Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance
Minutes of the Board of Directors – Work Session Meeting
Thursday, April 8, 2021
4:30 p.m. via ZOOM
Directors Present: Pierre Chagnon, Ted McCague, Bruce Erickson, Jim Andrews, David Shepherd, Rob Yates, and Mike Latone
Directors Present for Part of the Meeting: Mike Jabot
Absent: Paul (P.J.) Wendel, Jr.
Staff in Attendance: Randall Perry – Alliance Executive Director and Taylor West – Alliance Project Manager.
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 8 out of 9 Alliance Board Members were present at the start of the meeting.
II. Approval of 3/11/2021 Minutes
T. McCague made a motion to accept the minutes from the 3/11/2021 Public Board Meeting. The motion was seconded by M. Jabot and was approved unanimously.
III. Alliance Committees Update
a.) Alliance Data Analysis and Research (DAR) Committee Update
M. Jabot indicated that the Committee met this week. M. Jabot indicated that the Committee members have started looking into internal loading per the Board’s request. M. Jabot indicated that the Committee is excited for this opportunity. M. Jabot thanked R. Yates for assisting with a few Committee-related questions. M. Jabot indicated that the Committee intends on using the May and June Committee meetings to draft a summary document. M. Jabot indicated that the committee intends on drafting a document that would be flexible to incorporate updates as new information becomes available.
R. Yates indicated that everyone is doing all that they can for the lake and indicated that this is our time to make a difference.
R. Perry indicated that the 2021 Chautauqua Lake Water Quality Research Panel will occur on Saturday April 10 at 9:30 AM. R. Perry indicated that a recording of the video would be available sometime in the spring.
R. Perry indicated that the internal loading task was a result of the joint DAR-Board meeting on March 3, 2021, where J. Johnson gave a presentation on Bowling Green State University’s research on Chautauqua Lake.
R. Perry indicated that P. Chagnon reached out to the County Department of Health with preliminary data from BGSU to inquire about the elevated nutrient concentrations in some of Chautauqua Lake’s tributaries. R. Perry indicated that he and P. Chagnon had a good meeting with B. Boria and E. Beers. R. Perry indicated that B. Boria recommended performing longitudinal sampling upstream in the tributaries with elevated nutrient concentrations. R. Perry indicated that he reached out to G. Bullerjahn and J. DeMarco to gauge their interest in performing some additional tributary sampling. R. Perry indicated that they are willing to do additional sampling in 2021 to try to further assess potential source(s) of these elevated nutrient concentrations. R. Perry indicated that he and P. Chagnon had a good conversation with B. Boria regarding harmful algal bloom monitoring and reporting. R. Perry indicated that the County Health Department monitors and reports on the water quality at the public bathing beaches and posts information on the Department’s website. R. Perry indicated that NYHABS is a good publically accessible database where the public can get close to real time information on reported algal blooms on Chautauqua Lake as well as other lakes in the State.
P. Chagnon indicated that he was pleased with how engaged the County Health Department was on these topics. P. Chagnon indicated that it was a great meeting.
R. Yates indicated that their support is greatly needed.
b.) Alliance Lake Management Committee Update
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance is looking to schedule a meeting on either 4/19 or 4/20 to look at the curly-leaf pondweed conditions. R. Perry indicated that the Alliance is hopeful to have news regarding NYSDEC aquatic herbicide permits. R. Perry indicated that the Alliance intends on sharing information on the conditions from 2020, along with current conditions.
M. Latone indicated that the permits may be issued towards the end of April and indicated that he is hopeful for an early May treatment.
B. Erickson indicated that he has been working with M. Latone to resolve questions raised by the Town of Ellery’s letter to the NYSDEC. B. Erickson indicated that the CLA has concerns about the NYSDEC’s response to the Town of Ellery. B. Erickson indicated that the letter indicates that the CLA cannot compost weeds treated with ProcellaCOR EC. B. Erickson indicated that he asked the CLP to provide the CLA with treatment maps so the CLA can avoid those areas. B. Erickson indicated that it is difficult to put forward a plan when NYSDEC herbicide permits are unknown. B. Erickson indicated that the CLA will proceed in the best way possible.
M. Latone indicated that he is hoping to hear back from G. Sullivan to shed light on the composting issue. M. Latone indicated that he asked G. Sullivan if he could map the areas that were treated in 2021. M. Latone indicated that G. Sullivan could provide maps for actual treatment areas.
B. Erickson indicated that the County Landfill could potentially take the treated plants.
M. Latone indicated that he is only aware of one other landfill that could take the weeds. M. Latone indicated that the landfill has to obtain a permit to take the treated weeds.
B. Erickson asked P. Chagnon if the CLA could ask the County to take the weeds without a tipping fee.
P. Chagnon indicated that this is a legitimate request and indicated that he would be happy to champion that if/when the time comes.
B. Erickson and M. Latone discussed the Lake Management Committee. Details of the charter and committee make-up were shared. It was indicated that it is important for the committee to adhere to the agenda to ensure smooth operation in the meetings. P. Chagnon indicated that he appreciates the Committee chairs efforts to deal with Committee-related matters.
c.) Alliance Watershed Management Committee Update
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance anticipates holding a meeting soon. R. Perry indicated that J. Johnson would be willing to share her presentation with the Committee at a future meeting. R. Perry indicated that the Alliance has not heard anything regarding the NYS CFA process or the County’s GIGP application. R. Perry indicated that the Alliance reached out to the County Department of Health regarding the NYS EFC’s Septic System replacement program.
B. Erickson asked if R. Perry could share the NYSDEC’s Comments on Aquatic Vegetation Control with the Board.
R. Perry indicated that he would send it to the whole Board.
IV. Discussion on “Friends of the Corporation” (Alliance) as defined in By-Law Article 1, Section 1.4
P. Chagnon indicated that the Board previously discussed the “Friends of the Corporation” language at the February Work-Session meeting. P. Chagnon indicated that Dr. Cirbus was interested in pursuing “Friends of the Corporation” as an opportunity to get M. Hutchings on the Alliance Board. P. Chagnon indicated that M. Hutchings is now an officer of the CLP and as such is able to be nominated directly by the CLP. P. Chagnon indicated that he has not heard from anyone since the last work session meeting who is interested in pursuing “Friends of the Corporation”. The Board took no further action on the matter.
R. Yates indicated that he had correspondence with the NYSDEC regarding his composting facility. R. Yates indicated that the NYSDEC referred R. Yates to the ProcellaCOR label that indicates that the treated plants should not be composted.
T. McCague asked if this limits the ability to use this chemical in the Lake.
R. Yates indicated that it would, but indicated that the treated plants would likely fall to the bottom and decompose meaning that there wouldn’t be much plant material there to harvest.
B. Erickson indicated that once a plant washes up on shore, it would be difficult to tell whether it was treated or not.
R. Yates indicated that he is unsure why he can’t take the treated plants.
M. Latone hypothesized that it is likely due to ProcellaCOR being a newly registered herbicide.
V. 2020 Alliance Consolidated Foundation Grants – Modification Requests
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance has received a couple grant modification requests from the Chautauqua Lake Partnership (CLP). R. Perry indicated that the CLP was awarded $100,000 in 2020 to purchase 2 phosphorus sensors and associated equipment to deploy in Chautauqua Lake. R. Perry indicated that due to COVID-19 and changes to the cost of the equipment as compared to the original proposal, the CLP was able to complete the scope of the grant award, but had money left over. R. Perry indicated that the CLP is seeking permission to use the remaining money to put towards 1 nitrogen sensor. R. Perry indicated that they would also like permission to purchase a third phosphorus sensor with the remaining money, which would be partially funded by the CLP.
R. Perry indicated that $87,683.76 has been spent by CLP to date, which leaves $12,316.24 left over. R. Perry indicated that the second request is to extend their grant until 8/31/2021 to allow the CLP to expend the remaining grant funding on the third phosphorus sensor.
M. Latone indicated that their vendor could not supply the third phosphorus sensor at the time, so they gave the CLP the option to purchase a nitrogen sensor instead.
B. Erickson made a motion that the modifications be approved as presented, which was seconded by J. Andrews.
T. McCague asked how the Foundations would feel about the scope adjustment and reallocation of funding.
R. Perry indicated that the Foundations would have preferred to have known about these adjustments at the end of 2020 when the Alliance filed their reports. R. Perry indicated that the Alliance would need to issue an addendum to the Alliance’s Final Report on the 2020 Consolidated Grant that would explain the changes.
P. Chagnon indicated that the Alliance understands the issues that were encountered related to COVID-19, but asked M. Latone to please notify the Alliance of any potential changes prior to the end of each year to avoid this in the future.
R. Yates asked if any of the remaining funding could be used to attach GPS tracking technology to the sensors in case they are either stolen or sunk.
M. Latone indicated that the CLP has reached out to the manufacturer for potential solutions. M. Latone indicated that the CLP and BGSU installed cages around the sensors that could be fixed with a GPS tracker.
P. Chagnon called the motion to a Board vote, which carried with unanimous support.
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance awarded the CLP with a $20,000 grant for a 2020 Chautauqua Lake weed survey. R. Perry indicated that the award letters and grant agreements associated with the Alliance’s 2020 grant to the CLP indicated that the grant period would run from 1/17/2020 to 12/31/2020. R. Perry indicated that the CLP has requested the ability to capture late 2019 weed survey costs under the 2020 grant. R. Perry indicated that in the CLP’s 2020 grant report, there were several plant surveys listed as expenses under the grant. R. Perry indicated that the CLP is requesting a modification to be able to capture the 2019 weed survey costs as part of the 2020 grant. R. Perry indicated that if the modification was approved, there would be under $800 left unspent as part of their 2020 grant. R. Perry indicated that the CLP would also be requesting that the unspent funds be rolled over into 2021 to capture some additional weed survey costs that occurred in late 2020 that would be paid in 2021.
M. Latone indicated that the weed survey has to be done in the fall, but it takes time to publish a report on the survey, which came out in 2021.
D. Shepherd suggested that the CLP include language in their future grant applications in order to avoid this in the future. M. Latone indicated that could be done.
B. Erickson indicated that field surveys are subject to factors such as weather, flexibility is key.
D. Shepherd made a motion to approve the request, which was seconded by B. Erickson. The motion carried with unanimous support.
VI. 2021 Alliance Consolidated Foundation Grant Update
R. Perry indicated that the CLP would like to use their $25,000 2021 weed survey grant, which has been awarded, to cover the NC State Plant survey, which has been completed and is dated 2021. R. Perry indicated that this survey would support the 2021 herbicide permit application process along with other lake management initiatives in 2021. R. Perry indicated that the field work was done by NC State in 2020. R. Perry indicated that the intent stated in the Alliance grant application to the Foundations was that the 2021 award would be used for a 2021 weed survey based on the wording in the CLP grant application. R. Perry asked the Board if they are okay with the CLP’s intention to use the CLP’s 2021 grant to pay for a 2020 weed survey that has been completed in 2021 for use in 2021, and indicated that there would not be another 2021 weed survey covered by this 2021 grant if the Board proceeded with this request.
P. Chagnon asked M. Latone if the CLP is planning on doing a fall 2021 weed survey.
M. Latone indicated that the CLP does intend on performing a fall 2021 weed survey.
P. Chagnon indicated that the CLP could apply to the Alliance in 2022 to cover the cost of the fall 2021 survey if they desired, but indicated that their 2021 grant would not cover their potential fall 2021 survey.
T. McCague made a motion to approve the request, which was seconded by B. Erickson. The motion carried with unanimous support.
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance has executed and paid out many of the 2021 grant awards as of this date. R. Perry indicated that the Town of Chautauqua Mobitrac Operations, the CLA General Operations and the CLA’s Curly-Leaf Pondweed grant awards are almost finalized. R. Perry indicated that the herbicide grants have been awarded, but the distribution of $90,000 is still unknown until the Alliance knows more about which municipalities will receive permits.
VII. Discussion on Alliance 2021 County Agency Allocation
P. Chagnon indicated that the County has allocated $145,000 for Alliance operations and $145,000 to be used for lake and watershed needs including grants to Alliance members. P. Chagnon indicated that these grants typically follow the Consolidated Local Foundation Grants. P. Chagnon indicated that P. Wendel is interested in seeing what happens with the herbicide permit applications and the responses to the MOU. P. Chagnon indicated that the County hired a consultant to meet with the stakeholders to gather their input. P. Chagnon indicated that a lot of input was received, which has resulted in significant changes to the MOU that was discussed with the stakeholders. P. Chagnon indicated that the County Executive is planning on meeting with the stakeholders soon to talk about the MOU. P. Chagnon indicated that historically, the $145,000 has been used for the Burtis Bay Cleanup, Third-Party Monitoring, partial support of The Jefferson Project on Chautauqua Lake, and a Chautauqua Lake Weed Survey.
VIII. May Annual Meeting, Board Election, and Membership Drive
R. Perry indicated that nothing has changed since March. R. Perry indicated that the board seats held by T. McCague, B. Erickson, and M. Jabot are all up for election. R. Perry indicated that nominations need to be received in writing between 3/3/21 and 5/6/21. R. Perry indicated that the Governance Committee will meet on 5/6/21 to review nominees and generate the recommended slate. R. Perry indicated that the Annual Meeting will take place on 5/13/21 at 4:30 PM via Zoom. R. Perry indicated that he intends on giving a presentation on the 2020 Annual Report. R. Perry indicated that the Annual Report and a copy of the slides will be uploaded to the Alliance’s website after the conclusion of the meeting.
IX. Alliance GPS and Data Tracking Program Update
R. Perry gave a presentation on the Alliance’s GPS and Data Tracking Program to the Board.
T. McCague indicated that he thinks it is terrific that, for a low cost, the Alliance can generate all of these data. T. McCague asked if this information is being shared with the NYSDEC and other organizations so that everyone is on the same page.
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance shared all raw data and maps with the CLA and Town of Chautauqua (Town). R. Perry indicated that the Alliance has shown maps at the most recent Lake Management Committee meeting.
B. Erickson indicated that he would like the density maps to be shared with the CLA and felt that caution should be used when distributing the maps.
J. Andrews asked if the CLA could use this information to assist with fundraising.
B. Erickson indicated that the information would be useful to the CLA.
B. Erickson indicated that the CLA’s GPS data was valuable to communicate with the public.
T. McCague asked how the information could be published going forward.
P. Chagnon indicated that this information is late breaking news for everyone as the results have been in progress for months. P. Chagnon indicated that this information has just came together recently.
T. McCague asked what the Alliance should do with the information.
D. Shepherd asked if the Alliance should ask the data providers for permission to share the data.
B. Erickson indicated that if the data is posted publicly, then there should not be an issue with sharing it.
D. Shepherd indicated that he feels the data should be distributed as far as useful.
M. Latone indicated that he sees this having a life of its own as it progresses.
D. Shepherd, M. Latone, and B. Erickson commended the staff on their work.
P. Chagnon indicated that the Alliance needs to start deciding the best ways to distribute the information.
B. Erickson suggested that the data be put in front of the CLA and Town to allow them to opine. B. Erickson indicated that it is important to make the distinction between the organizations that need the information versus those who want it.
P. Chagnon indicated that the GPS data is being generated by the actions of the CLA and Town of Chautauqua and thought it would be a good idea to run this information by the CLA and Town first before it is widely distributed. P. Chagnon asked the Board if the staff should give a presentation to the CLA and Town.
B. Erickson indicated that he would support this.
X. The Jefferson Project Update
P. Chagnon indicated that The Jefferson Project came up with an initiative to dramatically increase their efforts to identify the causes of harmful of harmful algal blooms and the mitigation actions that should/could be taken. P. Chagnon indicated that The Jefferson Project decided to focus on Chautauqua Lake, Lake George, and Skaneateles Lake. P. Chagnon indicated that The Jefferson Project would like to have a concentrated effort on the three lakes over the next year to year and half at a total cost of $20 million to identify the causes of HABs and the mitigation efforts that could be taken. P. Chagnon indicated that The Jefferson Project made a proposal to NYS asking them to provide $10 million to support this effort. P. Chagnon indicated that The Jefferson Project could secure $10 million in private funding as match. P. Chagnon indicated that the proposal was carried to the State by State Senators and Assemblymen representing the three lakes. P. Chagnon indicated that there was hope that this funding was included in the recently passed State budget. P. Chagnon indicated that the Alliance does not know if the funding was included in the State budget as of this meeting. P. Chagnon indicated that if the proposal was unsuccessful, then the Jefferson Project would be looking at continuing their 2020 efforts in 2021. However P. Chagnon indicated that the scope of work and budget are not currently finalized.
XI. Alliance Communications Coordinator Job Posting Update
R. Perry indicated that he met with the Alliance Governance Committee per the recommendation of the Board regarding current and projected work and staff capacity. R. Perry indicated that the Committee agreed that R. Perry should proceed with the candidate vetting process. R. Perry indicated that he had a good first set of interviews with the slate of top tier candidates. R. Perry indicated that he is now narrowing that field down into a short list of candidates and indicated that he would have more updates as things progress.
P. Chagnon indicated that the staff is doing great work.
XII. Other
D. Shepherd suggested that the Alliance Board consider meeting in person once the Board and staff are vaccinated.
B. Erickson indicated that he prefers a hybrid meeting format.
P. Chagnon suggested that the June Board meeting take place in a hybrid meeting format.
R. Perry indicated that the Alliance would need to follow the capacity restrictions that are in place for the BWB’s meeting rooms.
R. Yates indicated that he could open up the Town of North Harmony’s building for the meeting.
XIII. Adjourn
B. Erickson made a motion to adjourn the April 8, 2021 Board meeting. The motion was seconded by R. Yates and was passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:31 PM.