OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Cassadaga Village Attorney Joe Calimeri explained the zoning law process at a recent Village Board meeting.

CASSADAGA — Very few municipalities across Chautauqua County care more about the issue of zoning laws than the village of Cassadaga. That could not have been more obvious than throughout the arduous process of establishing laws governing short-term rental properties in the village.

The next step in the process regarding zoning in the village comes next month, as the Village Board has scheduled a public hearing to be held on Monday, Dec. 29, at 7 p.m. regarding the village’s new proposed zoning laws.

The village’s regular board meeting will follow, in place of the meeting typically scheduled for the fourth Wednesday of the month, as that falls on Christmas Eve this year.

The document, which is currently in draft form, has been posted to the village’s website, cassadaganewyork.org. It is currently 159 pages in length.

“I feel comfortable with this. I know the Zoning Committee worked really, really hard on this,” Village Trustee Cindy Flaherty said. “I think it’s a good document. We followed the Comprehensive Plan.”

At the most recent Village Board meeting, the Board introduced the laws, then issued a resolution to declare the village as lead agency for the State Environmental Quality Review process. The document now goes to the Chautauqua County Planning Board for review. After 30 days, following comments from the County and the public, the Village Board can then act upon the proposed law updates.

Also of note, the Village Board approved a payment to Square Engineering in the amount of $107,606.50, pertaining to the Village’s waterline capital improvement project. The Village Board also approved a bond counsel agreement pertaining to the project. The project is supported by substantial grant funding, up to $5 million, from the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (WIIA) grant through the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation.

Regarding a point of contention at a previous meeting, an inventory on village equipment is in the works. Biancca Riggle of the Department of Public Works (DPW) compiled a list of DPW equipment for the Board, and Village Clerk Annette McChesney also printed an asset inventory list from 2012. Both lists will be updated.

Regarding another point of contention at a previous meeting, the Village Board has authorized DPW Superintendent Sam Alaimo to bid up to $12,000 for a used snowblower. The equipment, listed on Auctions International, is a used unit with roughly 1,000 hours of usage, at a cost of $12,000.

Trustee Cathy Cruver brought in a quote from LandPro for a new Erskine snowblower that would fit the current John Deere the village uses to plow sidewalks for $10,595. Trustee Danna DuBois also voiced concerns on spending up to $12,000 on 15-year-old used equipment that could end up needing repairs. Both Cruver and DuBois abstained from the vote to authorize Alaimo’s bid for the used equipment.