MAYVILLE – Things got heated during a Chautauqua County Legislature committee meeting yesterday in Mayville, but it had nothing to do with the hot temperatures outside. The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting today that a resolution to provide $200,000 to the immediate and long-term maintenance of Chautauqua Lake waterways – known as the Chautauqua Lake Investment Act – was picked apart by legislators during a two hour meeting of the Planning and Economic Development Committee. The meeting eventually culminated with the resolution’s sponsor – Lori Cornell (D-Jamestown) – to leave the session prior to it being adjourned.
Cornell and a half-dozen lake representatives – including Chautauqua Lake Association President Chris Yates – spoke to the committee in favor of the $200,000 appropriation payment, which would have come from a recent $10 million reconciliations in the 2011 county budget. The money would be used to battle weed growth in Chautauqua Lake and also preserve the long-term integrity of the lake.
Several committee members, however, were critical of appropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars in lieu of a multimillion dollar budget shortfall next year, including Keith Ahlstrom (D-Dunkirk), Fred Crosscut (R-Sherman) and George Borrello (R-Irving) – who called the resolution inappropriate because Chautauqua Lake should not be the only focus. County Executive Greg Edwards also noted that the county is already making a commitment to Chautauqua Lake and said Cornell’s resolution would involve excessive spending the county simply could not afford.
Cornell’s original $200,000 resolution was eventually amended – cutting $100,000 for long-term maintenance, and scaling back the other half down to $30,000. The remaining money, also unanimously amended by the committee, would come from the county’s 2 percent Occupancy Tax Lakes and Waterways Emergency Fund.
Cornell said she will continue to find ways to get more funding for Chautauqua Lake. The amended resolution will be discussed this morning during an Audit and Control Committee meeting, which begins at 8:30 and is open to the public.
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