Nannen Arboretum Requests Assistance
Nannen Arboretum Requests Assistance
Ellicottville Town Board Heard Request for Allotment of Funds to Procure Future Pond Fountain
Photos / Nannen Arboretum
The Town Board of Ellicottville took to their monthly meeting on Wednesday, August 21st to discuss the latest happenings within the Town of Ellicottville as Supervisor McAndrews called the meeting to order. The first topic of the evening addressed the public hearing for Local Law No. 3. This law focuses on the override of tax levy limits for fiscal year 2025. There were no members of the public present to give their opinions on the matter, and as a result, Board members reviewed the material at hand and agreed to close the public hearing.
Moving on, the Board opened Privilege of the Floor, which was met with Eric Butler’s attendance. He is the current acting Cattaraugus County Sheriff and plans to run for Sheriff this coming election. Upon his introduction, he shared a bit about his history as Sheriff and the qualifications he holds through his knowledge and experience.
Discussions continued as the Board addressed current funding, financial reports, and audits in place. The Nannen Arboretum Board made a request to the Town Board for an allotment of funds that would be included in next year’s budget. In this proposal, they are asking for electrical costs to be covered so that a fountain addition can be made to the pond already in place. The Town Board agreed to further conversations on this topic at a soon-to-be-scheduled meeting
Continuing talks on funding, it was noted that all department heads must have their budget requests prepared by September 13, 2024. Updates will become available when these reports are submitted and approved. In the meantime, the Board has approved a budget workshop to be held on September 24th at 4:00pm.
The Town Board shifted conversation to the approvals of the Annual Financial Reports (AFR) and Audit ending on December 31, 2023. The AFR reports and audit were conducted by Tronconi Segarra and Associates. A resolution was agreed that the information found within the reports align with the original findings and in so complies with the guidelines of New York State.
Department reports by the Police, Clerk, Highway, and Planning were presented and approved by Town Board Members. Starting with some of the highlights of these, the Town and Village will now have a monthly activity report regarding police matters shared between both parties to continue their efforts for open communication and transparency. The Police Department also shared their plans for a meeting to be held on September 13th to discuss and plan the traffic flow to come from the Fall Festival.
The Highway Department has an update on the roadwork recently completed at Holiday Valley Road. After the highway superintendent met with contractors and engineers, they were able to find some issues that needed correcting. The contractor of the project has addressed the documented concerns and will begin the necessary work during the second week of September.
New information has been shared by Greg Keyser, head of the Town Planning Department, that addressed the lead pipe inventory project. With the use of MDA Consulting Engineers, the Town Water District had ordered a lead service line inventory. Required by the NYS Department of Health, MDA Consulting Engineers was able to identify 1,716 service lines, none of which showed any lead present. Certain property owners who may have not completed their surveys can expect to be contacted by the Water Department for continued lead and material testing.
A slight change will be made within the Water Department in terms of their billing methods. They will be switching to postcard-style mail for their billings to save time and costs compared to traditional stuffed envelopes. If a notice needs to be made, paper billing is still possible, but the Town Board has agreed to accept the new change.
The EVGV Trail was brought up in discussions surrounding Old Business. It has been shared that the committee is working on an interactive trail map to engage viewers and will be offered through their social media channels. It will surely be a great opportunity to connect those in and around the area to their mission. They also hope to work with the Southern Tier Trail and are in talks for corporate sponsorships. Their next meeting will be held on September 9th.
Wrapping up the evening’s agenda, the Town of Ellicottville Board meeting was called to adjourn. They will continue their meetings on the third Wednesday of the month, next of which will be September 18, 2024 at 6:00pm at the Town Hall. Additional information can be accessed at ellicottvillegov.com.