Nov. 28, 2006: “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

Operation Oswego County is a member of the Central Upstate Regional Alliance, a 12-county public/private consortium 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 Central Upstate Regional 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 engages in 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.

As part of its mission to attract and retain talent in Central New York, ENYI and the Central Upstate Regional Alliance 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.

Most recently, the Central Upstate Regional Alliance is sponsoring a $100,000 business plan competition which is designed to:

• Stimulate job creation and business development by providing financial and in-kind resources to companies in the Central Upstate New York region;
• Increase the entrepreneurial culture and visibility of entrepreneurial activity in the region; and
• Identify several high-growth potential business opportunities in the region and connect these opportunities to a wide range of business development and capital resources both during the competition and beyond.

Participation in the competition is limited to individuals or entry teams from the Central Upstate New York region and judging will be based on two categories as selected by the individual or entry team:

“Emerging Business” (company currently in existence, formally incorporated by January 15, 2007 and revenue stream between $0 and $2.5 million): $150 application fee ($100,000 prize); and

“Business Idea” (Open to General Public): No application fee ($2,500 prize).

For more information about the business plan competition, visit www.essentialconnections.org.

In other economic development news:

• The former Choo Choo Charlie’s Convenience Store located in the town of Williamstown will be renovated and opened as Checkered House Corners. The project will create six jobs. The new store will receive funding assistance from the County of Oswego Industrial Development Agency (IDA), a Small Business Administration 504 loan through OOC and Pathfinder Bank;

• Caster Properties will renovate and convert the former Goldberg’s building in Fulton into 10,000 square feet of retail and office space on the first floor, and eight condominiums on the second floor. The basement will be converted into 18 parking spaces. The project is an excellent example of developing vacant property into a mixed use complex that will help to revitalize the Fulton Central Business District. The project will receive funding from the IDA, Fulton Community Development Agency, National Grid and Fulton Savings Bank.
  

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