GOWANDA - The state of recovery in Gowanda is physically well, according to Public Works Superintendent Michael Hutchinson, but the financial aspect has been slow to come through.

During a recent village board meeting, Hutchinson reported that roadwork was around 75 percent complete. Upcoming work would be performed on Cemetery Hill, Crestwood Drive and the portion of Hill Street ranging from the bridge to Jamestown Street. The village is also exploring the possibility of combining efforts with Cattaraugus County and "piggybacking" on their contract for creeks mitigation in order to get more work finished by the end of the current year.

While FEMA can fund almost every project that still needs to be completed to the tune of 87.5 percent each, Hutchinson said gathering funding for the remaining portion has been problematic; an issue that has been discussed with Congressman Eric Massa when he contacted the village for an update.

"The state of New York has not stepped up to the plate yet; maybe they're not able to," Hutchinson said to the village board. "I shared that with Congressman Massa and he thought that potentially there were opportunities and maybe the federal government could do more if the state was unable to help us with that 12.5 percent local share. But I think it's really going to be dependent on your ability to do what you don't really like to do: be political."

Mayor Richard Klancer said the village has been making its opinions known to public officials and will continue to do so. Congressman Massa has also expressed interest in conducting a community meeting in Gowanda to garner more public voice and support.

Public funding will also be available in the form of the Flood Assistance Fund, which has grown with donations ever since the disaster. A committee has been arranged to consider all applications, with Disaster Coordinator Nick Crassi serving as chair. The other members of the committee include Sandy Gaylord, Sharon Mathe and David Schaak.

Funding applications, which were approved at the board meeting, can be picked up and returned to the village hall. Deadline for applications is Nov. 25.

In other matters:

Contracts with Union Concrete were approved for work at Pt. Peter Reservoir, including base cleanup not to exceed $219,823, riprap repair not to exceed $38,307 and the replacement of the spillway barrier with a concrete wall instead of riprap at a cost not to exceed $106,432.

A resolution was passed to permit payment of the local share of approved Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects.

The sizes of generators requested through the CDBG application for emergency use at wells may be reduced, as it is believed less power would actually be needed.