Herbicide treatment in the village of Lakewood will take place on Wednesday, as the next step in lake maintenance this summer. Submitted Photo

LAKEWOOD — Herbicide application of ProcellaCOR is scheduled to take place on 20.2 acres of Chautauqua Lake inside the shoreline of the village of Lakewood on Wednesday.

According signage posted throughout the village, swimming, fishing and domestic water use will be restricted during the treatment period from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

“We found this out late last week,” Lakewood Mayor Randy Holcomb told the village board on Monday. “All signage for Lakewood and Busti locations for the treatment were put in place at the lakefront in the permitted areas last Saturday.”

Funding for the treatment has been reallocated by the Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance after funds were not needed in the village of Celoron and town of Ellicott.

The total funding needed between Lakewood and the town of Busti was $25,822, which the alliance was able to cover with $26,000 in unused funds from other municipalities. Originally Lakewood had received a $13,000 grant from the alliance, which would have left a funding gap of $4,221. The board took questions from the public on herbicide treatment, and offered answers which were provided by SOLitude Lake Management, which will perform the application. Trustee Ted McCague briefed the board on recent cleanup activities using Mobitrac barges, stating that “the Mobitrac is a very slow-moving machine. But again, where it can be used it has been pretty effective so far.” While there are no water use restrictions related to recreation after treatment with ProcellaCOR, there are restrictions for agriculture and irrigation with treated water which can be found at epa.gov.

In other business, Trustee Ellen Barnes briefed the board during a work session on a domestic incident which resulted in a self-inflicted gunshot wound that occurred on Fairmount Avenue last Tuesday. Barnes confirmed early police reports, stating that police officers responded to the scene whereupon a male was involved in a domestic dispute and found carrying a firearm.

“He took the gun out, and of course they took positions of cover, the officers, and he shot into the ground and then turned the gun on himself,” Barnes said. “This was a highly, highly dangerous situation and obviously the male determined what kind of action was taken by the police. They were giving the verbal commands that they were trained to do, and did render first aid right away.”

During the board meeting, Barnes acknowledged the good work done by Lakewood-Busti police officers at the scene.

“Doug Goodwin and Matt Lundsten did, just an outstanding and commendable job,” Barnes said. “Not only protecting people who were at the scene but rendering first aid to a man who had a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We will be making a formal commendation and resolution when we can have them, at hopefully our next full meeting.”

In other business, the board approved a motion to use New York State Energy Research and Development Authority grant funding to place solar panels on a department of public works building, as had been discussed at a previous meeting. The board also approved a motion to change the hours of the Lakewood municipal office building from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. to 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., which will take effect once the building is reopened after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

Lakewood Treasurer Apryl Troutman informed the board that she had finished closing out the 2019-20 fiscal year, and that there was a positive impact to the fund balance of $92,643.

Demolition of a former karate studio located at 341-343 East Fairmount Avenue has nearly been completed, and a new office building is expected to be constructed to replace it. The board also approved a motion to have a portable toilet available for the Live on the Lake Concert Series, which will begin at Hartley Park on July 9.