Town Board Notes
Town Board Notes
Request received for Town water line extension; significant proposed changes for short-term rental law heads back to County for review
Photo / Village of Ellicottville
Kicking off the New Year, the Town Board of Ellicottville gathered for their first regular meeting of 2025. Supervisor Matt McAndrew called the January 16th evening to order and discussions began surrounding the current agenda.
To start, the Board opened Privilege of the Floor and welcomed Chris Wood, who wanted to look into the possibility of extending the Town of Ellicottville’s water main line to an upcoming development just slightly outside of the Town’s limits. Mr. Wood informed the Board that there is currently a project in the planning stages in the Town of Mansfield for a 30-room landscape hotel. The property for the project is located on Route 242 between Bibbs and Hencoop Road, 1,000 feet from where the Town of Ellicottville water line currently ends. By the suggestion of the County Health Department, Mr. Woods asked if the Town would be able to extend their water line to allow access for the development. While the development of the hotel currently has a well water system included in their design stage, they would like to explore the prospect of extending the water line.
Mr. Woods acknowledged the depth of this request and, if it were even possible, what a timeline would look like. With the Town being responsible for the expense and planning, Attorney Pullen expressed that if the extension were feasible, it would require at least a year and a half to finalize the task. The Board responded with further questions. Could the Town take on this extension and still be able to provide adequate service to future developments within their own limits? Would this extension push the capacity regarding the Town’s resources? It was decided that the Board would need more time to research and review all available information before coming to a conclusion.
Moving on, the minutes were approved without issue for the Regular Board Meeting held on December 18, 2024, as well as the Organizational Meeting held on January 2, 2025. (EllicottvilleNOW reports that it has again been named as one of the official newspapers for the Town of Ellicottville.) Further information on these meetings are available to the public at ellicottvillegov.com under the Minutes & Agenda section. Also approved during this time was the Audit of Claims and the Supervisor’s Financial Report.
Following the evening’s talks, Department Heads began to present their monthly reports. All reports were accepted by the Town Board and featured new and current information to share. Starting with Jim Bouchard of the Police Department, he informed the Board that the equipment from the Bureau of Justice Grant has been received, and they will now move forward with the request for reimbursement.
The Police Department would also like to announce that they are working on a community-oriented email account. This new feature will provide the opportunity to communicate with the police force and allows for anonymous submissions.
The Highway Department lead by Scot Brumagin was next to present. Updating the Board with the current needs of the Town, he shared that a bid was received from their request for a new highway truck. This bid was from West Herr Ford and the Board agreed to accept their offer, now adding the new pickup truck to the Town’s fleet. The Highway Department will be auctioning off an older truck to provide the best return price as opposed to trading it in. With the addition of the new vehicle and sale of the previous truck, the Town will continue to develop their resources to best care for the area.
Planning Department Head, Greg Keyser, addressed the Board with some important updates. A topic that has become very pressing in the area involves changes to the local short-term rental law. It should be noted that the Town and Village operate under different local laws pertaining to short-term rentals and the information to follow reflects that of the Town.
Public hearings, executive meetings, and elaborate review proceedings have all been in play when it comes to the newly proposed short-term rental law. While the Town wants to work with tourism and property owners, a large focus has been placed on the quality of life and noise disturbances for local residents. Following the Public Hearing for Short-term Rentals held on November 20, 2024, the designated committee has been working hard to review and revise the drafted proposition after receiving feedback from the community. There is a present need to regulate privately owned dwelling units that are used as short-term rentals to reduce any negative impacts they may cause to residential neighbors as well as the long-term housing stock.
Significant changes proposed include:
No limit to the number of licenses a principal dwelling can be issued annually.
A maximum number of secondary dwelling licenses issued annually will be based off of the number of licenses issued within the first year following the effective law.
Secondary property owners cannot have more than one short-term rental license for a secondary dwelling unless such license is issued within the first year following the effective date of law and must be renewed annually.
An update to the maximum number of guests.
Annual permit fees set at $700 for secondary dwellings and $200 for principal dwellings. The Town has set this cost in coordination with the actual cost of conducting inspections and other needed assessments.
And finally, all short-term rental licenses are valid through February 28th of each year.
The Board took these points into consideration and resolved that the updated drafted law be sent back to the County for review.
The Engineering Department presented their monthly report, led by Ben Gross. The wastewater treatment plant operations training has begun. The department would also like to advertise for mowing contracts for the areas of the arboretum and cemeteries. The Board agreed to allow for bids to be advertised for potential mowing contracts.
The Town Board then shifted talks to New Business, to which they agreed to accept a contract for accounting services provided by Tronconi, Segarra & Associates.
In Old Business, the EVGV Trail continues their alliance with GoBike who will be assisting in the pursuit of land ROWs (right of way). They will also be working on the Fun Run Fundraiser, which is planned for May 4, 2025 and this year will host a Star Wars theme. The Nannen Arboretum corresponded with the Board to reflect the past year’s projects of 2024 and the success of the events and management of the grounds.
The Town Board finished discussions as the January meeting was called to adjourn. Scheduling will continue this year with monthly meetings being held on the third Wednesday of each month. For further information on the Town of Ellicottville, you can stay up-to-date by visiting the official government website at www.ellicottvillegov.com.