OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Town of Dunkirk Supervisor Priscilla Penfold scheduled a workshop for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Dunkirk Town Hall and Court to discuss outstanding dues to the North County Water District.

Located along the shores of Lake Erie, water is always at the forefront of the minds of residents of the Town of Dunkirk in one way or another. The Town Board discussed several water related issues at its latest Board meeting.

Town Board member Bob Price recently attended a Great Lakes Restoration meeting and believes the Town could be in line for grant funding to assist with fishing opportunities around the Canadaway Creek bridge. Grants range from $50,000 to $500,000.

“Maybe we can get something a little better down there,” Price said.

Pertaining to a grant the Town already received, the proposed upgrades to the Shorewood Water District are still on hold as the Town seeks easements from the residents of the District.

The Town of Dunkirk was awarded a grant through the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation WIIA program in an amount up to $1,377,000 to apply to the Shorewood Water District capital improvement project. The Town must enter into a project finance agreement by Sept. 30, 2026.

Because of how narrow the roads are within the district, easements are necessary for the work to proceed. The Town began with seeking 89 easements, but now approximately 11 remain outstanding.

The Town does not want to lose grant funding, so it could pursue eminent domain proceedings if necessary. Town Board member Phil Leone said of the residents with outstanding easements, “The people that didn’t sign are hurting all of us.”

Also of note, the Town is the only municipality still remaining with outstanding payments to Chautauqua County for water costs associated with North County Water and CBI. Town Board member Jean Crane said it is “not an easy fix” for Dunkirk because of eight different water districts involved, but the Town is “working on it.”

A workshop will be held with Dan Pacos of the Town of Pomfret, who oversees the North County Water District, on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Dunkirk Town Hall and Court to discuss the outstanding payments. No official business action will be taken at the workshop.

The next regular meeting of the Dunkirk Town Board is Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Town Hall and Court.