Dunkirk City Council members Natalie Luczkowiak, Frank Torain, and Michael Civiletto are pictured on the right at the county legislature’s Public Facilities Committee meeting.

Dunkirk city leaders would like to see a brush drop off site in the northern end of the county.

Earlier this week, four Dunkirk Councilmembers attended the Chautauqua County Legislature’s Public Facilities Committee meeting. Those in attendance included Natalie Luczkowiak, Frank Torain, Michael Civiletto and Gary Frederickson.

Frederickson chose not to speak to the committee members, but the other three did.

Kicking off the discussion was Luczkowiak. “County Executive (PJ) Wendel and City of Dunkirk Mayor Kate Wdowiasz have talked of land in the Fredonia area where there is a barn where we could bring our brush and shrubbery. He also talked about a chipper being placed there. We don’t know exactly where this land is, so we are requesting this today. This would be a great measure and step toward County Executive Wendel’s pursuance of connecting municipalities and eventually merging them,” she said.

Luczkowiak said Dunkirk doesn’t have any place to place brush. She said if the county could come up with a place, perhaps all municipalities in the northern end of the county could use it.

Civiletto noted that the county does have a place for brush in Ellery, but feels there should be one closer in the northern end of the county. “We’re talking about a 35- to 45-minute drive with our trucks, with our personnel, of two people going, and that’s just one load,” he said.

Torain said one time the city of Dunkirk did use one of its vehicles to haul brush to Ellery, but the truck got stuck and needed a backhoe to get it out. When it was pulled out the axle broke. “It’s a hazard getting into that landfill,” he said.

One county official who was at the Public Facilities Committee meeting said there had been talk between Wendel and others about the possibility of accepting brush at the north county transfer station on Route 60 in the town of Pomfret. “Users would pay a user fee to take their materials there, possibly have a tub grinder and then either haul the chips to the landfill or sell the chips,” he said.

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, R-Ellery, thanked the council members for sharing their concerns. He recommended having Wendel and Wdowiasz continue to develop a plan that will be beneficial for the north county residents.