A lot of people weren’t happy with the Memorandum of Agreement that will govern Chautauqua Lake improvement efforts for the next two years — but all but one of the affected agencies have signed the legislation.

A couple of groups had to swallow hard to sign on to the agreement due to the limits imposed on the plans they want to pursue. They won’t come close to getting everything they had hoped for when this process began, but the memorandum needed unanimous — or nearly unanimous — agreement to do any good.

The concerns that were raised by some groups, including the Chautauqua Lake Partnership, are valid concerns. It will be important to make sure, if those concerns do end up manifesting themselves this year and next that they can be remedied when the next Memorandum of Understanding is written.

It will also be interesting to see now how funding flows to projects. In the past, the county has not helped with herbicide treatment on the lake, with legislators going so far as to single out herbicide funding as an avenue that wouldn’t receive money during one special disbursement of county funds to the Chautauqua Lake Watershed and Management Alliance. If the Chautauqua Lake Partnership has swallowed its pride and signed on to the lake memorandum, then the county must reciprocate.

The fact that all but one organization has signed on to the memorandum is a win for County Executive George Borrello, who has successfully shepherded a contentious agreement through some potentially rough waters.

Now the hard work begins to make the memorandum a win for Chautauqua Lake.