Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance

Chautauqua NY

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January 2024 Minutes

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Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance

Minutes of the Board of Directors – Public Meeting

Thursday, January 11, 2024

4:30 p.m. at The Lawson Center, 73 Lakeside Drive, Bemus Point, NY 14712 & via Zoom

Directors Present: Bruce Erickson, Don Emhardt, Ellen Barnes, Jim Andrews, Paul (P.J.) Wendel, Jr. (via Zoom), Martin Proctor

Directors Absent: Janis Bowman, Mike LaTone, JoDee Johnson

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

Others in Attendance: Craig Butler

Member Representatives in Attendance: Louise Ortman – Town of North Harmony, John Jablonski, Becky Nystrom – Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy; John Ford, Doug Conroe – Chautauqua Lake Association; Dick Gunnell– Chautauqua Institution, Cassie Pinkoski – Chautauqua County Soil & Water Conservation District, Jim Cirbus – Chautauqua Lake Partnership; Dave McCoy – Chautauqua County.

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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. B. Erickson acknowledged the recent passing of Joe Johnson, expressing condolences and gratitude for his many years of dedicated service to the community through his work with The Lenna Foundation and his many other endeavors.

II. Approval of 12/14/2023 Board Work Session Minutes

D. Emhardt made a motion to accept the minutes from the 12/14/2023 Work Session Meeting. The motion was seconded by M. Proctor and was approved unanimously.

III. Financial Update

a.) Monthly Summary Report

R. Perry indicated that the meeting packet includes an updated financial summary report. R. Perry indicated that the summary includes information related to account balances, as well as grant awards made to Alliance Members.

IV. Projects Update

a.) Project Manager Update

T. West provided the following Project Manager updates:

1. 2021 Water Quality Improvement Projects

a. Village of Lakewood Grandview Stormwater Management Project

i. This summer and fall the contractor, Rock of Western New York performed site clearing, roughed-in swales, wetland complexes, and vernal pools, installed phosphorus binding media, trees, shrubs, catch basins, pipe, and an access road. Additional planting and touchup work is anticipated to occur this spring and summer.

ii. Although this project is not complete, it is already working to help Chautauqua Lake. The stormwater flow path has been elongated and routed through a series of swales and wetland complexes that are working to intercept sediment and stormwater in order to reduce the frequency and duration of downstream flooding and sediment loading to the lake. Actiguard-R phosphorus binding media that has been installed in rock outlet structures is working to intercept phosphorus and other constituents before they leave the site. Once vegetation gets established this spring and summer, additional sediment and nutrient reduction is anticipated to occur.

iii. Water quality improvement and flood reduction by the numbers:

1. Approx. 1,000 cubic yards of sediment eroded from the site prior to implementation

a. The erosion blowouts have been filled and stormwater rerouted via swales and wetland complexes

2. Storage: The project was designed to have approximately 100,000 cubic feet of stormwater storage. This should help to reduce the frequency and duration of flooding in downstream areas and reduce downstream erosion.

b. Town of North Harmony Ball Creek Stabilization Project

i. Legend Excavating LLC commenced construction in mid-September on phase 2 of the project, which can be seen from the east-bound side of I86 near Exit 8-Lakewood Mayville. The contractor completed the stabilization of approximately 400 linear feet of highly eroded streambank in October. Minor remaining tasks were also completed. They also reshaped and graded banks to allow the stream to access the floodplain. A grade control structure was installed to reduce velocity. Log veins were installed to help redirect flows away from the stabilized bank and towards the center of the channel. A variety of plants from willow livestakes to native seed mixes were installed in riparian and floodplain areas to bolster the stabilization and provide additional water quality benefits. In addition to this work, the County, Town of North Harmony and Rock of Western New York completed work on Phase 1 of the project located near the Ashville Fire Department on Stow Road in 2022. Phase 1 involved the stabilization of approximately 120 linear feet of streambank. In addition to bank stabilization, a floodplain bench was created to help dissipate velocities and intercept sediment and nutrients. Willow livestakes and many other plants were installed in the riparian zone and floodplain bench area to provide additional stabilization and water quality benefits. Prior to project implementation, erosion at this site had progressed over the years and was threatening Stow Road. The engineer calculated that ~635 cubic yards of sediment had eroded from this area from 2012 to 2021 or ~70.6 cubic yards per year (~7 dump truck loads per year).

c. Town of Chautauqua Roadside Swales Stabilization Project

i. The engineer, Barton and Loguidice is progressing the draft design.

d. All 2021 WQIPs: We submitted reimbursement requests for all three of these projects. Payment by NYS is in progress.

2. 2022 Nonpoint Source Planning Grants

i. We’re working with the grantees to execute contracts with NYS. This process is nearing completion.

ii. We just started drafting an RFP for the Chautauqua Culvert Assessments NPG.

3. 2023 WQIP and NPG Grants

i. I talked to NYS last week and they indicated that they plan on announcing awards for these programs at the end of January.

The following additional project information was provided in a meeting handout:

  • 2018-2023 Invasive Species Early Detection – Volunteer Task Force
    • Water Chestnut: ~250 plants found/removed in Chautauqua Lake Outlet from June-September 2023. Status: Active monitoring and management in progress based on site specific conditions.
      • Collaborative efforts among CWC, Alliance, WNY PRISM, and Volunteers
      • Alliance staff pulled and removed water chestnut plants from the outlet on 6/29/23 (one plant), 7/28/23 (garbage bag), and 8/25/23 (garbage bag) during sonar surveys. The plants were reported and uploaded to iMap Invasives.
      • CWC, Alliance staff and 1 volunteer found and removed ~200 plants from outlet on 9/6/23.
    • Starry Stonewort: CWC found Starry Stonewort again in Chautauqua Lake in Ashville Bay (~3ac) and near Prendergast Point (~11ac) in August 2023. North Carolina State University recently documented starry stonewort in multiple areas of the lake. Lake-wide acreage based on occurrence is estimated at around 90 acres.
      • Starry Stonewort Modified Mobitrac Pilot Project in Ashville Bay
        • CWC-led project that used 2 Town of Chautauqua-operated Mobitracs, 2 CLA-operated skimmers, and 1 County-owned conveyor to remove dense starry stonewort from an ~1.5ac area near Ashville Bay Marina in late-September.
    • Brittle Naiad: This invasive aquatic plant species was recently found near the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel, Celoron Marinas, and in the outlet. Status: Needs updated monitoring/management plan
    • Contact the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy (CWC) to get involved
  • 2021 Town of North Harmony Ball Creek Stabilization Project (NYSDEC WQIP)
    • Legend Excavating LLC commenced construction in mid-September. Majority of construction completed in October. Minor remaining tasks completed in January 2024. 
    • Reimbursement request submitted to NYS and paid by NYS.
  • 2021 Town of Chautauqua Roadside Swales Stabilization Project (NYSDEC WQIP)
    • Engineering by Barton and Loguidice underway. Draft design nearing completion.
    • Reimbursement request submitted to NYS
  • 2022 Town of Chautauqua Stream Culvert Assessments (NYSDEC NPG)
    • Contract execution with NYS underway
    • Preparation of engineering RFP in process
  • 2022 Village of Lakewood Commercial Corridor Stormwater Engineering Study – Mall Boulevard
    • Contract execution with NYS underway
  • 2022 Town of North Harmony Ball Creek Stabilization Engineering Study Phase II
    • Contract execution with NYS 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, Prendergast, Dutch Hollow (Phase 1 & 2), and West Dutch Hollow Creeks, closed ca. April 2022
    • 2017 Celoron Park Improvement (Amenities Building) LWRP Phase IV Grant, closed ca. Mar 2021
    • 2018 Lakewood Chautauqua Avenue Green Street Retrofit (NYSEFC GIGP), closed ca. Jan 2022
    • 2018 County Round 15 Skimming Capital Equipment (NYSDEC WQIP), closed ca. Apr 2022
    • 2018 Village of Lakewood and Town of Busti Precision Swale Stormwater Retrofits (NYSDEC WQIP), closed ca. September 2022

Additional information is available on the Alliance website Projects page and in our Annual Reports:

V. Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Presentation on Forest Coverage and Water Quality in the Chautauqua Lake Watershed

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Special Projects Coordinator John Jablonski delivered a presentation concerning forest coverage and water quality in the lake’s watershed. J. Jablonski indicated that the Collaborative Regional Conservation Implementation Strategy outlined in his presentation will provide expanded awareness of the importance and timeliness of collaborative regional conservation efforts, identify our region’s areas of greatest conservation priority, and guide land acquisition, environmental improvements, land use, and climate resilience planning efforts. A copy of the presentation was provided to meeting attendees.

VI. Other  

R. Perry indicated that the meeting materials include information on the recently announced Chautauqua County Lakes and Waterways Grant Programs, including the new In-Lake Fast Track program. R. Perry indicated that applications for that program are due to the County by February 15, 2024. R. Perry indicated that applications to the 2025 In-Lake program are due on April 1, 2024, and that applications to the 2025 Watershed program are also due April 1, 2025.

R. Perry indicated that the meeting materials also include a press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation explaining that the period for public comments on the proposed new wetlands regulation is now open, and how the public can submit comments.   

VII. Open Floor: Member Representatives and Community Members in Attendance.

B. Nystrom thanked J. Jablonski for his presentation, and indicated that watershed management is closely related to climate resiliency. B. Nystrom indicated that it is important to prioritize this work locally to address issues such as conserving drinking water sources and mitigating flooding.

J. Jablonski indicated that CWC Executive Director Whitney Gleason recently gave birth to a baby boy, and congratulated her.

J. Jablonski indicated that it might be prudent to schedule an Alliance Watershed Management Committee meeting soon.

R. Perry indicated that in the past the Committee has scheduled a meeting around the time that NYSDEC Consolidated Funding Application grants are announced, and that those 2024 announcements should be forthcoming.  

VIII. Adjourn

D. Emhardt made a motion to adjourn the January 11, 2024 meeting. The motion was seconded by E. Barnes and was passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 4:59 PM.

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The Alliance Board of Directors passed a motion to approve these 1/11/2024 Meeting Minutes on 2/29/24.