File photo Chautauqua County officials say they’ve done everything they can to bring commercial air service back to the county. It’s now up to the federal government to make a final decision.

According to one county official, Chautauqua County is at a standstill in regards to bringing commercial air service back to Jamestown.

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, R-Ellery, recently had an interview with The Post-Journal/OBSERVER where he reviewed the goals he set at the beginning of 2025.

One of his goals last year was to “support and assist efforts to restore essential air service to the Jamestown airport.”

Commercial air service ended in Jamestown in 2018 after the federal government ended the Essential Air Service designation due to low ridership.

“We garnered wide community support for applying for Essential Air Service subsidy to be reinstated. We passed a resolution, the county legislature did, directing our consultants to aggressively pursue reinstating commercial air service, and our consultants, in conjunction with the airport staff, filed an application for the Essential Air Service. After that was submitted, we garnered support from our federal representatives for that application. That’s as much as we know at this point,” Chagnon said.

He added that no decision has been made on the application, “which is not necessarily surprising with all that’s going on in Washington.”

Chagnon said they don’t have a date as to when they will hear if they get the Essential Air Service subsidy or not. “I wish there was. I would really like to anticipate but there are no timelines that I’m aware of,” he said.

For now, they’re just going to wait. “I don’t know if there’s anything else we can do at this point,” Chagnon added.

Other goals that Chagnon set at the beginning of 2025 included:

– Successful launch of the administrative director for the North Chautauqua County water and sewer districts. Chagnon praised the appointment of Alison Vento who has taken over that role.

– Pursue extension of Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District to complete public sewers around the entirety of Chautauqua Lake. The county has made strides in this area, as they are waiting to hear from the state regarding funding for the final section between Point Chautauqua and Midway State Park.

– Support and assist JCC and Jamestown Area YMCA for the Community Wellness Center. The county legislature approved the project locally and is waiting to see if the state will include it in its budget for 2026-27.

– Support and assist the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chautauqua Lake Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration project. Chagnon said they have been meeting every other week virtually and continue to be updated on the work.

– Refocus discussions centering on what is wrong, to discussions of what can be done to improve policies, programs, and procedures that need improvement. Chagnon said this one is ongoing, but he wants to see legislators offer solutions, not just criticisms, with regard to how the county operates.