Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance
Minutes of the Board of Directors – Work Session with Members & Funders
Thursday, January 8, 2026
4:30 p.m. at 201 West 3rd St. Jamestown, NY 14701 & via Zoom
Directors Present: Don Emhardt, Martin Proctor, Jim Andrews, Pierre Chagnon, Andy Goodell, Larry Anderson, Paul Wendel Jr., Jo Dee Johnson, Mike LaTone
Directors Absent: None
Staff in Attendance: Randall Perry – Alliance Executive Director and Jay Young – Alliance Communications Coordinator
Member and Funder Representatives in Attendance: Twan Leenders, Whitney Gleason – Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy; Heather Nolan-Caskey, Bruce Erickson – Chautauqua Lake Association; Dave McCoy – County of Chautauqua; Mike Moss– Village of Celoron; Karen Rine – South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer Districts; Leigh Rovegno – Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation; Rick Syper – Village of Mayville; Tory Irgang – Chautauqua Region Community Foundation; Jim Cirbus – Chautauqua Lake Partnership; Rob Yates – Town of North Harmony.
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I. Call to Order
P. Chagnon called the Board Meeting of the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance (Alliance) to order at 4:33 PM. A quorum of 8 out of 9 Alliance Board Members were present at the start of the meeting.
P. Chagnon thanked the meeting’s attendees and invited them to introduce themselves. After the introductions, P. Chagnon indicated that beginning next month, the Alliance’s new board of 18 directors would take effect.
II. Approval of 12/11/2025 Board Work Session Minutes
D. Emhardt made a motion to accept the minutes from the 12/11/2025 Work Session Meeting. The motion was seconded by J. Andrews and was approved unanimously.
A. Goodell asked if there was an update from DEC fisheries staff regarding Chautauqua Lake fish zones, which were discussed at the 12/11/2025 Board meeting.
R. Perry indicated he had received a response from DEC fisheries staff that day and will be providing that information to the Board along with feedback from GEI Consultants.
J. Cirbus asked what DEC’s response was.
R. Perry indicated that DEC fisheries staff indicated there are no comparable freshwater lakes in New York State with fish zones like Chautauqua. Some areas of the Hudson River and certain coastal waters did have protections for Atlantic sturgeon.
J. Cirbus indicated that was consistent with their prior understanding that Chautauqua Lake’s fish zones are unique.
III. Financial Update
R. Perry indicated that the meeting packet includes an updated financial summary report for December. R. Perry indicated that he is in the process of working with the Alliance’s outside bookkeeper to finalize the 2025 profit and loss statement and balance sheet, and that it should be available shortly.
A. Goodell and R. Perry discussed the breakdown of restricted/encumbered funds held by the Alliance versus non-restricted/non-encumbered funds.
A. Goodell asked if the Alliance is expecting any additional funds to be received before the new Board structure takes effect in February.
R. Perry indicated that no large amounts of additional funding are expected, but there may be small amounts of revenue generated by staff work on state grants.
IV. Alliance Consolidated Local Funding Program
a.) Approve and authorize execution of 2026 County Agency Allocation Agreement
R. Perry indicated that he has received a contract for the Alliance’s 2026 County Agency Allocation Agreement in the amount of $300,000. R. Perry thanked the County for its contribution to the organization.
A. Goodell and P. Wendel discussed the status of the County’s Occupancy Tax revenue over the past few years and how it may tie to Chautauqua Lake conditions and news.
A. Goodell made a motion authorizing R. Perry to execute the 2026 Agency Allocation contract with Chautauqua County. The motion was seconded by D. Emhardt and was passed unanimously. (Abstain: P. Wendel, M. Proctor, P. Chagnon).
b.) Hultquist Foundation application for 2026
R. Perry indicated that separate from the consolidated foundations grant, applications have also been submitted by the Alliance to the Hultquist Foundation since 2022, with funding awards ranging from $50,000 to $100,000.
R. Perry indicated that grant applications to the Hultquist Foundation are due near the end of February. R. Perry indicated that in 2025 the Alliance submitted a request for $100,000 to support the Chautauqua Lake Partnership’s herbicide program, and was awarded $50,000. R. Perry indicated that he recommended a similar approach this year.
M. Proctor indicated he agreed with R. Perry’s recommendation.
J. Cirbus asked if there was any leftover grant funding remaining from the 2025 Hultquist award.
R. Perry indicated there was not.
J. Cirbus indicated that he would be speaking with the Hultquist Foundation regarding their potential grant contributions.
M. Proctor made a motion authorizing R. Perry to submit a grant request of $100,000 to the Hultquist Foundation for the 2026 CLP-led herbicide program. The motion was seconded by J. Andrews and was passed unanimously (Abstain: J. Johnson, A. Goodell).
c.) Other
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance is still awaiting 2026 consolidated grant award responses from the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. R. Perry indicated that those awards should be announced in late February, and thanked the funders for their consideration.
J. Johnson asked about the status of the grant award from The Lenna Foundation.
R. Perry indicated that The Lenna Foundation awarded the Alliance $150,000 towards the local consolidated program in November.
A. Goodell asked if the requests made to the remaining two foundations are adjusted based on the results of the first foundation.
R. Perry indicated that the requests to all three foundations are the same and ask for the same overall amount that was determined by the Board in October. R. Perry indicated that he appreciated the opportunity to speak with each of the foundations about the overall needs and appreciated their generous financial support.
T. Irgang indicated that R. Perry has had productive dialogue with the CRCF regarding its many funding priorities and contributions to aid the lake.
P. Chagnon indicated that R. Perry has a good working relationship with the leadership of the local foundations.
V. Lake Management Consultant Update
R. Perry thanked everyone for their input during the 12/11/25 discussion with A. Reyes of GEI Consultants. R. Perry indicated that several GEI deliverables should be distributed shortly, including the end-of-year summary document. R. Perry indicated that discussions are ongoing regarding GEI’s proposed scope and budget for 2026, which will be shared with the Board soon. R. Perry thanked the Members for working with GEI in 2025.
P. Chagnon inquired about when and how the Board should anticipate receiving the written report for GEI’s year-end summary, recommending that it be distributed prior to the February Board meeting if possible.
R. Perry indicated that the draft would be shared with the Board electronically prior to the February Board meeting.
VI. Other
L. Anderson indicated that he liked the news article submitted to The Post-Journal by J. Young on 12/23/25 regarding the role of GEI Consultants and upcoming changes to the Alliance Board. L. Anderson suggested an article on the fisheries information shared by DEC in December.
J. Young thanked L. Anderson and indicated that he and R. Perry have had discussions about covering information on the lake’s fisheries in the next newspaper submission.
Discussion occurred regarding reported 2025 catch numbers on the lake for muskie, walleye, and bass.
A. Goodell asked what the submission schedule to the newspaper is for the Alliance’s Chautauqua Current articles.
J. Young indicated that the timing varies based on the time of year, what’s in the news, staff schedules, and other factors. He indicated that The Post-Journal has been very accommodating in running articles as they are submitted.
P. Chagnon indicated that he is scheduled to speak about the Alliance with a Post-Journal reporter soon.
P. Wendel indicated that he was also supportive of the recent article, as it helped build positive momentum towards lake improvement.
R. Perry thanked the CLP, CWC, CLA, and P. Chagnon for reviewing and providing feedback on the December article before it was published.
P. Chagnon indicated that anyone on the Board with potential article ideas should contact J. Young.
P. Wendel announced that the 2026 Chautauqua County Lake Symposium will be held on March 21. P. Wendel indicated that he would like it if GEI and A. Reyes’ work would be a primary focus. P. Wendel indicated that the County is currently working on organizing speakers and invitations.
J. Johnson indicated that she will no longer be serving on the Alliance Board following the changes in February, and thanked everyone for the opportunity to serve in the past.
The Alliance Board and staff thanked J. Johnson for her service as both a Board member and as its Secretary.
P. Chagnon indicated that Dr. Allison Hrycik of The Jefferson Project at Chautauqua Lake will be presenting to the County Legislature at the regular 1/28/26 meeting. P. Chagnon indicated that those interested are encouraged to watch via the County’s YouTube page.
VII. Adjourn
A. Goodell made a motion to adjourn the January 8, 2026 meeting. The motion was seconded by L. Anderson and was passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 5:08 PM.
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The Alliance Board of Directors passed a motion to approve these 1/8/26 Meeting Minutes on 2/12/26.