Lakewood approves stormwater project change order
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LAKEWOOD – A Chautauqua Lake stormwater improvement project is going to be more expensive than originally thought.
The Lakewood Village Board approved a measure to change a grant order at a Sept. 28 meeting.
As previously reported in an April 2026 edition of The Post-Journal, the trustees approved a $74,000 construction bid by N. Mathews Enterprises Inc. of Westfield. The firm submitted the lowest bid and it was reviewed and recommended for award by Project Engineer Andrew Johnson of EcoStrategies Engineering & Surveying of Falconer.
The project is titled the Fairmount Triangle Stormwater Basin Improvements Project. Its goals include improving the quality of stormwater entering the lake from a 109-acre area and reducing sediment and nutrient flow. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation administers the 2023 Water Quality Improvement Project, which funds projects such as Lakewoods. The project also includes a 2% matching grant from the Chautauqua County Grant and the Alliance Foundation Match Fund.
The scope of work includes site clearing and grubbing, engineering for shallow wetland creation, seed plantings, and ecological enhancement features.
At the Sept. 29 meeting, the trustees approved another change order (to the grant) which piggybacks on a change order dated for the same project in June of 2026.
However, Trustee John Shedd added a caveat to the change order prior to voting on its approval.
"What is the scope of work to accompany the change order?" He asked.
Randall Perry, executive director of the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance, submitted a letter from EcoStrategies, along with the updated project drawings, to include as the change order’s scope of work.
The original project proposal called for a contract sum of $74,000; the new order sets it at $121,000, bringing the total project to $195,000.
Jay Young of the Chautauqua Lake & Water Management Alliance said in January that the project sits close to the Fairmount Avenue viaduct near Fifties Restaurant and the Save-A-Lot plaza. Johnson said the water comes down and funnels through the basin before it goes under the train tracks. EcoStrategies did a feasibility study in 2021 that helped determine the project was feasible. He also reported that the basin has filled with a lot of sediment over the years and is overgrown with vegetation.
"So the water just kind of short-circuits through it right now, and doesn’t provide any treatment. The design would be to excavate out all the old sediments, remove the overgrown vegetation, and basically beautify it,” Johnson noted in January.
The engineer also said in January that new trees will be planted for the neighboring house, and the basin will treat pollutants going to Chautauqua Lake, and also provide flood control.
“It (the basin) would really be an asset to the village and community,” Johnson said.
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