CATTARAUGUS COUNTY
Campground seeks loan for electricity
LITTLE VALLEY — Political support for one project and financial assistance for a second business will be requested from the County Legislature’s Development and Agriculture Committee during a 5 p. m. meeting Wednesday in the Cattaraugus County Center in Little Valley.
Earlier this month, several members of the committee paid a visit to Harwood Haven, a 106-acre campground on Route 98 in the Town of Farmersville, where a $42,000 loan has been requested to connect much of the facility to National Grid.
The property, five miles from Franklinville and adjacent to Harwood Lake and other state-owned forestlands, has been owned by John and Kim Osborne since 2002. The couple began developing the site in 2003 and has spent nearly $400,000 so far, pinning their hopes on undercutting competition with rates 25 percent lower than nearby campgrounds.
In addition to a lodge and restaurant with full electrical service that is nearing completion, there are 35 cabins and some primitive campsites. Some of the cabins boast woodburners or propane heat, but most are equipped with full electrical hookups in need of service.
Committee Chairman Jerry E. Burrell, R-Franklinville, explained at that time that he viewed the project as a worthwhile investment in the town and an improvement over raw land. The committee members invited the Osbornes to present their request. The loan would come from the portion of the county’s casino revenues dedicated to economic development.
The committee also is expected to receive a presentation from Rick LeFeber of the Cattaraugus Local Development Corp. According to Jim Ellis, R-Cattaraugus, the Town of Cattaraugus is in line for some new ventures that could bring new employment and real estate sales.
Ellis said the former Bush Industries plant is now being eyed as a potential branch location for an Orchard Park woodworking firm that could employ 25 people and utilize a nearby short-line railroad for shipping.
Ellis said a North Tonawanda industrial firm that makes hydraulic cylinders also hopes to obtain the same property.
“Rick is going to bring this in front of [the] Development and Agriculture [Committee], and he wants the Legislature to go on record and support this industry,” said Ellis, noting this will send a signal to federal authorities to allow the community to open the door to some established industries that will bring jobs and help sell some of the homes now glutting the real estate market.
On the agenda for the Human Services, Public Safety and Finance committees is a proposal from Bill Sprague, D-Yorkshire, for a local law prohibiting adults from smoking in automobiles carrying children under the age of 16.
Sprague said he has been thinking about proposing the law for quite some time and noted that he has seen a lot of children traveling in cars driven by adults with windows rolled up.
“The kids don’t have any control at that time,” Sprague said of the health issues posed by secondhand smoke. He added that District Attorney Edward M. Sharkey told him he would prosecute violators and the Democratic caucus members have pledged to support the law, which carries a first-offense penalty of $200 to $500.
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