Catt. County Source 03-09-2023

SNEAK PEEK

Great Valley again looking at sewer system for Kill Buck

Great Valley again looking at sewer system for Kill Buck

By Kellen M. Quigley

KILL BUCK —

Three years after a proposed project to install a sewer system in the hamlet of Kill Buck failed to get the needed support, Great Valley town officials are reinvigorated to try again.

Previously dedicating most of 2019 and early 2020 to a feasibility study for a $3.37 million project in the hamlet on the north side of Route 417, a lower cost for Kill Buck residents should make the project more enticing, Town Supervisor Dan Brown said at the February board meeting.

The initial project, even with potential grants, would have cost each household about $1,600 per year, which was deemed far to expense and essentially killed the project three years

ago.

“Now we have a chance to reduce that cost, because it’s not just the monthly cost. It’s the monthly cost on top of the build-out and the construction,” Brown said. “They could have a toilet fail tomorrow and not have the ability to put a sewer system in, or even get a permit to put a sewer system in.”

The proposed sewer system would run along Route 417 from the Great Valley Creek east to Sullivan Hollow Road, Brown said. With a some higher-density areas on Killbuck Road, Hardscrabble Road and Sullivan Hollow, the more homes that hook into the system, the lower the perresident cost would be.

“The little hamlet of downtown Kill Buck is a beautiful community where the neighbors are right on top of each

other,” he said. “What happens if those houses start coming up abandoned? Then what are you going to have on 417?”

Peter Sorgi, town attorney, said he has worked on several sewer projects in other towns since Great Valley first attempt, including Yorkshire, and they’ve received more grant funds than they expected or asked for, which have significantly reduced the cost per household.

“There’s a lot of money out there now because there is a push to do more infrastructure, and it’s based on need from a health persepctive, it’s based on income levels and a number of things,” he said. Once a final cost of a new project is estimated, whatever remaining costs would be left over after grants would be paid for by the residents who hook

into the sewer system.

“When we worked on this project in Yorkshire, the number we needed to be under was $650 per single-family home per year for operation, maintenance as well as debt repayment,” Sorgi explained. “It seems like there is such an abundance of grants out there now that it might be able to get us down to a number that is acceptable.”

Sorgi said talking to residents and helping them understand the cost per year is not only for the system but better for everyone healthwise and no longer having to worry about a septic tank.

“In that area there, because of the way it is, (septic tanks) can cost up to $25,000,” he said. “If you’re selling a house in that area, and you have to put a $25,000 system in if it fails, and many of them would fail, that’s

going to be a huge thing.”

The town also authorized Sorgi to send out a Request for Qualification (RFQ) for engineers for the next three years. Even if the sewer project doesn’t proceed, the RFQ will cover any federal- or statefunded engineering projects, he said.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, the town will begin accepting mowing bids for townowned properties, cemeteries and parks — including the new town park at the old Great Valley Youth Camp.

“It’s our usual, standard mowing bids,” Brown said. “They can contact the clerk here or more if they want anymore information on it.”

Also at the old youth camp, which has been renamed the Baugh Family Park, the town board discussed putting up a memorial plaque to recognize its history.

Retired businessman and town resident Travis Baugh purchased the property in 2010 when the state announced plans to sell after the youth camp closed. He turned it over to the town for a recreation and multi-pupose area in 2022. The town board also passed a negative declaration SEQR for the proposed solar project to proceed at the old gravel pit behind the town hall, Brown said.

Brown said they plan to contact the county about installing automated external defibrillator (AED) machines in town buildings. Anyone interested in renting the Kill Buck Memorial Park this summer is encouraged to do so soon as the available weekends are filling up quickly, Brown said.

County Hall of Fame announces inductees for March 25 banquet

GOWANDA

— The 18th Annual Cattaraugus County Sports Hall of Fame Banquet is set for Saturday, March 25 at the Gowanda Moose Lodge. This year’s inductees include Tammy Putt (AlleganyLimestone), William Aiello (Olean), Allan Dunlap

(Franklinville), Larry Welty (Portville), Marty Burroughs (Ellicottville), Jeffrey Hatfield (Gowanda), Chuck Howard (South Dayton), Frank Asquith (Pioneer), John Zalewski (Salamanca), Jeff Horth (CattaraugusLittle Valley) and posthumous inductee Mike Ahrens (West Valley). The program

begins at 5 p.m. with a social and sports auction followed by dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets for the event are $30 each and can be reserved by calling Mark Benton, banquet chairman, at 716532-4053 or email hidibenton@gmail. com. The deadline for all reservations is March 18.

healthcare system or other concerns or questions veterans and their families may have. He will be available in: • Randolph, American Legion Post, 10 a.m. to noon, March 8

Little Valley, Little

Valley VFW Post, 1:30 to 4 p.m., March 9 and 23.

• Franklinville, Town Clerk’s Office, 1:30 to 4 p.m., March 21.

Olean office hours are 8 a.m. to noon, 1 to 4 p.m. or 4 to 5 p.m. with prior appointment, Monday through Friday.

Appointments are required. You can set an appointment by calling (716) 701-3298. If no appointments are on the schedule for any of the days that he is at the above locations, McCord will not be traveling but will remain in the Olean office.

Town of Napoli formed 200 years ago

By Deb Everts NAPOLI

— This is the town of Napoli’s bicentennial year.

The town was born 200 years ago in 1823 when it was formed from a portion of the town of Little Valley. For the first five years, the town was named Coldspring, then was renamed Napoli in 1828.

According to the Historic Path of Cattaraugus County, the original town of Coldspring included the present towns of Napoli, Coldspring and a small portion of South Valley. In 1837, the town of Napoli was divided, forming the current town and the new town of Coldspring to the south.

The following information was found in the publication, “Cattaraugus County Bicentennial History, 1808-2008.”

During the 1800s, there were several settlements scattered throughout the area that became the town of Napoli. They included

Cold Spring in the northwest part of the town (not to be confused with the town of the same name), The Narrows in the eastern part, Peaslee Hollow in the northwest, Owensburgh in the north, Seelysburgh in the area of upper Elm Creek Road and Napoli Corners located near the center of the town. The hamlet of Napoli is the only one that remains. Chautauqua Road, the first actual road in Cattaraugus County, was built by the Holland Land Company in 1812. It connected Geneseo and Canandaigua with Mayville where all their offices were located. The road crossed through Farmersville, Franklinville, Ellicottville, Mansfield, Little Valley, New Albion, Napoli, Rutledge and Conewango. Major Timothy Butler was the first permanent settler, arriving from Onondaga County around 1818.

George Hill, who planted the first apple orchard in 1820, came next followed by Sargeant Morrill from Vermont in 1819.

Benjamin Hillman, a shoemaker, came from Washington County in 1822 and opened a temperance tavern.

In 1819, Major Butler, Mr. Morrill and Timothy Boardman cut a road from Little Valley to Napoli. These three men and their families were the only persons in Napoli at the time.

The town of Napoli was a bustling community with sawmills, a tannery, an ashery, creameries, blacksmith shops, cheese factories and other businesses needed to sustain life in the 1800s.

Black Salts, also known as crude potash, was one of Napoli’s first cash products. It was created by burning tree stumps and vegetation to clear the fields, which led to the decimation of local forests.

Potash was used in the manufacture of textiles, glass, soap and fertilizer. The black salts found a new use in the manufacture of saltpeter for gunpowder.

Napoli had a jail farm, in 1818, where prisoners raised potatoes, beans and other vegetables. This system provided work and food for the prison population.

IN 1823, it was voted that a $10 bounty would be allowed to every white person who killed a full-grown wolf in the town. The bounty on wolves allowed by the state doubled the following year. In 1825, a bounty of $5 was voted for every full-grown bear and $2.50 for every cub. It was also voted that distilled liquors would not to be sold on election days.

Brothers Ashbel and Amasa Bushnell came to Napoli in 1824 and 1826, respectively. Ashbel kept a store on Bushnell Flats and, in 1831, he opened a hotel at Napoli Corners. Bushnell Stagecoach Inn was also there along with the first inn, kept by Eastman Prescott, in 1831. A post office was established at Napoli Corners in 1827. Prescott carried the first mail

from Ellicottville to Randolph.

Sawmills dotted the countryside. James Waite erected the first sawmill in 1826. David Brown, a man with the last name of Davis, Otis Pratt and Lyman Giles also built sawmills.

In the early 1900s, the hamlet flourished with two stores, four churches, a blacksmith shop and a cheese factory. Napoli also had a meat market and small grocery, a carpenter shop, blacksmith shop and a wagon shop.

Napoli had five creameries between 1870 and 1920. The facilites gradually closed and the milk was sent to the Borden Condensory in Randolph and MerrillSoule’s powdered milk plant in Little Valley.

Stephen Gladden came from Onondaga County in 1827 and purchased his farm from the Holland Land Company. His son,

Tom Chapman 716-699-2832 or 716-474-6848

George, built a house on Pigeon Valley Road in 1874-76 that still stands today. He also built a unique windmill behind the house in 1890-91 that was believed to be the only one of its kind in the United States at the time.

The Gladden Windmill was put on The National Register of Historical Places in 1973. Napoli made national news in December 1951 when Continental Charters Flight 44-2 crashed on Bucktooth Ridge, taking the lives of 26 passengers and leaving 14 survivors trapped in the snow for two nights. More recently, about 1969, the Development Services, Inc. of Omaha, Nebraska planned to make a lake development in Napoli, named “Enchanted Lake.” A 400-acre lake was planned, but the development never came to fruition.

Photo by Deb Everts

The town of Napoli turns 200 years old this year. The former Bushnell Stagecoach Inn, once located at Napoli Corners, is now a private home in the hamlet of Napoli.

New tax foreclosure proposal irks most county legislators

By Rick Miller LITTLE VALLEY

— Cattaraugus

County lawmakers on Wednesday decried a state budget proposal to force counties when selling homes in foreclosure to give any amount beyond what was owed for taxes to the former owner. Like most other counties, Cattaraugus County keeps the entire amount of the tax sale, applies it to what is owed in back taxes, advertising and other costs — and keeps what is left.

Last year the county took in more than $1 million above the amount owed in back taxes for foreclosed properties sold at auction. The 2022 county budget projected $575,000 in income from tax acquired properties, but actually received $1,026,634.

Under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget, revisions to the foreclosure of taxdelinquent property would require any money the county receives that exceeds the liability amount — including overdue taxes, penalties, interest and mortgage liens — will be

returned to the property owner, minus applicable administrative costs to the local government.

“The process is working very well as it is,” said Legislator Andrew Burr, R-Gowanda, who is Finance Committee chairman. “Why the governor would propose changing this is a mystery to me. I would hope she would reconsider this atrocious proposal.”

The county legislators unanimously asked to be included as co-sponsors of a resolution opposing Hochul’s budget measure regarding

tax sales. In another memorializing resolution sponsored by Burr and Legislator Ginger Schroder, R-Farmersville, most legislators opposed another of Hochul’s budget proposals, one that would tie the minimum wage to inflation.

Only Democrat David Koch of Salamanca voted no on the resolution. “I don’t think tying it to inflation is a bad concept. People making the minimum wage — their prices go up, too.” The resolution states that inflation would have increased the minimum wage

by $13 a week. Burr said Hochul’s proposal to tie the minimum wage to the consumer price index was “misguided.” He stated, the CPI was the wrong inflation index to use because it relies heavily on housing costs. “It’s another overreach of New York State.”

On another resolution, legislators asked the state legislators to extend for three years the county’s additional 1% sales tax that is dedicated to county road and bridge maintenance. Last year it raised $9.2 million.

In 2023, the

county budget is looking for $13.3 million from the 1% sales tax. It is not shared with municipalities as the original 3% sales tax is.

Legislators also unanimously approved a resolution urging state lawmakers to increase community college aid by $17 million. As the executive budget stands, Jamestown Community College could lose $310,000 in operating aid and up to $1.5 million in other aid.

County seeks comments on mobile home replacement plan

LITTLE VALLEY

— Cattaraugus County is seeking comments on plans to seek $600,000 in state funding to replace three or four mobile homes. The Department of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism plans to submit its request March 8 to the New York State Office of Community Renewal to release Community Development Block Grant funding

to provide new manufactured homes to residents meeting the qualifications. The grants will include water and septic system improvements, according to Crystal Abers, director of the Department of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism.

Cattaraugus County has been participating in the mobile home replacement program through the Office of

Community Renewal since 2017, according to Abers.

Those wishing to comment on the program may write to Kate O’Striker, senior development specialist at kmostriker@cattco. org, or phone (716) 938-2320. Written comments may also be sent to O’Striker at 303 Court St., Little Valley, NY 14775. Comments received by March 2 will be considered before the request for release of the funds

will be finalized. “This mobile home replacement program has been a success,” Abers said. “It’s not just the replacement of mobile homes. We work with the Health Department on water wells and septic systems.”

Abers said, “It’s another tool in our basket to improve housing, like our land bank. Once the state releases the funds, O’Striker will post eligibility criteria.

Applications will be reviewed to make sure applicants meet the criteria including owning their mobile home on their own land — not in a mobile home park.

After all the applications are reviewed, a lottery of eligible applicants will be held and winners will be notified, Abers said.

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE SHALL DIRECT YOUR PATHS. (PROVERBS 3:5-6) RED