FREE! TAKE ONE! VOLUME 4 ISSUE 20
MAY 15 - 21, 2015
The Official Newspaper
www.EllicottvilleTimes.com facebook/theEllicottvilleTimes
of the Village of Ellicottville, the Town of Ellicottville and the Towns of East Otto, Great Valley and Mansfield, New York
American Advertising Awards 2014 Silver ADDY Award Winner Your Hometown Newspaper Serving Ellicottville, East Otto, Great Valley, Little Valley, Mansfield, Olean, Randolph, Salamanca, Springville and Beyond
Calendar of Events
Take Me Out to the Ball Game!
May 16 GeoBash X Allegany State Park May 22 Sky Flyer Mountain Coaster opens
By Alicia Dziak
The air is warm, the sun is out, and ballparks all over Western New York are filled with eager fans ready to take part in America’s pastime. Whether you’re a coach and spend your time on the third base line urging players to run home, a parent cheering on your favorite tee-baller at her first up-to-bat, a fan armed with a mitt to catch that foul ball in the stadium, or all of the above, you’re sure to find numerous ways to enjoy this all-American sport. Little League for Ellicottville and the surrounding towns began last week. The league, referred to as ECLVWV Little League, is for kids ages 4 to 16 from Ellicottville, Cattaraugus, Little Valley and West Valley, and is broken down by age group. T-Ball, for boys and girls ages 4 to 6, is a start up league where coaches are teaching kids the fundamentals of baseball; they learn how to hit, field and run the bases. Coach Pitch, for girls and boys ages 6 to 8, features a more advanced level of baseball, where kids make defensive plays, run the bases and hit balls pitched by volunteer coaches. Softball, for girls ages 8-12, is a competitive league for girls that follows all the rules of high school softball. Minors Baseball is a competitive league for both
May 23 Boots ‘n Hoses Music Festival Allegany May 29-31 Allegany Nature Pilgrimage June 5-6 Cycling Weekend Holiday Valley June 6 Relay for Life Ellicottville Central School June 5-7 Dairy/Ag Fest Springville
© 2015 Keystone Designers Inc.
June 20 Mudslide Obstacle Run Holiday Valley
Win Olean Oilers Season Tickets! See page 7 for details.
See Baseball/Softball Season page 7
Village Board Rejects All Treatment Plant Bids Seeks Estimates for Park Improvements By Jann Wiswall
Ellicottville’s Village Park
Bids received for general contracting services to construct the new Village Waste Water Treatment Plant significantly exceeded engineering estimates, leaving the board with no choice but to reject all bids and authorize that the project be rebid based on a revised scope of work. Village Engineer Mike Smith, who is CEO of Nussbaumer & Clarke, Inc. --
the firm that designed the plant and wrote the bid specifications – said he was very disappointed that general contracting bids came in “extraordinarily high.” The low bid was $5.8 million for a project he expected to come in at $4 million. The other four bids ranged from $6.2-$6.5 million. Smith explained that his firm had designed a plant that “was the best that we could design
The Board of Directors of the Western New York Southtowns Scenic Byway (WNYSSB) announced that the Scenic Byway Advisory Board of the New York State Department of Transportation on May 1, 2015 recommended approval of the WNYSSB’s application for expansion into Cattaraugus County. Finalization of the application will require the consent of the New York State Legislature and approval by the Governor. New York State Senator Catharine Young will lead the effort for passage of the necessary legislation. “The expansion of the Western New York Southtowns Scenic Byway into Cattaraugus County is a very exciting development for our communities. This will help showcase the wonderful history, culture, recreational opportunities, and natural beauty of our area. See Scenic Byway Expansion page 4
June 27-28 Raccoon Rally Allegany State Park July 2-5 Ellicottville Rodeo July 3-5 Summer Music Festival Holiday Valley
2015-16 School Budget Nears Vote By Jann Wiswall
School District voters have the opportunity to vote on Tuesday, May 19 on three 2015-16 budget propositions. At a public hearing held Tuesday, May 12, District Superintendent Mark Ward and Elementary School Principal
Connie Poulin presented the budget to an audience of four (plus media representatives) with the full school board and key administrative staff on hand. The total proposed basic budget for all school operations is $11,620,182 (Proposition
#1 on the ballot) and covers instruction (teachers and staff), employee benefits, central services, support services, operation and maintenance of the facility, student transportation, debt service, interfund transfers and BOCES See ECS Budget Vote page 7
GV Board Approves Solar Law
See Village Board page 6
WNY Southtowns Scenic Byway Recommended for Expansion to Catt. Co.
June 20 Randolph Arts & Crafts Festival
Carries Over Mining District Discussion
By Colleen Mahoney
The board and members of the public discuss the proposed mining overlay district for the Town of Great Valley.
Residents of the town of Great Valley will be able to install individual solar panels at their residence, after the town board passed Local Law number 2-2015 as an amendment to the town’s comprehensive plan at its May 11 meeting.
See Great Valley Board page 5
Road Construction Update Delays Expected
Road construction season has begun in earnest around Cattaraugus County and several state Department of Transportation (DOT) projects in the region are likely to cause some travel delays. On I-86, phase 2 of the DOT’s highway improvement project that began last year is now underway. The right lane in both directions between the Carrollton town line and the
town of Allegany will be closed until further notice. In addition, traffic in both directions between Exit 26 – NY 16 to the Allegany-Cattaraugus County line will be down to one lane. In the town and village of Ellicottville, the DOT continues to make progress on the “HoliMont sidewalk” project. On Rt. 242 between HoliMont and the Village, single-line traffic in alternating
directions with temporary traffic lights will be in place for the foreseeable future. In addition, work has begun on the reconfiguration of the 219/ Fillmore Road/Elizabeth Street intersection, which is part of the same DOT project. Please use caution in these areas. For more information, visit www.511ny.org.