No time to waste for regional councils
The clock is running on a fall deadline for delivery of a new strategic plan whose merits will determine the Hudson Valley region”™s initial share of the state”™s $200 million economic development pie.
That plan, described by state officials as a “creative roadmap” for the region”™s future, will be the first and perhaps most important task of the Mid-Hudson Valley Regional Economic Development Council, a 21-member group of business, academic, labor and environmental leaders appointed July 27 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The council, which also includes 10 elected county and local officials as non-voting members, is headed by regional co-chairs Dennis Murray, president of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, and Dr. Leonard S. Schleifer, president and CEO of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., the state”™s largest biotechnology employer, headquartered at The Landmark at Eastview biotech office and research park in the town of Greenburgh.
Council members have about 3 ½ months to produce a comprehensive vision and implementation plan and a priority list of economic development projects for Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties. Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of The Business Council of Westchester and a regional council appointee, said members will first meet in August.
Due Nov. 14 in Albany, their strategic plan will compete with nine other plans prepared by the new regional councils appointed by Cuomo to lead the state”™s more community-oriented approach to tapping its economic development resources and identifying priority projects for awards. With the new regional channels, the state will consolidate its funding applications and revise regulations that impede the flow of about $1 billion in grants, loans, industrial development bonds and tax credits available from various state agencies.
Those state agencies will continue to make final funding decisions, guided by the advice of the regional councils on priority projects in their regions.
The newly launched regional council system is modeled after the federal Empowerment Zone program, whose successes in public-private planning and targeted investment in distressed communities were shared by Cuomo as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration. The competing councils are the foundation of the governor”™s recently launched “Open for Business” campaign to bring jobs and companies to New York and retain those already here.
Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy will serve as chairman of each regional council and lead a statewide Chairman”™s Committee to address issues affecting multiple regions and resolve potential interregional disputes. Empire State Development is the lead agency managing the councils and its regional directors will act as executive directors of their respective regional councils. For the Mid-Hudson Valley Regional Council, that ESD official is Susan Jaffe in the agency”™s New Windsor office.
Council members statewide could be pressed to meet the mid-November deadline to complete their strategic plans, which will require public hearings and input and participation from stakeholders in the region”™s economic development. That public planning process will account for 10 percent of the plan”™s scoring by a state review committee.
Strategies for development will be most heavily weighed by plan judges, accounting for 35 percent of a plan”™s score. The governor”™s focus in office on measuring the performance of funded programs and projects shows in the regional plan competition, with 20 percent of scoring based on the performance monitoring mechanisms and measurements proposed by the regional council to assess the effectiveness of its strategic plan.
At stake in the countdown to Nov. 14 are this region”™s eventual share in the state”™s $200 million award of economic development capital funds and tax credits for employers. Of the total, the state immediately will allocate $130 million from its capital fund for regional economic development projects. Starting in the 2012 tax year, $70 million in tax credits from the Excelsior Jobs program will be disbursed over 10 years.
The 10 regional councils initially will compete with their strategic plans for that funding. Four regions with the highest-rated plans will be awarded up to $40 million each, including $25 million in capital grants and $15 million in Excelsior tax credits.
The remaining $40 million in incentives will be divided among the other six regions.
Each regional council also by November must choose applications for selected priority projects in the region to submit with its strategic plan. That could spur competition for favored projects among diverse economic interests in a region that ranges from largely rural Sullivan and Ulster counties to suburban Westchester and Rockland counties.
Balancing those competing interests in a strategic plan by the Nov. 14 deadline will be “a monumental task,” said Al Samuels, president and CEO of the Rockland Business Association and a Cuomo appointee to the Mid-Hudson Valley Regional Economic Development Council.
“There are of course territorial prerogatives that we all have, and we are going to be forced to come together and do projects that benefit the region.
“The timeline does seem to be somewhat aggressive,” said Samuels. “But we can”™t waste time. We”™re in a heck of a contest with New Jersey and Connecticut. New Jersey and Connecticut want our business.”
“That deadline is going to be challenging,” said Marissa Brett, executive director of economic development at the Westchester County Association.
“The fact that there”™s 10 councils now competing, he”™s definitely set up a very competitive environment,” Brett said of the governor. That competition for funding also can be expected for projects within the Hudson Valley region. “I think the advantage is we have an established track record of working together within the region,” she said.
At the Business Council, Gordon said the governor with his November deadline for the regional councils is “putting an urgency” to the work that is needed to open the state for business.
“I like the strategic plan approach,” said Gordon. She said the Business Council took the same approach when its Westchester Coalition for Business Development prepared its recently released report on action steps to build the county”™s new economic development structure.
The coalition”™s 40-page report and other completed economic development reports ”“ such as the Westchester County Association”™s recent Blueprint for Westchester ”“ could be used by the regional council in its pressing work ahead.
“At the Business Council, we feel that our report certainly is appropriate to serve as a model and as a base to build on and develop a comprehensive study for the entire region,” said Gordon.
The regional council”™s co-chair, Dennis Murray, in a prepared statement said the “groundbreaking” regional strategy “will allow for our local expertise within the mid-Hudson region to build a powerful economic force of pooled knowledge, experience and assets to rebuild our local economy from the bottom up.”
The 10 regional councils cover the state”™s Capital Region, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Long Island, Mid-Hudson, Mohawk Valley, New York City, North Country, Southern Tier and Western New York labor-market regions.
Mid-Hudson Regional Council
Regional Co-Chairs:
Dennis Murray, president of Marist College
Leonard S. Schleifer, president and CEO, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
General Members:
James Bernardo, president and CEO, Candela Systems Corp.
Vincent Cozzolino, president and CEO, The Solar Energy Consortium
Robin L. Douglas, president and CEO, African-American Chamber of Commerce of Westchester and Rockland Counties
Jonathan Drapkin, president and CEO, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress
Tom Endres, president and COO, Continental Organics
Carol Fitzgerald, president and CEO, Life Medical Technologies Inc.
Aleida Frederico, chair of the board, Commerce Bank
Marsha Gordon, president and CEO, The Business Council of Westchester
Maureen Halahan, president and CEO, Orange County Partnership
Wiley C. Harrison, founder and president of Business of Your Business L.L.C.
Ken Kleinpeter, director of farm and facilities, Glynwood Farm
Payal Malhotra, vice president of marketing, Café Spice GCT Inc.
Mary Rodrigues, owner, A.J. Rodrigues Group Inc.
Paul Ryan, president, Westchester-Putnam Central Labor Body
Al Samuels, president and CEO, Rockland Business Association
Ned Sullivan, president, Scenic Hudson Inc.
James Taylor III, CEO, Taylor BioMass L.L.C.
Teri Ward, president and CEO, Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce
Cliff L. Wood, president, SUNY Rockland Community College
Elected officials (non-voting members):
The county executives from Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster and
Westchester; Yonkers mayor; chairman of Sullivan County Legislature and the town supervisors of Monroe and Ramapo.
Long Island Regional Council
Regional Co-Chairs:
Stuart Rabinowitz, president, Hofstra University
Kevin Law, president, Long Island Association
General members:
Bill Wahlig, executive director, Long Island Forum for Technology
Marianne Garvin, CEO, Community Development Corp. of Long Island
Desmond M. Ryan, executive director, Association for a Better Long Island Inc.
Patricia McMahon, sector vice president and general manager of Battle Management Engagement Systems, Northrop Grumman Corp.
Harvey Kamil, vice chairman, NBTY Inc.
Belinda Pagdanganan, government relations manager, National Grid
James D’Addario, president and CEO, D’Addario and Co. Inc.
Anne D. Shybunko-Moore, president/owner, GSE Dynamics Inc.
Noreen Carro, owner, LMN Printing Co. Inc.
Tracey Edwards, vice president of operations, Verizon Communications
John R. Durso, president, Long Island Federation of Labor
Samuel L. Stanley Jr., president, Stony Brook University
Elaine Gross, president and CEO, ERASE Racism
Mark Fasciano, partner, Canrock Ventures
Patricia Edwards, vice president for community development Long Island, Citigroup
Paulette Satur, president, Satur Farms L.L.C.
Joseph Cabral, senior vice president and chief human resources officer, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
Samuel Aronson, director, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Calvin Butts, president, SUNY Old Westbury
Rupert Hopkins, president and CEO, XSB Inc.
Southern Tier Regional Council
Regional Co-Chairs:
David Skorton, president of Cornell University
Tom Tranter, president and CEO of Corning Enterprises
General members:
James McNamara, president and CEO, Endicott Interconnect Technologies
David J. Patak, president and CEO, Lourdes Hospital
Daniel Spore, vice president, Lockheed Martin Systems Integration
A. Scott Welliver, chairman and CEO, Welliver McGuire Inc.
Linda M. Shumaker, president, Shumaker Engineering & Surveying P.C.
Keith Baumann, director of finance, Howell Packaging
Patricia A. Cummings, partner, Leonard & Cummings L.L.C.
Barbara J. Schindler, president and COO, Golden Artists Colors Inc.
Uttara Prasad, president and CEO, Lin Industries Inc.
Ernest Hartman, business manager, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 139
C. Peter Magrath, president, Binghamton University
Candace Vancko, president, SUNY Delhi
Peg Ellsworth, executive director, MARK Project Inc.
Martin A. Dietrich, president and CEO, NBT Bank
Kathryn Boor, dean of College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Cornell University
Diane Lantz, executive director, REDEC Relending Corp.
George Miner, president, Southern Tier Economic Growth Inc.
Lou Santoni, president and CEO, Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce
Michael Stamm, president, Tompkins County Area Development Inc.
Finger Lakes Regional Council
Regional Co-Chairs:
Joel Seligman, president of University of Rochester
Danny Wegman, CEO of Wegmans Food Markets
General Members:
Robert S. Sands, CEO, Constellation Brands Inc.
Christine Whitman, chairman, CEO and president, Complemar Inc.
Augustin Melendez, vice president & chief diversity officer, Kodak
Bradley Macdonald, vice president, Brunner International Corp.
Tom Macinski, president, Standing Stone Winery
Charles Cook, president and CEO, Liberty Pumps Inc.
Kirsten Werner, president and co-owner, Diamond Packaging Co. Inc.
Tyrone Reaves, president, TruForm Manufacturing Corp.
Anne M. Kress, president, Monroe Community College
Robert Brown, business manager, Laborers Local 435
William W. Destler, president, Rochester Institute of Technology
Hilda Rosario Escher, president and CEO, Ibero American Action League
Theresa B. Mazzullo, CEO, Excell Partners Inc.
Pamela P. Heald, president and CEO, Reliant Community Federal Credit Union
John Noble, president and owner, Synergy L.L.C.
Mark S. Peterson, president and CEO, Greater Rochester Enterprise
Sandra A. Parker, president and CEO, Rochester Business Alliance
Cynthia Oswald, president, Livingston County Chamber of Commerce
Steve Griffin, CEO, Finger Lakes Economic Development Center
Central New York Regional Council
Regional Co-Chairs:
Nancy Cantor, chancellor of Syracuse University
Rob M. Simpson, president of CenterState CEO
General members:
Kevin LaMontagne, chief financial officer, Fulton Cos.
Kathryn H. Ruscitto, president and CEO, St. Joseph’s Hospital
Jim Carrick, chairman, GIS Information Systems d/b/a Polaris
Tony Baird, president, Tony Baird Electronics
Ann Marie Taliercio, president, Unite Here Local 150 AFL-CIO
Cornelius B. “Neil” Murphy Jr., president, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Dr. Rueben Cowart, president and CEO, Syracuse Community Health Center
Rita Paniagua, executive director, Spanish Action League
Jack H. Webb, chairman and CEO, Alliance Bank
Michael Johnson, general manager, Johnson Brothers Lumber Co.
L. Michael Treadwell, area industrial director, Operation Oswego County Inc.
Garry VanGorder, executive director, Cortland County Business Development Corp.
Fred Pestello, president, Le Moyne College
Andrew Fish, executive director, Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce
Randall Wolken, president, Manufacturers Association of Central New York
Heather Erickson, president, MedTech
Nancy Weber, president, Oswego County Farm Bureau, owner of Mexican Pride Farm in Mexico
Margaret Morin, president, 4-M Precision
Western New York Regional Council