The Chautauqua Town Board, pictured, along with the village of Mayville, received a $76,500 grant to create a Comprehensive Plan. Photo by Gregory Bacon

The local governments of Mayville and Chautauqua are getting funding necessary to move ahead to create a Comprehensive Plan for the village and town.

During the January village and town board meetings, officials announced that they received a $76,500 grant from the New York Department of State. The village and town governments are each required to pay a 5% match.

In the fall, the two local boards started the process of doing a Comprehensive Plan by applying for the grant and getting community members to respond to a survey. Had the funding fallen through, the two municipalities would have had to decide to wait on the study or fund it themselves.

The two boards have been working with Barton & Loguidice, an engineering, planning, environmental, and landscape architecture firm to create a Comprehensive Plan.

According to Barton & Loguidice, a comprehensive plan is one of a municipality’s most important documents. It establishes a baseline of where the town and village priorities have been, identifies the community’s future vision, prioritizes local and regional policies and action items, and gives context to future decision-making on public and private investments in our community. Through this framework, the comprehensive plan assists the community in achieving its future vision for smart growth, environmental stewardship, and economic development.

The two boards also appointed the members on the Steering Committee. They include: Town Councilman Scott Cummings, Town Councilman Tom Carlson, Village Mayor Rick Syper, Village Trustee Dan Rousch, Jessica Emhart with the town office, Sorena Gilkinson with the Chamber of Commerce, Mayville Zoning Board Chairperson Mary Schiller, Mayville Planning Board Chairman Mark Smith, town resident Julie Lescynski, Russell Boehner with Chautauqua Institution Property Owners Association, village resident Sharon Smead, Town Justice Tim Hull, Zach Stahlsmith with Chautauqua Lake Central School, and village resident Hank Navarro.

“This committee does not make decisions as much, rather they make recommendations to the village and town boards,” Cummings said at the town board meeting.

The Steering Committee’s first meeting will take place Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. at the Chautauqua Municipal Building. The meeting is open to the public.

According to Cummings, another requirement of the grant is for the two municipalities to advertise a Request For Qualifications for consulting services. The boards agreed to advertise and will review the responses in a future meeting.