September 2011 Volume 10 Issue 9
Mark Your Calendar! Business Opportunities in Offshore Wind Tuesday, September 13 8:30-10:00am Clarion Hotel, Dunkirk
Energy Workshop with SBDC Tuesday, September 20 8:30-10:00am SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator, Dunkirk
SellingHive Training Session Thursday, September 22 8:00-9:00am JCC North County Training Center, Dunkirk
Bright Choices Open Enrollment Meetings Jamestown Wednesday, September 28 7:30-9:00am or 5:30-7:00pm Dunkirk Thursday, September 29 7:30-9:00am or 5:30-7:00pm
Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Banquet Thursday, October 6 Chautauqua Suites Meeting & Expo Center, Mayville
www.chautauquachamber.org Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce ■ ■ ■
10785 Bennett Road Dunkirk NY 14048 716-366-6200
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512 Falconer Street Jamestown NY 14701 716-484-1101
Vote YES to Reduce the Size of the Legislature When you go to the voting booth on November 8th this year you will have an opportunity to send a strong voice to the Chautauqua County Legislature. A proposition on the ballot will ask you to approve a local law amending the County Charter which will require that future redistricting plans reduce the size of the County Legislature to no greater than 19 members. We strongly encourage a “yes” vote on this proposition. In the past 40 years our county’s population has declined by 12,400, from its peak of 147,305 in 1970 to 134,905 in the 2010 US Census. Yet the County Legislature remains a 25member body. Over the same period of time dramatic changes have occurred in our ability to easily communicate with one another. Forty years ago our elected officials were not in touch with their constituents via email and
Facebook, as many are now. Not too many years ago the County Legislature held regular meetings twice a month. Now they meet monthly, conducting all business in about half the time it once took. At least three separate, bi-partisan commissions convened in the past fifteen years have recommended reducing the size of the County Legislature. Despite all of these sound arguments for legislative reduction, the Legislature itself has failed to act of its own accord. Many of those whom we have elected to positions of leadership have not demonstrated their willingness to tackle this issue, with some notable exceptions. We congratulate the lawmakers who have tried, unsuccessfully, to get the reduction approved. The issue has not been a partisan (Continued on page 2)
WNY Regional Economic Development Council Seeks Community Input The Western New York Regional Economic Development Council will hold a series of community workshops designed to gain input and aid in the creation of the council’s five-year economic development plan. In Chautauqua County the workshop will be held from 6-8pm Tuesday, September 13 at the Robert Lee Scharmann Theatre at Jamestown Community College, 525 Falconer Street, Jamestown. The format will be a facilitated community conversation and will include an overview of the regional council, a discussion of the
strategic planning process, and will use “clicker” technology that will allow the public to have their voices heard regarding priorities and regional issues. Additional workshops will be held in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Erie, and Niagara Counties. In addition to attending the sessions, local residents are also being asked to fill out a brief online survey to maximize public input. The survey is available at http://nyworks.ny.gov/ western-ny-regional-issues-form. The survey takes just a few minutes to (Continued on page 2)