In presenting a progress report on the Ulster Tomorrow initiative, Glenn Sutherland, chairman of the steering committee, said one of the first priorities was implementing Strategy 5.
Strategy 5 is one of 15 strategies that collectively comprise the goals of Ulster Tomorrow, a blueprint for economic progress that was voted in by the citizenry and has so far involved the efforts of hundreds of volunteers in business, education, the arts, tourism and other sectors. Sutherland outlined the report Jan. 15 at an Ulster County Chamber of Commerce”™s breakfast in Kingston.
He defined Strategy 5 as “the redesign of the economic development services network” ”“highlighting the belief of many people that reform is desperately needed.
“There are many organizations with their fingers in the economic pie,” he said. Implementing the plan entails the “need to consider the consolidation of agencies, particularly the providers and/or locations. If nothing else, this is a tremendous opportunity to look at all these entities and put them in one common area under one roof. Ultimately we need to bring some of them together under an umbrella agency.”
Ulster County has a number of separate organizations involved in economic development. The Ulster County Development Corp. and Ulster County Industrial Development Agency are in a building in the town of Ulster, while the Kingston-Ulster Empire Zone has offices in Kingston”™s City Hall. The local Empire Zone is part of a statewide certification program for businesses offering tax incentives, but to date there has been very little involvement with UCDC.
In contrast, the Poughkeepsie-Dutchess Empire Zone shares office space with the Dutchess County Economic Development Corp., and there is a close working relationship between the two entities, according to Tamara Watson, director of marketing at DCEDC.
Other economic development entities with separate facilities in Ulster County are the City of Kingston”™s Department of Economic Development, the Small Business Development Center and two business incubators.
Sutherland also suggested combining the county”™s arts council and tourism department with economic development. Right now, all three are entirely separate.
In Dutchess County, Dutchess County Tourism shares office space with DCEDC, leading to synergies between the two. However, the Dutchess County Arts Council is separate, both in terms of management and location.
Sutherland said the Strategy 5 team has had “preliminary discussions with the parties ”¦ my reaction is that they”™re trying to soft pedal this somewhat and may do nothing more than put everything in a common location. I think they could go much further.”
He said he hadn”™t yet done the financial calculations of a consolidation.
Team leader March Gallagher didn”™t return phone calls by press time. Lance Matteson, president of UCDC ”“ he also is executive director of Ulster County IDA ”“ said one recent development was the appointment of the director of the Ulster County Workforce Development Board, Nancy Schaef, to the board of UCDC.
