The Post-Journal/OBSERVER reached out to County Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon about his goals for 2024. This will be the fifth year Chagnon is taking the role as chairman and shared some of his thoughts ahead of the new year.

Many of the goals are difficult for the general public to see any difference in – management of the budget, overseeing the implementation of the 79 approved American Rescue Plan Act projects, assisting with the county’s fiscal reorganization, help bring favorable conclusion of any lawsuits against the county, and support various county boards and commissions.

One of the groups the legislature assists with is the airport commission. In April of 2023, the legislature agreed to spend $50,000 of ARPA funds to pay for the Air Service Development Project, which will examine whether or not the Jamestown airport can sustain commercial air service.

The market study is necessary if the county is to pursue commercial air service to Jamestown.

In 2023, a ribbon-cutting was held for the completion of the Phase I Chautauqua lake sewer district extension. The county is hoping to break ground on Phase II in 2024.

Chagnon said the study is underway and he suspects the results will be released sometime this year.

Depending on what the report shows, the county may ask the federal government to reconsider essential air service in Jamestown. “We would like to pursue that (request) if the report supports that. But if the market study comes back and says ‘no this doesn’t make any sense, you’re never going to get this’ that’s the end of the line. But if the report says ‘Yes you definitely could support this’ then my feeling is we should pursue it as quickly as possible,” he said.

WATER/SEWER BOARDS

Chagnon noted the legislature will continue to work with the numerous water and sewer boards in the county.

Those boards and commissions, Chagnon said, have had a lot of support for grant applications and infrastructure updates. “There’s a good deal of expansion being proposed that would benefit the North County Water District,” he said.

The Chautauqua County Legislature is expected to receive a report in 2024 on the Jamestown airport to see if it can sustain commercial air service

He doesn’t know yet if the Northern Chautauqua County Water District would be involved in Fredonia’s purchase of water from Dunkirk, or if it’s something that would bypass that district. That’s more of a decision by the municipal leaders than the water board itself.

In 2023, the legislature saw the completion of the construction of the South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District Extension through the hamlet of Stow. “The system is functioning and operational. We have a good number of the properties connected and using the system,” he said.

Next up is to extend the sewer district from Stow to Prendergast Creek. “We are wrapping up the design and we’re expecting to have that project out to bid in the spring,” Chagnon said.

It’s possible construction could begin in the fall. Once this is completed, the entire west side of Chautauqua Lake will be on public sewers.

OTHER BOARDS

Another group that the legislature works with is the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board. Chagnon noted that the board is concerned about protecting valuable farmland in the county from being used for other purposes. They’ve been actively pursuing a means of protecting the vital farmland in the county. They’ve got some initiatives going and I would like to see those supported more,” he said.

The farmland protection board has been particularly outspoken about quality farmland being used for solar projects.

Other boards and commissions the county legislature works with include the county Industrial Development Agency, the county Board of Health and the Landfill Commission.

The Landfill Commission began last year and Chagnon said it has been going well.

LAWSUITS

One of the goals Chagnon noted was for the legislature to “help bring favorable conclusion of any lawsuits against the county.”

Chagnon noted that any settlement that involves money generally has to be approved by the legislature. “In my past experience as a legislator, we would suddenly be presented with a resolution to settle a lawsuit without having any, or very limited knowledge about it,” he said.

Chagnon said if there are lawsuits against the county, he would like the legislators to be more informed before the conclusion.

He added that the legislature would not be involved in any negotiations; those would be left to the attorneys involved as well as the county executive. He mainly wants to see legislators be better prepared to vote should a resolution be brought to them.

Some of the current lawsuits, Chagnon noted, involved the Adult Survivors Act and the Child Victims Act. Both of those laws permitted lawsuits to be filed from earlier sexual abuse than had been previously permitted.

Chagnon was uncertain how many pending lawsuits are currently before the county, but said he does expect that there will be some settlements announced in 2024.