THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE VILLAGE OF ELLICOTTVILLE AND THE TOWNS OF ELLICOTTVILLE, GREAT VALLEY AND MANSFIELD,
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 19 FREE
NY
www.EllicottvilleTimes.com
JULY 12-18, 2013
Ride the Enchanted Mountains HOG Rally Hits Holiday Valley By Eva Potter
© 2013 KEYSTONE DESIGNERS
For the first time in many years, the HOG Rally returns to Western New York this weekend. Over 1,200 motorcycles — Harley-Davidson, to be precise — are expected to roll into Ellicottville for the July 11–13 event taking place at Holiday Valley. Harley Owners Group (HOG) represents an diverse group of Harley-Davidson owners, who all have one thing in common — their love of taking to the open road on their bikes. The weekend will offer plenty of that along with a welcome dinner and opening ceremony, motorcycle vendors, the Bubba Blackwell Stunt Show, live music, dancing, golf, a motorcycle light show, as well as a winery and brewery tour. There will be several scenic rides throughout Cattaraugus County to some special local destinations, highlighted by the first all-female ride, “Leave the Men Behind,” led by the ride coordinator Bev Sherman. Once you’ve ridden the scenic byways of Cattaraugus County, it won’t take long for you to start planning your next visit back to Ellicottville. “There are a lot of really unique opportunities to ride in this area if you’ve never been. Ellicottville has established itself as a destination that people want to be at. They have something for everybody and are very welcoming to the biker community,” said Tim McKeever, marketing manager at Gowanda Harley-Davidson, the host dealership of this year’s HOG Rally. To make your planning easy, the county’s tourism department has assembled some of the best ride routes in the area. For a free ride map, call 1-800-331-0543 or go to See HOG Rally page 6
Village Board Hears Concerns About New Water and Sewer Bills By Jann Wiswall B
With their latest quarterly water/sewer bills in i hand, more than a dozen Ellicottville small business b owners expressed concern that the “unexpected” “ increase in those bills will be a hardship h on their bottom lines. Owners of non-restaurant shops throughout the t Village were united in their complaints at the Village V Board meeting on Monday, July 8. They felt f that the new rate, which averages $150 more per p quarter than the new residential rate, “could break b us,” given many shops’ “small profit margins.” m Generally, people felt that their shops use u far less water/sewer service than residential and a other commercial customers use. Mayor Charles Coolidge attempted to explain e that the new system put in place was in See Village Board page 8
ECS Board Reorganizes Spell Remains President, Calarco Elected VP By Jann Wiswall
The Ellicottville Central School Board held its yearly reorganizational meeting on Tuesday, July 9, during which Roger Spell was reelected by the board to serve as president and Carl Calarco was elected vice president. New board
member William Murphy was sworn in to a five-year term and Mark Ward was sworn in for another year as Superintendent of Schools. In addition, board officers Melissa Sawicki (District Clerk), Mark Ward (Deputy District Clerk and Deputy Treasurer) and Aimee Kilby (Treasurer) took their oaths of office in those roles. The following Board Committee appointments also were approved: Audit: Steve Crowley, Connie Hellwig Buildings, Grounds & Transportation: Carl Calarco, James Wiley Negotiations: Carl Calarco, Steve Crowley New York State School Boards Association: Connie Hellwig (Delegate), Roger Spell (Alternate) Allegany Cattaraugus Association of School Boards: Connie Hellwig (Delegate), Carl See ECS Board page 5
Village Planning Board Stands Firm on Conditions
By Jann Wiswall
At the July 9 meeting of the Village Planning Board, the board voted against approval of an amendment to the approved site plan for a drivethrough banking window for the Cattaraugus County School Employees Federal Credit Union at the Ellicottville Square business complex at 3 Bristol Lane.
While the board had no objections to the plan itself, it did not approve the amendment because conditions previously set for the property owner had not been met. Specifically, those conditions required Sprague Development to remove a signpost on Elizabeth Street and to regularly mow the grass between the property and the back of some Elizabeth
Street homes by no later than June 25. Kody Sprague, the property developer, acknowledged that the signpost had not been removed even though he had assigned the task to an employee. He also was unaware that certain areas of the property had not been mowed as instructed. See Planning Board page 8
Great Valley Board Meeting Workers Comp Insurance & Assessor Discussed By Mary Fox
The Great Valley Town Board met on Monday, July 8 at 7 p.m. in the Great Valley Town Hall. A discussion regarding Workers Compensation Insurance led to setting a date for a special meeting of the town board on Monday, July 29. “We will meet just to deal
with this issue because it is so important. We are looking at getting away from the County Plan because it could mean a $14,000 increase,” said Town Supervisor Dan Brown. Jeff Forester has requested to be reappointed as town assessor. Bobbi Elderkin has also applied for the position. The position will be advertised
with resumes due by 7 p.m., Monday, Aug. 4 for review by the board. Interviews will be held at the September 12 board meeting. No Planning Board business is currently being considered. Due to the resignation of the planning board chairperson, six members now comprise See GV Board page 7
EVL Cheese Company Coming to Ellicottville in September ELLICOTTVILLE — Sarah Bradley, vice president of marketing & advertising for the
Cuba Cheese Shoppe in Cuba, N.Y., has announced she will be opening an upscale cheese store in The Village Center located at 5 E. Washington Street in Ellicottville, N.Y. Sliced from the Cuba Cheese Shoppe, The EVL
Cheese Company will be an upscale cheese and gourmet store promoting the famous Cuba cheddar, cheese curd and cheese spreads, while also having over 75 international and local cheeses to choose See EVL Cheese page 9