Speakers during the second privilege of the floor urged the Chautauqua County Legislature on Oct. 22 to form a centralized lake district or authority to address ongoing problems at Chautauqua Lake, saying past cooperative efforts have been ineffective.

Jim Worfritz, president of the Chautauqua Lake Property Owners Association, told the legislature he and his group have repeatedly asked the county to take stronger action on lake management and said the current Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance has produced only incremental results.

"We do not have another 12 years to waste," Worfritz said, urging the legislature to "renew the commitment" to form a centralized Lake District or authority. He said the alliancehas produced multiple studies and limited actionable recommendations. He criticized the pace and the lack of a clear path to implementation and said local elected officials should be central to a state-authorized district that is accountable to taxpayers.

Worfritz also urged the county to reassess its relationship with the Jefferson Project, a multi-institution research collaboration involving the Chautauqua Institution, IBM and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). He said roughly $5 million has been spent on the Jefferson Project with limited public-facing recommendations and that oversight and public access to results should be clearer.

Why it matters: Chautauqua Lake is a county natural resource and a driver of tourism and local property values. Advocates told legislators that incremental, fragmented efforts have not produced durable fixes and that an authority or district with elected local representation could provide accountable governance and clearer funding and management.

What speakers requested

- Formation of a New York State-authorized lake district or authority made up of lakeside town supervisors and village mayors, elected and accountable to taxpayers.

- A shift from studies and research partnerships to a governance model that can implement and finance on-the-ground remediation and long-term management.

Speakers and organizations

- Jim Worfritz, resident of the Town of Ellery and president of the Chautauqua Lake Property Owners Association, requested a centralized district/authority and criticized the pace and transparency of current efforts.

Background and context

Worfritz referenced past county commitments and action years (2003, 2017, 2019) to lake management and said the current approach has not achieved the necessary results. He said the county did not join the lawsuit or amicus filings brought by local legislators and assemblies in support of his group's litigation against the state and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and he asked the legislature to explain that decision to supporters.

The county executive and county staff were referenced in public comments but did not present formal responses during the public-comment period.