Officials Envision Renovated Bemus Point
By PATRICK L. FANELLI
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3/26/2007 - BEMUS POINT — Looking out the village hall office window, Bryan Dahlberg, Bemus Point mayor, spies broken curbs, leaning telephone poles and overhead wires cluttered along Main Street.
A short drive away on Chautauqua Avenue in Lakewood, early morning pedestrians walk along brick-lined sidewalks dotted with benches and early 20th-century style lampposts — the air above empty since telephone, power and cable lines are buried beneath the ground.
Dahlberg dreams of the day Bemus Point's main thoroughfare will be just as pleasant on the eyes and just as friendly to foot traffic as Lakewood's central pedestrian business district.
''The appearance would be so nice, and to have the brick walkways and new sidewalks and to redo some of the parking, it would make it a nicer place for residents and for our visitors,'' Dahlberg said.
In August, Tony Caprino, Lakewood mayor, and Bill Evans, Lakewood Community Development Corporation chairman, dedicated the recently renovated Chautauqua Avenue — Lakewood's historic business district that deteriorated as Fairmount Avenue became the village's central retail spot.
The project was nearly 10 years in the making and cost $2.5 million, most of which was raised through private donors. Since the bulk of the work was completed a couple of years ago, new businesses have moved in to the neighborhood.
Thom Shagla, who owns the See-Zurh House restaurant on Main Street in Bemus Point, has been working behind the scenes to see if a similar project could be in the village's future.
''Bemus Point, to me, is the only true pedestrian community (in Chautauqua County),'' Shagla said. ''It's the only pedestrian community in Chautauqua County where everything can be walked to. We want to make that experience better.''
'A Wonderful Goal'
Shagla explained that curbs are non-existent in many places along Main Street and storm water doesn't drain properly since the road has gradually become a few inches too high.
He hopes the village can one day convince county and state officials to tear up a short section of Main Street and Lakeside Drive to repave the roads — and while that project is under way, utility lines can be buried underground.
''That would be the ideal time to take a lot of the old antiquated telephone polls and these tons of wires and put them down underneath,'' Shagla said. ''Being a seasonal place here, it could cause a lot of disruption, but in the final analysis it would make the community look really nice.''
It's not the first time the idea has come up. County Legislator Richard Babbage, R-Bemus Point, served as village mayor during the early 1990s and said the idea of giving Main Street a facelift wasn't even a new thought then.
''What a wonderful dream that would be, a wonderful dream and a wonderful goal — but the bottom line is money,'' said Babbage, who predicted rebuilding the street would not be a high priority because it isn't in bad condition.
Dahlberg says county or state highway crews would have to be involved because the village could never fully fund a project of that magnitude.
''One of the things we run into as far as the situation with the way Main Street looks is it's a county-maintained state highway inside the village. We don't seem to get sometimes our fair share, we think,'' Dahlberg said. ''If the county doesn't have any extra money, and if the state doesn't have any extra money, this thing won't fly.''
Village officials believe a renovated pedestrian thoroughfare could have a significant economic impact on the village, which already draws tens of thousands of visitors during the summer season.
Dahlberg notes that Bemus Point is unique because everything in the village is within walking distance — visitors can get their hair cut, buy groceries, shop, go to the bank, eat, hang out in the park, swim, launch a boat and take a ride on the Bemus Point-Stow Ferry without walking more than a couple of blocks.
Pie In The Sky
Evans, who led the effort to renovate Chautauqua Avenue in Lakewood, attests to the challenges of a project like the one Shagla hopes will one day be a reality.
''It was a long, long, long process. The obstacles are tremendous,'' Evans said. ''They'll need to have someone in Bemus Point — one, two or three people — who are really committed to doing this, because it isn't going to happen unless you have that.''
Aside from logistics, the biggest obstacle seems to be money. The Lakewood project cost $2.5 million, $1.5 million of which came from private donors after several years of fund raising. Community leaders originally believed the project would cost $900,000 — and $450,000 was donated at the start of the fund-raising effort by Betty Fairbanks and her late husband, Reg Lenna.
''The interesting thing for us was we were able to get the ball rolling by getting some private benefactors to step up first,'' Evans said.
Shagla believes it would be difficult to raise that kind of money in Bemus Point.
''The problem we have here is they consider this a wealthy area since so many people come here and buy second homes. Well, you know, not all of us make $200,000 a year and live in half-million-dollar houses,'' Shagla said. ''There is a misconception that there is a lot of wealth around here.''
Dahlberg remembers privately raising money for a new playground in recent years. He said it was tough, and that was only a fraction of what a major capital undertaking like renovating Main Street would cost.
Right now, there isn't even a plan in place — just a general objective and a vague notion of how it could work. Shagla hopes the village will one day be able to obtain state grant money to jumpstart the project, while village board members wonder if the 40-unit $15 million condominium project underway on Lakeside Drive will expand the tax base enough to help as well.
But the Chautauqua Avenue project began the same way — some general objectives and vague notions.
''We took a long time to develop the plan,'' Evans said. ''It's extremely important to have a good plan.''
A short drive away on Chautauqua Avenue in Lakewood, early morning pedestrians walk along brick-lined sidewalks dotted with benches and early 20th-century style lampposts — the air above empty since telephone, power and cable lines are buried beneath the ground.
Dahlberg dreams of the day Bemus Point's main thoroughfare will be just as pleasant on the eyes and just as friendly to foot traffic as Lakewood's central pedestrian business district.
''The appearance would be so nice, and to have the brick walkways and new sidewalks and to redo some of the parking, it would make it a nicer place for residents and for our visitors,'' Dahlberg said.
In August, Tony Caprino, Lakewood mayor, and Bill Evans, Lakewood Community Development Corporation chairman, dedicated the recently renovated Chautauqua Avenue — Lakewood's historic business district that deteriorated as Fairmount Avenue became the village's central retail spot.
The project was nearly 10 years in the making and cost $2.5 million, most of which was raised through private donors. Since the bulk of the work was completed a couple of years ago, new businesses have moved in to the neighborhood.
Thom Shagla, who owns the See-Zurh House restaurant on Main Street in Bemus Point, has been working behind the scenes to see if a similar project could be in the village's future.
''Bemus Point, to me, is the only true pedestrian community (in Chautauqua County),'' Shagla said. ''It's the only pedestrian community in Chautauqua County where everything can be walked to. We want to make that experience better.''
'A Wonderful Goal'
Shagla explained that curbs are non-existent in many places along Main Street and storm water doesn't drain properly since the road has gradually become a few inches too high.
He hopes the village can one day convince county and state officials to tear up a short section of Main Street and Lakeside Drive to repave the roads — and while that project is under way, utility lines can be buried underground.
''That would be the ideal time to take a lot of the old antiquated telephone polls and these tons of wires and put them down underneath,'' Shagla said. ''Being a seasonal place here, it could cause a lot of disruption, but in the final analysis it would make the community look really nice.''
It's not the first time the idea has come up. County Legislator Richard Babbage, R-Bemus Point, served as village mayor during the early 1990s and said the idea of giving Main Street a facelift wasn't even a new thought then.
''What a wonderful dream that would be, a wonderful dream and a wonderful goal — but the bottom line is money,'' said Babbage, who predicted rebuilding the street would not be a high priority because it isn't in bad condition.
Dahlberg says county or state highway crews would have to be involved because the village could never fully fund a project of that magnitude.
''One of the things we run into as far as the situation with the way Main Street looks is it's a county-maintained state highway inside the village. We don't seem to get sometimes our fair share, we think,'' Dahlberg said. ''If the county doesn't have any extra money, and if the state doesn't have any extra money, this thing won't fly.''
Village officials believe a renovated pedestrian thoroughfare could have a significant economic impact on the village, which already draws tens of thousands of visitors during the summer season.
Dahlberg notes that Bemus Point is unique because everything in the village is within walking distance — visitors can get their hair cut, buy groceries, shop, go to the bank, eat, hang out in the park, swim, launch a boat and take a ride on the Bemus Point-Stow Ferry without walking more than a couple of blocks.
Pie In The Sky
Evans, who led the effort to renovate Chautauqua Avenue in Lakewood, attests to the challenges of a project like the one Shagla hopes will one day be a reality.
''It was a long, long, long process. The obstacles are tremendous,'' Evans said. ''They'll need to have someone in Bemus Point — one, two or three people — who are really committed to doing this, because it isn't going to happen unless you have that.''
Aside from logistics, the biggest obstacle seems to be money. The Lakewood project cost $2.5 million, $1.5 million of which came from private donors after several years of fund raising. Community leaders originally believed the project would cost $900,000 — and $450,000 was donated at the start of the fund-raising effort by Betty Fairbanks and her late husband, Reg Lenna.
''The interesting thing for us was we were able to get the ball rolling by getting some private benefactors to step up first,'' Evans said.
Shagla believes it would be difficult to raise that kind of money in Bemus Point.
''The problem we have here is they consider this a wealthy area since so many people come here and buy second homes. Well, you know, not all of us make $200,000 a year and live in half-million-dollar houses,'' Shagla said. ''There is a misconception that there is a lot of wealth around here.''
Dahlberg remembers privately raising money for a new playground in recent years. He said it was tough, and that was only a fraction of what a major capital undertaking like renovating Main Street would cost.
Right now, there isn't even a plan in place — just a general objective and a vague notion of how it could work. Shagla hopes the village will one day be able to obtain state grant money to jumpstart the project, while village board members wonder if the 40-unit $15 million condominium project underway on Lakeside Drive will expand the tax base enough to help as well.
But the Chautauqua Avenue project began the same way — some general objectives and vague notions.
''We took a long time to develop the plan,'' Evans said. ''It's extremely important to have a good plan.''
For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com
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