Pictured is a conceptual rendering of the proposed waterfront trail and beach improvements at Lakeside Park in Mayville.

MAYVILLE — Village leaders have decided to move forward with about $1.25 million worth of improvements to Lakeside Park. But the projects won’t move forward without at least three-quarters of funds coming from the state.

During a special meeting of the Mayville Village Board last week, officials voted 3-1 to apply for grants from the state’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, which would cover 75% of the costs. The village would be responsible for the remaining 25%, however, at least some of that will come from the county and they may look for other funding sources as well.

PROJECTS

In April the village held a public presentation on the masterplan for the park, which sits on Route 394. The presentation was done by Barton & Loguidice, along with officials from the county. At that meting, residents heard a number of options for the park. Afterward, attendees were invited to walk around the room and rank the various projects.

The results of that meeting were presented to the Mayville Village Board. There were seven improvements proposed:

¯ Chautauqua Belle gateway improvements — $427,955;

¯ new kayak launch — $185,955;

¯ waterfront pedestrian and bicycle trail — $650,496;

¯ new splash pad/ice rink — $748,110;

¯ enhanced Mayville Depot Museum — $723,798;

¯ a Complete Streets project — $873,624;

¯ a new pier — $991,379.

The cost of the seven projects totaled around $4.6 million. Nate Aldrich with the county’s Department of Planning said if the village wants to move ahead with any or all of the projects, he would recommend applying for an LWRP grant. They’ve had a lot of success applying for those grants, however, there’s no guarantee the village will be approved.

In order to apply for the LWRP funding for this year, they would need to apply by the end of July. The LWRP, he said, would cover 75%. He added that the county’s Partnership of Economic Development is willing to commit up to $50,000 in a direct match for funds. There may be other grant agencies that can help cover the remaining 25% as well, but he couldn’t guarantee anything beyond the Partnership for Economic Development.

Due to the fact that Mayville would be responsible for the remaining 25%, Aldrich recommended the village board focus on the three lowest cost items: the new kayak launch, the Chautauqua Belle gateway improvements, and the waterfront pedestrian and bicycle trail. The total of those three is $698,496, which would put the village’s match at $266,101 after the county’s portion.

The village could also move forward with one or two projects, instead of all three.

COST CONCERNS

At the village board meeting, some residents, as well as village officials, expressed concerns about where the remaining money would come from.

Treasurer Jennifer Obert said if the village had to pay for the full 25%, it would likely drive up taxes more than the state’s 2% tax cap and could be in the double digits.

“I’m not saying you can’t do any project, but maybe take some time and look at them and see what projects the village could do themselves and try to get them down to more manageable numbers so the taxpayers aren’t getting that huge increase,” she said.

Aldrich noted if the village gets any of the LWRP funds, nothing would have to come out of this year’s budget and Mayville could pay its portion over the following two years.

While acknowledging the costs, he said he would like to see the village continue to move forward with at least some improvements because the grant approval can take a while.

“I don’t want to suggest doing anything the village board isn’t comfortable with but because they take so long, you want to strongly consider striking in the next two and half weeks (to apply),” he said.

Aldrich added that if the village would not be legally required to move forward with the park improvements if they do get the LWRP funds, but he strongly encouraged the village to not apply if they aren’t committed to seeing a project through to completion.

Mayor Ken Shearer said the village is slated to receive $163,000 from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act. He said a good use of that money could be for the Lakeside Park projects.

Trustee Rick Syper said he wasn’t ready to decide which of the projects he was ready to back. He recommended a special meeting take place. Board members agreed and scheduled a meeting two days later.

At that meeting Syper, who is running for mayor, said he still wasn’t ready to vote. He criticized Aldrich and Shearer for not getting the information to the trustees sooner.

“Why is this being presented in the ninth hour when the board has to make a hard decision on what projects should be done. …. That’s irresponsible,” he said.

Aldrich said the plan wrapped up in late June and it was too late to make that month’s agenda. That’s why it wasn’t brought before the board until July, he said.

Trustee Ben Webb said he was comfortable moving ahead with the Chautauqua Gateway improvements, the kayak launch and waterfront pedestrian and bicycle trail projects. “These projects are phenomenal projects that are going to do nothing more than to add to the vitality of Mayville,” he said.

He introduced a resolution to apply for LWRP funds for the three projects.

Trustee Jim Warner seconded the resolution, but expressed concerns about the overall costs. “Hopefully we can do better on the costs,” he said.

Warner, Webb and Shearer voted in favor of the resolution. Syper voted no. Trustee Eagle Harrington was not in attendance at the special meeting.

After the vote, Syper continued to criticize the vote.

“I probably would have voted yes if there was more time. This is shameful to the taxpayers of this community,” he said.

Shearer is not running for re-election after his term is up Dec. 31. Webb thanked the mayor for his leadership on the Lakeside projects as well as other items in the village.

“The reality is sometimes you have to take a little bit of risk in order to get the reward. I applaud that courage and effort,” he said.