Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, and Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, are taking their fight to reopen Chautauqua County’s businesses straight to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Borrello and Goodell sent a letter to the governor on Friday which started with information featured on Page A1 of The Post-Journal on Friday and comments made by Dr. Donald Yealy, chair of emergency medicine at UPMC, which serves the Jamestown area.

“We can safely reopen not only our hospital care but the region and society in all areas that UPMC serves by protecting the most vulnerable, particularly the elderly, and doing things safely and smartly,” Yealy said during a news conference Thursday.

The county’s elected state representatives use Yealy’s statements, which the doctor reiterated several times during the news conference, to lay out the case for Chautauqua County reopening on May 15 even if Erie and Niagara counties don’t meet the state’s 12 listed criteria for beginning a phased reopening of society.

As of Friday, Goodell and Borrello said, there are only five active COVID-19 cases in Chautauqua County. All of those patients are in isolation. There are no patients in a Chautauqua County hospital. No Jamestown residents have tested positive and there have been no new cases in southern Chautauqua County for about two weeks.

“Since March 23, 2020, there have been four COVID-related deaths in Chautauqua County,” Goodell and Borrello wrote. “During the same time period, the local newspaper obituaries reported 365 deaths. In other words, you are about 99 times more likely to die from something other than COVID in Chautauqua County.”

Goodell and Borrello give credit to the Chautauqua County Health Department for its efforts to contact trace COVID-19 infections happening inside the county and note that the county by and large doesn’t have mass transit, crowded elevators and large apartment complexes, which makes it easier for the Health Department to track down those with whom a COVID-19 patient has come into contact. Residents are being careful around elderly residents, by and large are practicing social distancing and wearing masks in public.

All are reasons the economy in Chautauqua County should reopen, the legislators’ wrote to Cuomo. Goodell and Borrello said it is unlikely people will come from Buffalo to Chautauqua County to visit local stores since Wal-Mart and other big box stores remain open there.

“Allowing local manufacturing, construction and other low-risk businesses in Chautauqua County to reopen with appropriate safety protocols will not cause a surge in new cases,” they said. “Except for a few employees who commute from nearby counties, almost all the employees in local manufacturing and construction are local residents. For those few employees who commute, special precautions can easily be implemented. Our major employers have developed thoughtful and comprehensive plans to reopen safely consistent with CDC and OSHA guidelines.”

At the same time Chautauqua County remains closed, neighboring Bradford and Warren counties are among the 24 Pennsylvania counties that have been allowed to begin reopening. The 24 counties are home to 1.5 million of Pennsylvania’s 12.8 million residents, and is about one-third of its geographical area at about 14,000 square miles. Along with retailers and other kinds of businesses that can reopen, gatherings of up to 25 people are now allowed. But gyms, barber shops, nail salons, casinos, theaters and other such venues are required to remain closed and other restrictions will remain in place, including a ban on youth sports.

“In the meantime, the competitive pressures on Chautauqua County businesses are even greater now that both neighboring counties in Pennsylvania have reopened,” Goodell and Borrello wrote.

Lastly, the legislators note the precarious financial status of Jamestown, which has exhausted its state constitutional tax limit and has balanced its budget for the last few years by depending on financial assistance from New York state. That assistance has allowed the city to build a $3,439,689 fund balance through the end of December. Dunkirk, meanwhile, is relying on state assistance to offset the tax loss from the closing of the NRG energy plant, money which helps the city balance its budget.

“Neither city has the financial reserves to cover substantial losses in sales tax revenues,” Goodell and Borrello wrote. “Unfortunately, the financial ability of New York state will be severely stressed by the projected loss of revenue, making it difficult for the state to continue to subsidize Jamestown and Dunkirk. Please show your compassion and understanding to the severe fiscal impact on local small business owners, manufacturers and others who are witnessing the death of their livelihoods and allow these businesses to reopen in those counties that meet your metrics.”