Chautauqua County officials met with Sen. Charles Schumer on Monday in Washington, D.C. Pictured from left: County Watershed Coordinator Dave McCoy, county Industrial Development Agency Chief Executive Officer Mark Geise, Sen. Schumer, County Executive PJ Wendel, and Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon.

Chautauqua County officials recently visited Washington, D.C. trying to secure federal funding for a number of county projects while updating federal officials on projects that have received funding.

On Tuesday, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with County Executive P.J. Wendel; county legislature chairman Pierre Chagnon; Mark Geise, deputy county executive for economic development and CEO of the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency; Dave McCoy, county watershed coordinator; and others to discuss county issues.

“Next to visiting the region, one of my favorite parts of the year is welcoming Chautauqua County officials down to Washington D.C. to listen to their top priorities for the county. It is a breath of fresh air and shows how we can work in a bipartisan way to get real results for people. We discussed the funding I have already gotten for Barcelona Harbor and how because of that funding the long-awaited dredging to ensure its Barcelona Harbor’s long-term stability is starting this month,” Schumer said in a news release. “We also talked about the Ripley Interstate shovel-ready site and the funding I have delivered for that, and we spoke of how I can continue to support Chautauqua County’s growth on a federal level. There is a lot of work to do attracting businesses to the region and working to make sure repairs at our harbors stays on track and that we continue to preserve Lake Erie. I am proud to be Chautauqua County’s loudest, proudest voice in Washington. Everything I do in Washington for the region is with the people of Chautauqua County at the top of my mind, and I will always fight alongside County Executive Wendel and leaders across Chautauqua to make sure their needs are heard and responded to in Washington.”

Projects Schumer has helped secured funding for include $7.5 million for the Army Corps to repair the west breakwater in Barcelona Harbor and $500,000 for Chautauqua Lake Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Study in the 2024 government budget; $4.8 million for dredging Dunkirk Holiday Harbor Agitation Correction & Segmented Offshore Breakwaters Construction Project in the 2023 budget; and $5.9 million for the Dunkirk Harbor Breakwater and Dredging, $1.15 million for Barcelona Harbor, and $1 million for the Cattaraugus Breakwater in the 2022 budget.

Schumer last year also secured $1 million for the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency’s Ripley Interstate Shovel Ready Site project to extend electrical service to prepare a 147-acre site for future employers.