OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Cassadaga Mayor Bill Dorman explained the village’s next steps regarding its short-term rental law during a recent public hearing at the Cassadaga Fire Hall.

CASSADAGA — The Village of Cassadaga held its public hearing for a proposed short-term rental law prior to its most recent Village Board meeting. The hearing fell just a few weeks shy of the anniversary of the public hearing regarding a moratorium on the matter last August.

The two hearings could not have gone any differently.

A year ago, members of the public packed the Cassadaga Fire Hall all the way out the door. Public comments lasted one hour and 24 minutes, featuring a wide range of emotions, including multiple personal attacks to the character of multiple Village Board members.

The latest public hearing lasted just over five minutes in its entirety. Only a handful of guests attended the hearing, and the only comments directed at the Board of Trustees were to commend them for their efforts.

After no more public comments remained, Mayor Bill Dorman explained the village’s next steps. Because of correspondence from the attorney of a short-term rental property owner in the village, Kim Collins, which was received the day of the public hearing, the Village Board will now await the Chautauqua County Planning Board’s advisement. A response is expected within 30 days.

Now that the public hearing has been held, once the Planning Board responds, the Village Board can take action on the proposed law whenever it sees fit, as long as no substantive changes are made to the law from the time of the public hearing until the action is taken.

In other business in the village, a seasonal laborer is needed for the remaining weeks of the summer after an unexpected vacancy. Village Trustee Cindy Flaherty also commended the beach staff for its efforts cleaning up the beach after a recent storm that left branches and debris all over the shore. “The entire beach staff came in and they did nothing but pick up branches for six hours. Kudos to the beach staff, they worked really hard that day,” Flaherty said. Beach attendance so far this summer, excluding concerts and other events, is at 1,896 guests, without any injuries reported.

The village reported 24 total calls for the Fire Department in the month of June, including five emergency medical services calls and one structure fire.

Village Trustee Cathy Cruver also stated she will continue to evaluate avenues for grant funding for water line improvements throughout the village.