Chris, the applicant presenting the Woods Creek East project, told the Long Range Planning Committee that he submitted a joint permit application on July 28 and showed drone footage of January flooding that, he said, demonstrates severe siltation and blocked channels along the proposed reach. “This project is what we call Woods Creek East,” he said, outlining a roughly 3.7-mile effort to reestablish historical channel grades and restore conveyance where prior man-made channelization has silted and been overtaken by invasive vegetation.

The committee heard that the Army Corps of Engineers has been responsive in on‑site visits, while the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) asked for a complete drawing set and more detail. Chris said the town already has segmented survey data and prior project drawings to stitch into a single, consistent package for DEC review and that he expects to bid construction work in segments because of scale and cost.

After questions about sequencing, environmental protections and spoil-handling, members agreed to two parallel steps: let the applicant continue to complete and file the required permit package (so the agencies formally have a complete application to review) and seek grant funding for a hydrologic study of Woods Creek to document flows, hazards and recommended remediation approaches. As an engineer on the panel explained, a hydrologic study “tells us how the waters are flowing, the volumes of the water is flowing” and provides recommendations for hazard areas and remediation.

The committee’s motion to take the application for further discussion until a final plan is developed and to pursue grant funding for a watershed/hydrologic study was moved, seconded and approved by the board with one member reporting an abstention. The committee emphasized the study should cover the Woods Creek watershed to its mouth at the Niagara River and include the Buckhorn reach.

Members said the study — coupled with a complete drawing package — would strengthen the town’s case to DEC and provide defensible, measurable evidence to guide permits and grant applications. Several members also urged that any project materials include best-management practices to protect wetlands and wildlife and avoid creating unintended new floodplain problems when reestablishing channels.

The committee asked staff and the applicant to coordinate the application completeness checklists, finalize the drawing set, and pursue grant opportunities for a targeted hydrology study. The next procedural step is for the applicant to submit a complete application package to DEC (the committee noted that once DEC determines an application complete, formal review timelines begin). The committee also offered technical and grant-writing support to the applicant.