February 9, 2017

Good morning all.

To those 17 who are new to the Bemus Bay Property Owners (BBPO) group, welcome!

To all BBPO group members, we are now a group of 64 and growing. Recall that our group started with 10 in November and was 47 on January 22 when we last updated you. Please tell Lakeside Drive friends about our group and suggest they get involved (contacts on attached BBPO Summary)

Following is an update of activities and plans since January 22. You’ll see that we’ve been very busy.

• We participated in a meeting called by County Executive Vince Horrigan on January 24, a follow-up to the one we had on November 14
  (BBPO presentation attached). We were disappointed to hear few details on CLA’s response to Vince’s request for proposals for enhanced shoreline and near shore cleanup of weeds and sludge. Overall, it was a disappointing meeting with BBPO attendance lacking.
• We met with the Chautauqua Lake Association Board Executive Committee on January 25 to confirm CLA Board positions on the upgrades we requested to their operations beginning in mid-November. We followed this meeting with a letter summarizing BBPO requests of CLAand BBPO/CLA interactions and offering to collaborate with them on shoreline and near shore cleanup equipment improvements.
• We met with County Legislator Pierre Chagnon on January 31 to get the benefit of his perspective on County needs and constraints as we prepared to meet with Senator Young. Pierre provided valuable insight and recommended specific, not general, requests of the Senator.
• We met with Chautauqua County representatives Don McCord and Dave McCoy on February 1to get the benefit of their perspective on County desires and constraints as we prepared to meet with Senator Young. We were pleased the County agreed to share BBPO Macrophyte Management Strategy (MMS) comment letters with the MMS Technical Review Committee in the near future.
• We met with NYS Senator Cathy Young and Assemblyman Andy Goodell on February 3, described the BBPO objectives and requested assistance on each (BBPO presentation attached). Senator Young indicated $50k capital grants may be available for new shoreline/near shore cleanup equipment and asked BBPO to develop a design/cost estimate for a grant application. Also, Senator Young will consider our request for state funding for a Bemus Bay herbicide trial upon review of 3 treatment scenarios/cost estimates to be developed by BBPO.
• We’ll participate in our second meeting with the Ellery Town Council Thursday, February 9, at 7:30 pm, in the Town of Ellery Office at 25 Sunnyside Avenue in the Village of Bemus Point. The Council committed to “do all that they can to help us” in the first meeting and has already taken steps to assist (see below). We’ll provide further detail on our requests and seek further support in this meeting. We need available BBPO members to attend.
• Since the last meeting, Mark Schlemmer, Professional Engineer (Civil) and Ellery Town Council Member, was named BBPO Point Contact. Also, Becca Haines, Ellery Town Clerk, met on January 27 with Mike Erlandson, Ellicott Town Clerk, and BBPO representatives to review 2002-3 Ellicott (Burtis Bay) herbicide permiting experience.
• We’ve had several encouraging discussions and will now receive proposals from a large multi-state lake management firm with significant NY herbicide application experience (>100 NY water bodies per year). We’ll use the proposals to create the 3 Bemus Bay herbicide treatment scenarios and cost estimates requested by Senator Young. Assistance from BBPO members with related expertise (e. g., biology, chemistry, limnology, lake operations, DEC permitting, grant writing, etc) would be very valuable in this effort. Contact us.
• We’ll meet on February 14 with Chautauqua County and CLA to develop a more cost efficient and less labor intensive near shore and shoreline cleanup concept in collaboration with CLA. We’ll use the results of this and subsequent meetings, a design and cost estimate, to support the grant application requested by Senator Young. Assistance from BBPO members with related expertise (e. g., pump/skimmer/clam shell equipment and engineering, fabrication, operation, grant writing, etc) would be very valuable in this effort. Contact us.