“The Chautauqua County Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), presented as a legally-binding contract, was executed by most lake-related organizations in April, 2019 with an effective date of May 1, 2019 and a two-year term. Included in the MOA is a requirement that the “…Agreement shall be re-evaluated annually…”
Unfortunately, the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance (Alliance), which has been acting as the County’s “agent” implementing the MOA, has decided to forego the annual update. This “MOA 1st Anniversary Update” is prepared to substitute for that required re-evaluation and inform Alliance members and the broader Chautauqua Lake community.
Unfortunately, implementation of the County’s MOA has not been a priority for the County or the Alliance, a “quasi-governmental organization” whose management is dominated by current and former County officials.
MOA implementation has been extremely slow and “selective” with only 25% of its terms and tenets fully implemented and a highly disproportionate focus on herbicide-related requirements. Most requirements of weed harvesting have not been implemented. The “MOA 1st Anniversary Update” provides the details.
The Chautauqua Lake Partnership would welcome a public dialogue with the County and the Alliance if either takes issue with its content.”
