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MAYVILLE, NY (WNY News Now) — Chautauqua Lake is a large staple of our region. From boating, to ice fishing, or just swimming, many people enjoy the lake year round. However, maintaining the water is not an easy or cheap job.
The county has reviewed several ideas in the past to bring in funding for lake cleanup and maintenance, the newest proposal is an annual boat fee.
“We’re looking to create some sustainable funding for Chautauqua Lake. Right now, we have an annual request of about 2.9 million dollars,” explained County Executive PJ Wendel.
The county executive wants to make sure everyone’s perspective is considered before moving forward.
“There’s thousands of people, tens of thousands hopefully that use this lake and we have to look at every one of them and not just focus on a small number,” said Wendel. “We have to get past the idea of ‘If you’re not with us, you’re against us’. I appreciate everybody’s information, there’s some great points and everyone has their own perspective and we’re going to look at that moving forward.”
The idea is to work with local businesses on the lake.
“What we’d be looking at is an annual fee. What that fee is, has yet to be determined, but you would purchase the sticker, the hopes are, could we work with our marinists, could we work with other agencies that put the boats in and out or working with local establishments,” Wendel said.
In the end, Wendel hopes to bring in enough funding that the lake could be enjoyed for years to come.
“We have our work cut out for us, but again it’s something for the betterment. That body of water just down the hill from here is a huge gem, not only for here but for Western New York, Northwestern Pennsylvania, and Ohio so we have a lot of people who enjoy using that lake and we need to do what we can to maintain it,” Wendel explained.
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