There are many differences between the use of herbicides on Chautauqua Lake in 2018 and 2019, but nowhere is that difference greater than in the village of Lakewood.

We’ve been critical of the village in the past, but the four-member board came together well to properly handle the herbicide question this year.

Last year, there were contentious hearings and meetings before the village decided not to participate in treatments, much to the chagrin of many village residents. It has been alleged that the former mayor asked for water testing after an herbicide treatment vessel crossed the village’s waters en route to treatment locations; the village ended up receiving a bill for the treatment even though the village itself hadn’t ordered the testing.

Fast forward to 2019. Ted McCague, deputy mayor, and board members Randall Holcomb, Doug Schutte and Ellen Barnes held a public meeting earlier this year to gauge the public’s feelings on herbicide use. The board used that feedback to sign on to herbicide treatments this year, with McCague then leading a very detailed public discussion during last week’s Village Board meeting that showed exactly where herbicides would be used in Lakewood’s waters.

The confusion and bitterness of 2018 was unfortunate, but it is good to see that the remaining board members used that experience to the village’s benefit in 2019.