Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance
Minutes of the Board of Directors – Public Meeting
Thursday, January 13, 2022
4:30 p.m. at the The Lawson Center, 73 Lakeside Drive, Bemus Point, NY 14712 & via Zoom
Directors Present for Full Meeting: Pierre Chagnon, Bruce Erickson, Jim Andrews, Don Emhardt, David Shepherd, and Rob Yates (Zoom)
Directors Present for Part of the Meeting: Paul (P.J.) Wendel, Jr.
Directors Absent: Mary Hutchings, Mike Latone
Staff in Attendance: Randall Perry – Alliance Executive Director, Taylor West – Alliance Project Manager, and Jay Young–Communications Coordinator.
Others in Attendance: Linda Swanson– The Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation; Craig Butler; Peter Beeson; Cassie Pinkoski – Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD); Lisa Lynde –Chautauqua Region Community Foundation; Ruth Wahl; John Ford; and Tim Wright.
Member Representatives in Attendance: John Jablonski, Bill Ward, and Becky Nystrom– Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy; Doug Conroe and Debbie Moore–Chautauqua Lake Association; Dr. Jim Cirbus–Chautauqua Lake Partnership; Jim Wehrfritz – Town of Ellery, Louise Ortman– Town of North Harmony; Dave McCoy– County of Chautauqua, and John Shedd–Chautauqua Institution
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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 4:30 PM. A quorum of 6 out of 9 Alliance Board Members were present at the start of the meeting.
II. Approval of 12/9/2021 Board Work Session Minutes
D. Emhardt made a motion to accept the minutes from the 12/9/2021 Work Session Meeting. The motion was seconded by J. Andrews and was approved unanimously.
III. Projects Update
T. West gave the following projects update:
- 2015 County Round 12 Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) Grants – Streambank Stabilizations: Dutch Hollow Creek & West Dutch Hollow Creek: Phase I construction complete at Dutch Hollow Creek Main Stem (2018)Construction complete at West Dutch Hollow Creek (2018-2019) Dutch Hollow Creek Phase II Construction began in late-August and was completed in October 2021 (Engineer: Bergmann; Contractor: Rock of WNY)Final grant closeout and preparation of final reports are underway
- 2018-2021 Invasive Species Early Detection – Volunteer Task Force
- Water Chestnut (>100 plants) found/removed in Chautauqua Lake Outlet in June-August 2021
- Collaborative efforts among RTPI, ACNC, CWC, Alliance, and Volunteers
- Contact Alliance (Taylor West) to get involved
- To help observe/report on your own, please sign up for iMapInvasives: www.imapinvasives.org/
- Water Chestnut (>100 plants) found/removed in Chautauqua Lake Outlet in June-August 2021
- 2018 Lakewood Chautauqua Avenue Green Street Retrofit (NYSEFC GIGP)
- Final punch list items have been completed (Engineer: Barton & Loguidice; Contractor: Kingsview; Other construction services by Village DPW)
- Final grant closeout underway
- Key features include: permeable pavers in 3 intersections and curb areas (2 blocks) and a continuous tree trench with 11 storm water street trees planted in structural soils
- 2018 Busti Precision Swales Stabilization (NYSDEC WQIP)
- Final punch list items have been completed by Rock of WNY and EcoStrategies
- In-kind construction by the Town is in process
- 2018 Skimming Capital Equipment (NYSDEC WQIP)
- Skimmers delivered by Alpha Boats to CLA June 2021
- Skimmers in use on Chautauqua Lake supporting the Joint-Operations Program
- Grant close-out underway
- List of Alliance-partnered NYS grants that have been closed out:
- 2015 NYS Invasive Species Management Grant (C. Young Senate Initiative), closed ca. Apr 2019
- 2016 Lakewood-Busti Stormwater Mgmt. Engineering Study (DEC/EFC EPG), closed ca. Jan 2019
- 2013 Celoron Breakwall & Boardwalk LWRP Phase I Grant, closed ca. Sep 2018
- 2016 Celoron Breakwall & Boardwalk LWRP Phase II-III Grant, closed ca. Aug 2019
- 2017 Mayville-Chautauqua Stormwater Mgmt. Engineering Study (DEC/EFC EPG), closed ca. Feb 2020
- 2015 County Round 12 WQIP Streambank Stabilization Projects at Ball, Bemus, Goose, and Prendergast Creeks, closed ca. Oct 2020
- 2017 Celoron Park Improvement (Amenities Building) LWRP Phase IV Grant, closed ca. Mar 2021
IV. Alliance Committee
a.) Data Analysis and Research (DAR) Committee
D. Shepherd indicated that the DAR Committee has not met since the last update.
b.) Lake Management Committee
B. Erickson indicated that the Lake Management Committee had not met since the last update.
c.) Watershed Management Committee
R. Yates indicated that he was in the process of getting caught up to speed on relevant watershed projects as the new Watershed Management Committee Chairman. R. Yates indicated that he has been in contact with R. Perry, J. Jablonski and D. Spann of the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District (CCSWCD) about Committee matters.
J. Wehrfritz asked if the Committee had met recently.
R. Perry indicated that the Watershed Management Committee was in the process of scheduling a meeting, with prospective dates being proposed for the last week of January or first week of February.
VI. 2021 New York State Consolidated Funding Application (NYSCFA) Update
R. Perry gave the following update on Alliance-Partnered New York State Consolidate Funding Applications:
# | Project Name | Lead Applicant | NYS CFA Funding Source | Total Budget | NYS Grant Share | NYS Award Decision | Alliance Member Project Implementing Partners |
1 | Sewer Extension for West Side Chautauqua Lake Phase II | County of Chautauqua | NYSDEC WQIP | >$10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | Not awarded | |
2 | Grandview Stormwater Management Project | Village of Lakewood | NYSDEC WQIP | $ 312,580 | $ 250,064 | Awarded full funding | Village of Lakewood; Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Alliance |
3 | NCLSD North Chautauqua Lake Inflow & Infiltration Study | County of Chautauqua, NCLSD | NYSEFC EPG | $ 36,000 | $ 30,000 | Awarded full funding | NCLSD; County of Chautauqua |
4 | Town of Chautauqua Roadside Swales Stabilization Project | Town of Chautauqua | NYSDEC WQIP | $ 342,985 | $ 213,057 | Awarded full funding | Town of Chautauqua; Alliance |
5 | Ball Creek Stabilization Project | Town of North Harmony | NYSDEC WQIP | $ 219,390 | $ 175,512 | Awarded full funding | Town of North Harmony; Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy; Alliance |
6 | Chautauqua County Complex Green Infrastructure Retrofit Project | County of Chautauqua | NYSEFC GIGP | $1,396,010 | $ 1,256,409 | Not awarded | |
— | Total Requested | — | — | — | $11,925,042 | — | |
— | Total Awarded | — | — | $ 910,955 | $ 668,633 | — |
J. Wehrfritz asked if Chautauqua County’s announcement that it would use ARPA funding for the Phase II Sewer Extension affected the result of the NYSCFA grant application for the same project.
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance has not received any information from the state regarding the decision to not fund the Phase II Sewer Extension NYSCFA.
J. Wehrfritz asked if New York State was aware of the County’s allocation of ARPA funding for Phase II.
R. Perry indicated that the NSYCFA was submitted in late July 2021, and that the County’s ARPA funding announcement took place after that submission.
VI. Other
No discussion occurred under this agenda item.
VII. Open Floor: Member Representatives and Community Members in Attendance
J. Shedd indicated that The Jefferson Project would be presenting data/information from the past year of research on Chautauqua Lake to County representatives on Jan 14, 2022. J. Shedd indicated that the information from that presentation may be distributed to other stakeholders after that meeting.
B. Erickson indicated that he was anxiously awaiting news.
J. Shedd indicated that Chautauqua Institution has hired a Lake Project Manager, and that the person filling that position would be taking on some of his current duties. J. Shedd indicated he was not able to announce the name of the new staff member at this time, but indicated that many of those present would know the individual and be pleased with the decision.
B. Erickson indicated that the new person would be welcome at Alliance Board meetings and thanked J. Shedd for his work.
J. Wehrfritz asked if this new position was being announced in addition to another recent hire by Chautauqua Institution.
J. Shedd indicated that was correct, stating that the Institution recently hired a Climate Change Initiative Director, and that the Lake Project Manager will report to them.
J. Wehrfritz asked if The Jefferson Project was reporting their findings to the County because they provided them with funding.
J. Shedd indicated that was correct.
L. Ortman asked for an update regarding Alliance Consolidated Local Funding Program grants for potential herbicide use.
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance is awaiting funding award announcements from the participating Foundations to determine how much total funding will be available for Consolidated Local Funding Program grants. R. Perry indicated that he currently did not have an update on awards to members for 2022 projects, but he anticipated having an update within the next several weeks. R. Perry indicated that as soon as the Board received that information they would finalize individual member grants and issue award letters as soon as possible.
L. Ortman asked when the deadline to submit a grant application was.
R. Perry indicated that the deadline was in September of 2021, and that the Alliance had submitted a consolidated foundation request of $800,000 to the participating foundations.
J. Wehrfritz indicated he understood that the Consolidated Local Funding Program grant awards would be announced in January.
R. Perry indicated that in November, Members were informed that January and February were the timetables for hearing funding award announcements from all of the Foundations. R. Perry said that the Foundations had indicated a late January or early February timeline for their funding announcements.
J. Wehrfritz indicated that in light of that, the first opportunity for the public to discuss the funding awards with the Alliance would be at the March public Board meeting.
R. Perry indicated that as soon as the Alliance Board is able to finalize awards, those announcements will be made as quickly as possible.
J. Wehrfritz indicated that the March Board meeting would be the first opportunity for public discussion.
R. Perry indicated that it is correct that March is the next scheduled public board meeting.
J. Wehrfritz asked if there were any delays in responses from the Foundations.
R. Perry indicated there were no delays, and that the Foundations were following the decision schedules they had announced when Alliance funding requests were made. R. Perry indicated that those timetables were communicated to Members submitting requests. R. Perry indicated that the Alliance is just one of many organizations seeking funding from the Foundations, and thanked the Foundations for all the work they are doing.
J. Shedd indicated that Chautauqua Institution and The Jefferson Project have been working closely with the office of Governor Kathy Hocul on harmful algal blooms (HABs) research. J. Shedd indicated that that Gov. Hocul mentioned HABs initiatives in her State of the State address, and indicated that Chautauqua Institution was in the process of developing a framework for a public/private partnership to address HABs in New York State. J. Shedd indicated that The Jefferson Project and The FUND For Lake George are also involved in this initiative.
VIII. Adjourn
P. Chagnon made a motion to adjourn the January 13, 2022 meeting. The motion was seconded by J. Andrews and was passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 4:46 p.m.
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The Alliance Board of Directors passed a motion to approve these 1/13/22 Meeting Minutes on 2/17/22.