PUBLIC DRINKING WATER: (By: Pierre Chagnon, Legislator)
After decades of discussion about extending public drinking water further into the town, and now that extension of public sewers is underway, drinking water is back under consideration. At a meeting convened by County Legislator Pierre Chagnon representatives of the Town of North Harmony, Town of Chautauqua, IDA, County Health Department, Jamestown BPU, Chautauqua Institution, and the County Executive all agreed to seek funding for a feasibility study to extend public drinking water up the west side of Chautauqua Lake.
Following is a excerpt of the minutes of the Town Board Meeting held on 7/8/2019:
- RESOLUTION – TOWN OF NORTH HARMONY AS APPLICANT FOR GRANT FUNDING THROUGH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (LGE) GRANT PROGRAM TO STUDY FEASIBILITY OF CREATING A COUNTY WATER DISTRICT
Mr. Yates said this is the first step in extending Water to the town. He said it is a resolution stating that Chautauqua County deems it advantageous to join together in seeking a CFA/LGE Grant in the amount of $50,000.00 ($45,000 with the required 10% match of $5,000 to be shared by the study participants) from the NYS Department of State to study the feasibility of a County Water District that would include the Towns of North Harmony and Chautauqua, Village of Mayville, and Chautauqua Institution, with the Town of North Harmony acting as lead applicant and all of the other constituent municipalities will act as co-applicants.
- MOTION/RESOLUTION # 88 OF 2019
- MCNEILL MOTIONED TO ADOPT THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION SEEKING GRANT FUNDING FOR A WATER FEASIBILITY STUDY TO EXTEND WATER SERVICES AND AUTHORIZING THE SUPERVISOR TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY GRANT APPLICATION DOCUMENTS FOR SUBMISSION TO THE CONSOLIDATED FUNDING APPLICATION, DEPARTMENT OF STATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY GRANT PROGRAM AS OUTLINED IN THE RESOLUTION. MR. SENSKE SECONDED. YES (5): SENA, MCNEILL, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
RESOLUTION
OF THE TOWN BOARD
OF THE
TOWN OF NORTH HARMONY
WHEREAS, NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo has created ten Regional Economic Development Councils; and
WHEREAS, as part of the Regional Economic Development strategy, a unified funding process (the Consolidated Funding Application) has been developed and made available to distribute grant funds for job creation, infrastructure improvements and regionally significant economic development projects; and
WHEREAS, the New York State Department of State has made funding available for Local Government Efficiency (LGE) Grant Programs to assist applicants in implementing plans to improve local government efficiency and for cost reduction initiatives; and
WHEREAS, residential properties and businesses in the Town of North Harmony exclusively rely on privately owned and operated groundwater wells that are generally of limited quantity with poor aesthetics (smell and taste); and
WHEREAS, Chautauqua Lake serves as the drinking water supply for the Chautauqua Institution’s Chautauqua Utility District, which during the peak summer season provides drinking water to thousands of residents and visitors and at the same time, Harmful Algal Blooms have become common summertime occurrences that threaten the viability of Chautauqua Lake as a source of drinking water; and
WHEREAS, Chautauqua Lake also serves as the drinking water supply for the Town of Chautauqua Water District, and Harmful Algal Blooms have become common summertime occurrences that threaten the viability of Chautauqua Lake as a source of drinking water for the public; and
WHEREAS, the Village of Mayville relies on groundwater wells for its drinking water and has historically instituted water use restrictions during extended droughts; and
WHEREAS, a secondary or redundant public drinking water supply is an important municipal asset should a Harmful Algal Bloom or drought impact the purity or quantity of a municipality’s primary source of drinking water; and
WHEREAS, the City of Jamestown Board of Public Utilities utilizes groundwater from two separate aquifers located in the nearby communities of Poland and Cassadaga to serve the City of Jamestown and Village of Lakewood, and has indicated they have the capacity and an interest in providing drinking water from the western terminus of their distribution system; and
WHEREAS, Chautauqua County deems it advantageous to join together in seeking an Efficiency Implementation Grant from the New York State Department of State to study the feasibility of a County Water District that would include the Towns of North Harmony and Chautauqua, Village of Mayville, and Chautauqua Institution; and
WHEREAS, the Town of North Harmony will act as the lead applicant and all of the other constituent municipalities will act as co-applicants in this application; and
WHEREAS, the application will seek $50,000 in total monies, $45,000 in a Consolidated Funding Application/Department of State LGE Grant with the required 10% match ($5,000) to be shared by the study participants, which include Chautauqua County, the Towns of Chautauqua and North Harmony, the Village of Mayville, and the Chautauqua Institution.
NOW, THEREFORE, on a motion of _Duncan McNeill__, seconded by Steve Senske__, it is
RESOLVED, that the Town of North Harmony hereby agrees to act as the applicant for a Consolidated Funding Application/Efficiency Implementation Grant from the Local Government Efficiency Grant Program administered by the New York State Department of State to study the feasibility of creating a County Water District; and it is further
RESOLVED, that the Supervisor is hereby authorized to execute all necessary Grant Application Documents for submission to the Consolidated Funding Application, Department of State Local Government Efficiency Grant Program.
