Should property owners on Chautauqua Lake be the ones primarily responsible for funding the protection and rehabilitation of the lake or should other property owners in the watershed be held responsible?

That is a question county officials hope to answer a year from now.

The Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency has agreed to hire the engineering firm of Barton and Loguidice to do a study, which is expected to take 12 months.

“We had a proposal for forming a lake district comprised of properties on or near Chautauqua Lake. They would be paying the fees for the protection and rehabilitation of Chautauqua Lake,” said Pierre Chagnon, lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency member, and the chairman of the county Legislature, during a recent board meeting. “We all have concerns that there are other lake users who may not have property on or near the lake, other people who put their boats into the lake, or their kayaks into the lake or whatever, and we also had a situation where the property owners on or near the lake certainly would benefit from the protection and rehabilitation of the lake but they were a very small contribution to the problems of the lake that needed protection and rehabilitation. So we were interested in whether we could include the other properties in the watershed, or some other properties in the watershed who do contribute to the problems, so they could also contribute to the protection and rehabilitation.”

To help the Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency make a decision on the best way to go, the agency put out a Request For Proposal to hire a consultant.

Chagnon said the lake agency wants the consultant to look at what is done in other parts of the state and even the country to see what is done elsewhere.

“We just want to throw the doors open and say come to us and tell us what the best way to do this is and how we would go about it and we would like to pursue those options,” he said.

Last year the county Legislature designated $150,000 from its American Rescue Plan Act funds to be used by the lake agency to address the concern. According to Mark Geise, deputy county executive for economic development and chief executive officer of the county Industrial Development Agency, the lake agency is going to use $90,000 for Phase I, which includes hiring a consultant.

“When they’re done with their work we’ll see a clear path forward. Phase II would then be to flesh out that path,” he said.

Barton & Loguice is well known in the county. The firm has done stream assessments in Harmony, North Harmony, Panama and Ellery, which lead to streambank stabilization projects. It has completed stormwater studies in Busti, Lakewood, Mayville and the town of Chautauqua. The company is currently helping to develop a waterfront activation/park programming in Mayville.