By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — New entrance signs to the City of Olean could be coming as early as this fall.
Kirk Windus, executive director of the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, outlined plans to the Olean Common Council Tuesday to reconstruct the four temporary Welcome to Olean signs.
About four years ago, Welcome to Olean banners were placed on the wooden signs owned by the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce.
“I think everyone wants a permanent solution,” Windus told aldermen. He provided them with a mock-up of the new signs by Heath Cousins of Cousins Designs, Eldred, Pa.
He said the design calls for removal of the old signs. “You could remove them relatively quickly,” Windus said, suggesting the city Public Works Department could assist in their removal to make the process go more quickly and less expensively.
The proceeds from a GoFundMe page started by Ward 5 Alderman John Crawford four years ago have been encumbered by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation and appear to be enough to build the four new signs, Windus said. If there is a shortfall, he said there were donors who could make up the difference.
Alderman Sonya McCall said she had hoped the signs could incorporate a changeable message board similar to ones in Ellicottville used to advertise upcoming events.
The signs are located on Buffalo Street, West State Street near Applebys, Route 16 near the I-86 exit and on East State Street. The one on Route 86 is on private property and will probably be moved, Windus said.
“I want to see something besides the temporary banners,” Crawford said via Zoom video from Ithaca.
Sewer and Water Director Brad Camp reported to the council that the city had filed Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for data on the city’s levee system for the study being conducted for phase 1 of the reaccreditation of the flood protection dikes.
New flood maps are in the process of being drawn, but won’t be finalized until 2028, Camp said.
The New York State office of General Services is just finishing up on a levee stabilization project near the Olean wastewater treatment plant, he noted. That was fully funded by the state, which Camp said is a good indication of future funding associated with the levee system.
There are some questions about the levee on the east side of Olean Creek near its confluence with the Allegheny River up to the railroad tracks, Camp said. The current study will investigate that and the rest of the levee system.
The reason it is important to complete the levee study and get the results to the state for its review is because new flood maps are due to be finalized in 2028.
The draft flood maps do not reflect flood protection measures that have not been reaccredited. The draft maps show more than 1,000 homes in flood-prone areas. Unless the maps are altered after levees are reaccredited, those residents could face higher flood insurance premiums.
Camp also gave the council an update on the first phase of the lead water service lines study. Since April, “we have knocked on 8,453 doors” and “have been inside 1,709 residences or structures.”
He said they have identified 15 residences with lead service lines between the curb and the home that will need to be replaced under new federal law. There are another 4,939 residences where one portion or another of the service line where it is unknown whether there are lead lines or not, Camp added. That does not include service lines between the water main and the curb.
Some residents are confused over the notice the city is required to send out too, Camp said. Preliminary findings will be sent out with the next water billing cycle.
Once the inventory of the lead service lines are complete, the city will be required to replace at least 10% of those lines each year for a decade. Federal funds are available for this replacement.
The city will begin notifying more than residences of the makeup of their service lines once the inventory is complete, Camp said. Residents will be notified if they have lead or galvanized piping or unknown.
While it’s relatively easy to determine what kind of pipe is in the basement, it’s harder to determine what’s between the curb and the home. It’s even more difficult to tell what’s between the main and the curb, Camp said.
The city has not been checking the lines when streets are torn up, unfortunately, Camp said.
