ELLICOTTVILLE — State Sen. George Borrello hosted a town hall meeting at the Ellicottville Town Center on July 16 where a group of about 30 residents asked questions covering everything from energy bill hikes to Medicaid cuts to local issues with infrastructure, drug activity and homelessness.

Joined by Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski, Borrello first spoke of recent activity in Albany, saying some of the topics of discussion included affordability, public safety and energy — things he said were not addressed during the latest legislative session.

“Unfortunately, in a lot of ways, they went the wrong direction, and that’s the concern that I’m having,” the senator said. “One of the big issues is the burdens that regulations place on agriculture. What I’m hearing from farmers is there’s a lot of things putting strain and pressure on their ability to feed us.”

Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski (left) addresses a crowd of about 30 Cattaraugus County residents during a town hall session Wednesday, July 16 in the Ellicottville Town Center. State Sen. George Borrello stands at right.

Sempolinski, who took office in January, said he’s honored to be the voice of the folks in his district and to make sure their voices are heard in Albany. He said it can be frustrating, but there have been a lot of successes already in blocking bad things from happening, noting the defeat of the bill to limit dairy farmers to 700 cows.

Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, said one of their goals is to help whoever reaches out to their offices, especially getting constituents in contact with the right people to address whatever issues or questions they might have.

“The best part of the job is helping someone who’s gotten caught up in the red tape of government,” he added.

A Cattaraugus resident asked about the rising costs of energy, notably through New York State Electric and Gas, wondering why the increases keep happening and how they’re different from National Grid. Borrello said Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Democratic majority’s push for alternative energy such as wind and solar is extremely expensive infrastructure, and a portion of those costs are put back on the consumer.

“They’re not making wind and solar more affordable — they’re emaking traditional forms of energy less affordable, and that’s the agenda,” he added.

Sempolinski, R-Canisteo, agreed with Borrello, saying bad policy from Albany is the general driving force behind increased energy bills.

Another resident asked about the impact the cuts to Medicaid will have on rural healthcare services. Borrello said about 44% of New Yorkers have coverage through Medicaid — about 7.5 million people, according to the state Department of Health. The senator said Medicaid’s reimbursement levels to rural hospitals are far below the real costs of that care, as well as in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and care for people with developmental disabilities.

“We have the power within our own state budget to fix this, to make sure all our rural hospitals get everything they need, if they would just address the waste, fraud and abuse that’s already been identified, and that’s the part that really upsets me,” Borrello said.

A Seneca Nation resident asked about the ongoing issues with the city of Olean’s sewage overflows into the Allegheny River and what Borrello and Sempolinski could do to help the situation. Borrello said he and Sempolinski have both been aware of the ongoing discussions and noted that Nation and Olean officials recently met to discuss various solutions.

“The DEC has been tolerant with them and this facility that is a century old and really outdated and needs to be replaced,” the senator said. “It’s now being forced to go in the right direction. We had a meeting not that long ago on an alternative, on a modern facility, so we’re going to push for that.”

“This is something I hear a lot about from everybody downstrea, whether it be the Seneca Nation or Salamanca or Allegany,” Sempolinski said. “Where George and I come in is we represent every one of those folks in those communities… I concur with the senator that this is something where we need a long-term solution.”

Other topics brought to Borrello and Sempolinki’s attention that they said they’d look into further and help where they can included a proposed gravel pit project on South 9 Mile Road in Allegany; hindrances with vehicle registration for antique (50-plus year) vehicles; a state DOT project planned for Route 353 in Little Valley and its impact on the county fairgrounds; upstate regions having to support the New York City area; and the continued issues of drugs and homelessness in the Southern Tier, and the lack of programs and policies needed to address them.