Planning & Economic Development Committee Meeting 11/10/26

The Chautauqua County Planning & Economic Development Committee met November 10, 2026. It approved the minutes and rejected a resolution that would have barred the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency from granting certain property, mortgage-recording, and sales/use tax exemptions to data center projects. The committee approved adoption of the county’s local solid waste management plan, which was described as a state-required plan developed over several years with consultants hired by the landfill and already approved by the state. It also approved a 2026 budget amendment for the state-funded snowmobile trail development and maintenance grant. The grant is pass-through funding for snowmobile clubs, covering 70% of payments for the 2026–27 season; the transcript does not provide the dollar amount.

The committee discussed JCC and the Jamestown YMCA’s proposed $45 million wellness complex and a request to support increasing JCC’s SUNY capital request from $12 million to $19 million for phase one—an additional $7.5 million. Representatives said the overall project estimate had not changed, but the timing and allocation of work between phases had shifted; members requested written details comparing the earlier and current phase plans and cost estimates, citing their fiscal oversight responsibilities. The committee did not provide a clear endorsement in the discussion, and the resolution was scheduled to proceed to Audit and Control regardless of the committee’s action, ahead of a December 15 state deadline. Representatives noted that an architectural firm had been engaged for design work, but final construction documents and updated estimates were not yet available.