. Perry indicated that officers can change or swap seats, and noted that there is a limit of three consecutive one-year terms for officers. 

V. Alliance Committees Updates

R. Perry indicated that a Watershed Management Committee meeting has been scheduled for March 19 at the Town of North Harmony municipal building at 4 p.m. R. Perry indicated that the meeting will be available via Zoom. R. Perry indicated that a Lake Management Committee has not been scheduled yet, but noted that the Committee had discussed scheduling a meeting sometime in March or April.

VI. 2023 Alliance Consolidated Local Funding Program

a.) Request for No Cost Time Extension for Chautauqua Institution stream station grant (#23-05a-CIN)

R. Perry indicated that the Institution’s construction of stream stations is scheduled to be completed in April. R. Perry indicated that final payments from the grant still need to be made in 2024 via a no cost time extension.

D. Emhardt made a motion to authorize a no-cost time extension through 5/31/2024 for the Chautauqua Institution stream station grant. The motion was seconded by E. Barnes and was passed unanimously.

b.) CWC Invasives Taskforce and Starry Stonewort Management Project Unspent Funds from 2023 grant

R. Perry indicated that he has received a final report for the 2023 CWC Invasive Species Program. R. Perry indicated that there are $5,831 in unexpended funds from that program. R. Perry indicated that if desired the Board could authorize the carryover of those funds for the same program’s use in 2024, which would be consistent with what was done for other 2023 projects that had unexpended funds.

P. Wendel made a motion to authorize the carryover of 2023 unexpended funds for the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Invasive Species Program for the same use in 2024. The motion was seconded by J. Bowman and was passed unanimously.

VII. Chautauqua Lake Association Operating Costs Update

B. Erickson provided those in attendance with a document outlining the Chautauqua Lake Associations 2023 expense budget. B. Erickson indicated that a desire for this document has come up in several discussions.

VIII. Authorize Execution of 2024 Grant Agreements – Sheldon Foundation, CRCF, and County

R. Perry indicated that the meeting materials include information on 2024 grant awards the Alliance has received from the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, The Lenna Foundation, and Chautauqua County.

J. Johnson indicated she thought that the Chautauqua County grant award was for $500,000, not the $300,000 that is presented.

R. Perry indicated that the County has other funds budgeted for lakes throughout the County, but that the grant award in question is the Alliance’s $300,000 agency allocation.

D. Emhardt made a motion authorizing R. Perry to execute 2024 grant agreements with the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, and Chautauqua County. The motion was seconded by E. Barnes and was passed unanimously (Abstain: P. Wendel).

IX. Chautauqua Institution Jefferson Project Data Dashboard Proposal and Funding Request

R. Perry indicated that the meeting materials include a proposal from Chautauqua Institution to develop an online data dashboard, which would display data from Jefferson Project sensors. R. Perry indicated that Toby Shepherd is continuing to work under contract with the Institution on this project. R. Perry indicated that the proposal includes a request of $5,870 in funds from the Alliance for this work. R. Perry indicated that this dashboard would likely include data from the stream stations (currently under construction) as well as vertical profilers when deployed.

J. Johnson asked why funding for this dashboard was not included in the larger funding allocations made to The Jefferson Project. J. Johnson asked what their reporting requirements are.

R. Perry indicated that The Jefferson Project recently released its full report, and that the creation of this dashboard could be seen as an above-and-beyond feature of public data communication.

J. Bowman and E. Barnes indicated that the dashboard would be a nice feature for public display of the data. E. Barnes asked about the intended purpose of the dashboard.

P. Wendel indicated that transparency is an important objective, and that this is one way to deliver information collected by The Jefferson Project to the public.

J. Bowman indicated that data dashboards are becoming more popular.

R. Perry indicated that the Alliance currently has unallocated funds intended for The Jefferson Project remaining from when the program was first brought to work on Chautauqua Lake in 2020. R. Perry indicated that these funds are outlined in the Alliance’s most recent audited financial statements.

M. Proctor made a motion authorizing a grant award of $5,870 to Chautauqua Institution for the Jefferson Project Data Dashboard with funding coming from this Jefferson Project support account. The motion was seconded by J. Andrews and was passed unanimously.

X. 2024 Alliance Local Funding

a.) Status of Consolidated Foundation Grant Requests to Lenna, Sheldon, and CRCF

R. Perry indicated that the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation awarded $100,000 to the Alliance for the consolidated grant request, bringing the total received from the CRCF, the Sheldon Foundation, and The Lenna Foundation to $591,666 in response to the $800,000 request approved by the Board in October 2023. R. Perry presented a summary of the $591,666 overall grant award received from the foundations, compared the award to the $800,000 funding request that was submitted to the foundations, and provided a suggestion to the Board on distributing the overall foundation grants to the individual projects.

R. Perry outlined the funds that were carried over from 2023 for use in 2024 and how they were factored into the suggested distribution. R. Perry indicated that some carryover funds were approved previously by the Board to be used for the same program in 2024. These include $17,447 for the Town of Chautauqua’s Mobitrac program, $118,898 for the CLP’s herbicide program, $20,000 for the Mobitrac joint operations fund, and $5,831 for the CWC’s aquatic invasive species program. R. Perry indicated that the remainder of the carryover funds are held in the Lake Maintenance Operations and Capital Fund, totaling $47,332, and are not yet designated for a specific project. R. Perry indicated that the current available balance in the Fund reflects the removal of $50,000 that was obligated by the Board last fall and will be used as match for the two recently awarded state grants for starry stonewort control.  

b.) County 2024

R. Perry indicated that the Alliance has received a $300,000 agency allocation grant award from Chautauqua County for 2024.

c.) Alliance Lake Maintenance Operations and Capital Fund

R. Perry provided this update as part of section X(a).

d.) Hultquist Foundation 2024 – email vote authorizing submission of grant application

R. Perry indicated that no new funding has been secured yet for 2024, but he submitted a $100K grant request for the CLP/municipal-led herbicide program with a decision expected in April.

e.) Holmberg Foundation 2024

R. Perry indicated that no new funding has been secured yet for 2024, but if funds are awarded, they are typically announced sometime in May or June.

f.) Board Discussion on 2024 Awards to Alliance Members

J. Johnson asked about the funding level proposed for the herbicide program.

B. Erickson indicated that there are significant carryover funds for that program that were not expended in 2023 which will be available in 2024.

J. Johnson indicated that the program’s request for funding was lower initially, taking into account the carry over funds. J. Johnson indicated that the program is hoping to have a budget for proposed treatment of curly-leaf pondweed in April.

R. Perry indicated that there will be other funds for 2024 that could be used to supplement certain lake management projects at the Board’s direction as budgets are solidified. 

B. Erickson indicated that the Chautauqua Lake Association historically begins hiring seasonal workers in April. B. Erickson noted that the state minimum wage has been increased. B. Erickson asked if it is fair for organizations with taxing abilities, like municipalities, to compete against not-for-profits for funding.

A discussion followed of the Village of Mayville’s catch basin sweeper/vacuum truck rental project, including whether it could be achieved using shared services.

A discussion followed of Alliance operational funding needs and recent changes to the County’s bed tax law.

J. Bowman asked if there was any new information about the CLP’s starry stonewort project.

J. Johnson indicated that they are looking at the potential use of two algaecides and one herbicide. J. Johnson indicated that pilot test sites are being considered near the Lakewood boat launch as well as offshore near the end of Townline Road. J. Johnson indicated that they will not conflict with the areas being planned for management with DASH. J. Johnson indicated that treatment costs will be approximately $1,000 per acre, plus permitting.

T. West outlined the two New York State Invasive Species grants which have been secured by the Town of North Harmony and Town of Chautauqua. T. West indicated that these are each $100,000 grants that will be used to address starry stonewort via diver-assisted suction harvesting.

P. Wendel indicated that the County Budget does also have $500,000 allocated for lake maintenance. P. Wendel indicated that some of those funds will be used to help with improvements at Dunkirk Harbor. P. Wendel expressed his support for early season harvesting of areas of dense curly-leaf pondweed growth. P. Wendel indicated that when this approach was taken in the past in Dewittville Bay, the results were good.

A discussion followed on a boat-use fee as a potential new source of funding in the future.

A discussion followed on the state’s new wetland regulations including the importance of clear, accurate, and consistent communications between state and local officials and among stakeholder groups.

A discussion followed regarding the importance of providing members an idea of their 2024 funding as soon as possible, especially for those projects that need funds early in the season like curly-leaf pondweed management.

The Board approved the following 2024 allocations from the $591,666 received from the CRCF, the Sheldon Foundation, and The Lenna Foundation. The motion was made by J. Johnson, seconded by D. Emhardt and passed unanimously.

PROJECT	AWARD
Town of Chautauqua: Mobitrac near shore cleanup	$53,500
Chautauqua Lake Association: 2024 All-Inclusive Operational Support	$212,570
Chautauqua Lake Partnership on behalf of Town of Ellery, Town of Ellicott, Town of North Harmony, Town of Busti, Village of Bemus Point, Village of Celoron, and Village of Lakewood: Herbicide Treatments for Curly Leaf Pondweed and/or Eurasian Watermilfoil (Combined grant up to amount shown, contingent on 2024 NYSDEC permits)	$59,570
Chautauqua Lake Partnership: Algaecides for Starry Stonewort	$10,000
Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy: 2024 Chautauqua Lake Aquatic Invasive Species Early Detection Volunteer Taskforce	$12,400
Chautauqua Lake Partnership: Lake Surveys	$25,000
Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy: Watershed Technical Assistance and Stormwater Management Program	$58,626
Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy: Stormwater mitigation study – Goose Creek engineered wetlands concept development and engineering (Towns of North Harmony & Busti)	$10,000
Mobitrac Joint Operations Support Fund	$25,000
Alliance Operational Support	$125,000
TOTAL	$591,666

g.) Other

P. Wendel indicated that the County will be hosting a lake symposium with presentations by scientific researchers at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel on June 2. P. Wendel also indicated that he is in discussions with D. Emhardt and Ellery Town Supervisor Larry Anderson about looking at the feasibility of installing municipal sewers on the remaining unsewered section along the lake. P. Wendel indicated that communication with NYS continues regarding improved salt management on and around the I-86 Bridge. P. Wendel indicated that there will be an upcoming meeting with the County’s mayors and town supervisors where they plan to discuss the state’s new wetlands law.

XI. Other

a.) 2023 New York State Grants Updates

T. West indicated that five new state grant awards to members were recently announced totaling about $714,000 in NYS funds and about $885,000 in total value. The new grants were prepared and submitted by Alliance staff in partnership with each member and will help address invasive species, stormwater infrastructure, sediment and nutrient management, and flooding reduction. The new grants include the Prendergast Point Starry Stonewort Control Project (Town of Chautauqua), the Ashville Bay Starry Stonewort Control Project (Town of North Harmony), the Carpenter-Pringle Road Stream Culvert Replacement WQIP (Town of North Harmony), the Fairmount Avenue Constructed Wetland WQIP (Village of Lakewood), and the Bemus Creek Sediment and Debris Management Plan NPG (County of Chautauqua). T. West indicated that with these additions, the Alliance staff is now managing 11 NYS grants with a total value of around $1.86 million. T. West expressed thanks to all of the individuals and organizations who have been involved with these projects.   

b.) Chautauqua Lake Data and Reporting Updates

R. Perry briefed the board on recent updates from Chautauqua Lake data reports, including plant surveys by SUNY Oneonta and North Carolina State University, the insect herbivore report authored by Rooney’s Aquatic Biologists, and The Jefferson Project’s final report. He indicated that links to the reports are available on the Alliance website.

c.) Other Outside Funding

B. Erickson indicated that he has asked staff to research new sources of funding, potentially from corporate donors or charitable foundations from outside of the area. B. Erickson indicated that there is a recent push by some of these organizations to take a more hands-off approach to their giving and allow not-for-profits to conduct their work with less reporting and red tape.

XII. Adjourn

P. Wendel made a motion to adjourn the February 29, 2024 Board meeting. The motion was seconded by D. Emhardt and was passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 5:03 PM.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Alliance Board of Directors passed a motion to approve these 2/29/24 Meeting Minutes on 3/14/24.