Sept. 16, 2005: “Spotlight on Our Economy” Monthly Column for The Palladium-Times
By L. Michael Treadwell, CEcD, Executive Director of Operation Oswego County

Regional Alliance Promotes Economic Development

Last year, Operation Oswego County became a member of a 12-county regional alliance formed as a result of the Essential New York Initiative (ENYI), a regional strategy to accelerate the transformation of Central New York to a technology-driven economy.

The alliance is comprised of individuals from a variety of economic development, business and academic institutions across the Central New York region. Participating counties include Cayuga, Cortland, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, St. Lawrence, Seneca and Tompkins. Laser Transit CEO and OOC Board President George Joyce, President and CEO of PathFinder Bank Thomas Schneider and I represent Oswego County.

The group plans to engage six strategies for achieving regional success including:

• Aggressively targeting middle-market companies with high potential for expansion and supporting existing industries;
• Optimizing key industry clusters;
• Creating, retaining, and attracting talent in Central New York;
• Leveraging colleges and universities as economic and community growth engines;
• Encouraging the creation and growth of a stronger entrepreneurial culture; and
• Developing a broader regional consciousness.

To facilitate the attraction and retention of talent in Central New York, ENYI recently launched its free job search engine www.essentialnyjobs.com. Visitors can enter key words such as “chemical engineer” or “laboratory technician,” and the search engine will produce a list of available job openings. Job seekers then click the individual jobs and are linked to the site where information on the job is posted. The site currently scans more than 400 area websites listing more than 8,000 jobs available in the 12-county region. The new site was made possible by a $50,000 grant from Bank of America.

Other projects that the alliance has been involved in include “Fly Syracuse,” a campaign to provide efficient and affordable passenger air service in order to attract and retain businesses to the region; the development of industry cluster networking opportunities; and the establishment of a region-wide capital network for entrepreneurs to learn more about how and where to access venture capital.

In other economic development news:

• Lower Falls Development, LLC will renovate the 102-year-old, three-story Brickhouse Building in Fulton to include professional offices, retail stores and apartments. The project is an integral component of waterfront development. The project will receive funding assistance from the Fulton Community Development Agency, the Community Preservation Corporation and the County of Oswego Industrial Development Agency; and
• Harbor Lights will expand its outpatient clinic for adults and adolescents suffering from alcohol and/or drug abuse related issues. A new 7,360 square foot building will be constructed as well as renovations of an existing building at its new location on Scenic Avenue in Mexico. The project will receive funding assistance from Community Bank, an SBA 504 loan through OOC and the IDA.

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