Photo by Eric Zavinski From left, Ellicott Town Supervisor Patrick McLaughlin, Chautauqua County Legislator Pierre Chagnon and Chautauqua Town Supervisor Don Emhardt discuss with the rest of the Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency a shared vision and mission statement for a potential Chautauqua Lake taxing district. The CLPRA will be making a recommendation for the formation such a district to the Chautauqua County Legislature at a later date.

MAYVILLE — Multiple goals, a mission statement and an overall vision for Chautauqua Lake were outlined by the members of the Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency at its monthly meeting Wednesday.

A “healthy, clean, usable lake and watershed” was summed up by the committee members as the overall vision they decided a Chautauqua Lake taxing district should help achieve if one is implemented by the Chautauqua County Legislature upon a possible CLPRA recommendation.

Before committee members would try to figure out possible financial structure of a taxing district and what specific elements collected taxpayer monies could help fund in terms of lake treatment and watershed preservation, CLPRA Chairman Pierre Chagnon and Don McCord, director of the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Community Development, had decided at the previous CLPRA meeting to pin down broad goals and a mission statement for a potential district.

Through brainstorming from the various town and village representatives and the other CLPRA members, a mission statement draft was outlined: “The formation of a lake protection and rehabilitation district that raises dedicated funds for the purpose of rehabilitation and maintenance of Chautauqua Lake and its watershed will operate in an open and transparent manner in the interest of all lake stakeholders.”

Goals discussed for a possible district include:

≤ movement to unify the various Chautauqua Lake stakeholders;

≤ reduction in nutrient loading, including phosphorus and nitrogen, both internally and externally;

≤ minimization of streambank erosion;

≤ treatment of the lake for harmful algal blooms;

≤ management of aquatic macrophytes, specifically invasive weed species;

≤ commitment to making the lake navigable;

≤ mitigation of flooding through stormwater management;

≤ maintenance of water quality for drinking, swimming and other recreational opportunities;

≤ setup of measurable impacts of treatments on living organisms, including aquatic animal species and fisheries; and

≤ dedication to consistent funding for all of the above.

Discussions regarding whether the lake or the watershed should be prioritized dominated much of the meeting. Most agreed that the watershed and lake were one interconnected entity, but conversation regarding how residents would be taxed in different areas of the watershed were tabled for another time.

“You have to do both,” said John Shedd, vice president for campus planning and operations at Chautauqua Institution.

Objectives to achieve the above goals will be discussed at the next CLPRA meeting April 3.