Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance
Minutes of the Board of Directors – Work Session
Thursday, October 9, 2025
4:30 p.m. at 201 West 3rd St. Jamestown, NY 14701 & via Zoom
Directors Present: Don Emhardt, Paul Wendel Jr., Pierre Chagnon, Andy Goodell, Larry Anderson, Jim Andrews, Martin Proctor
Directors Absent: JoDee Johnson, Mike LaTone
Staff in Attendance: Randall Perry – Alliance Executive Director and Jay Young – Alliance Communications Coordinator
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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 4:30 PM. A quorum of 7 out of 9 Alliance Board Members were present at the start of the meeting.
II. Approval of 9/11/2025 Board Work Session Minutes
A. Goodell made a motion to accept the minutes from the 9/11/2025 Work Session Meeting. The motion was seconded by D. Emhardt and was approved unanimously.
III. Financial Update
a.) Monthly & Quarterly Summary
R. Perry indicated that the meeting packet includes an updated financial summary report for September, along with quarterly reports prepared by the outside bookkeeper.
b.) Audit Committee Appointments
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance’s 2024 audit is due to be completed in November with a meeting planned between the auditor from Saxton Kocur and the Alliance’s Audit Committee. Once the committee approves the audit, it will be referred to the full Board at the 11/13 meeting before being filed with the state on or around 11/15.
R. Perry indicated that B. Erickson from the CLA and A. Troutman from the Village of Lakewood are currently serving three-year at-large terms on the committee and are willing to continue participating.
R. Perry indicated that the committee also needs three representatives from the Board, who will serve one-year terms. R. Perry indicated that P. Chagnon, D. Emhardt, and J. Andrews served last year and are willing to serve again if the Board chooses.
M. Proctor made a motion to appoint the following Board members to the Audit Committee for one-year terms: P. Chagnon (to serve as Committee Chair), D. Emhardt, and J. Andrews. The motion was seconded by A. Goodell and was passed unanimously.
IV. 2026 Alliance Consolidated Local Funding Program
R. Perry indicated that AJ Reyes of GEI Consultants is attending the meeting via Zoom to review and discuss Member requests submitted for the 2026 Consolidated Local Funding Program.
A. Reyes and R. Perry briefed the Board on the 2025-2026 Consolidated Local Funding Program process and submissions received by the Alliance from its Members. The Alliance received 10 applications totaling around $2.8 million in funding requests. The member applications included about $2,566,786 in lake maintenance requests, about $135,733 in other lake requests, and about $93,673 in watershed requests.
A. Reyes provided the Board feedback on the proposed projects.
R. Perry outlined to the Board for their consideration a $1,000,000 consolidated foundation funding request.
Discussion included plant survey utility and opportunities for potential streamlining; possible improvements for South Basin management; options for addressing nuisance growth of native plants; DEC permitting; shoreline cleanup methods and the role of property owners; comparability to other lakes in the state; CLA equipment priorities; invasive species programs; and starry stonewort.
A. Goodell made a motion to submit the proposed $1,000,000 consolidated foundation request. The motion was seconded by L. Anderson and was approved unanimously.
A. Goodell thanked R. Perry and A. Reyes for their work.
V. By-Law Amendment to Restructure Alliance Board of Directors to Include Representatives of the County, All Towns, All Villages, and the Three Service Providers (CLA, CLP, and CWC)
P. Chagnon presented the proposed amendment to the Alliance by-laws that would adjust the board structure to include 18 total seats – three County seats, a seat for each Town (five) and Village (four), and two seats each for the Chautauqua Lake Association, Chautauqua Lake Partnership, and Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy.
P. Chagnon indicated that the adjustments to the board structure triggered several other changes to the by-laws such as the board selection process, term lengths, and effective dates. P. Chagnon indicated that other minor items that no longer applied were also addressed with the amendment.
A. Goodell made a motion to accept the amendment to the Alliance by-laws. The motion was seconded by D. Emhardt and was approved unanimously (7 votes yes).
P. Chagnon indicated that with the amendment, certain Alliance documents (Election Policy, Election Procedure, and Governance Committee Charter) would be archived because they no longer apply but were used for actions in the past.
VI. Other
Reminders were shared regarding the upcoming Alliance Board meeting schedule, with a board/staff-only work session on 12/11 and a member/funder invited work session on 11/13.
P. Wendel recommended that North Carolina State University’s lakewide plant surveys be shared with GEI.
VII. Adjourn
P. Wendel made a motion to adjourn the October 9, 2025 meeting. The motion was seconded by L. Anderson and was passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:51 PM.
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The Alliance Board of Directors passed a motion to approve these 10/9/25 Meeting Minutes on 11/13/25.