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Bi-Weekly Development News for Warren County and the Region
Ed Bartholomew, President  |  Arleen Girard, Chair

JANUARY 14, 2019

INSIDE EDC
EDC Activity Highlights for 2018

Among EDC's most important accomplishments during the past calendar year, two stand out for the future impact they will have on Warren County: 

#1 -- Securing $5.5 Million from  New York State for 12 Projects in Warren County through 2018 Regional Economic Development Council Awards 

A total of $67 million was awarded to the Capital Region on December 18th for Round 8 of the state's economic development competition. Warren County received $5.5 million of that total, in large part due to EDC's active involvement in organizing, advising, promoting, and advocating for the specific project applicants.

The 12 projects included a mix of downtown redevelopment funding for Glens Falls; Business Assistance projects for Finch Paper and the Ski Bowl Mountain Inn at Gore Mountain; and nine projects in the area of Infrastructure and Environmental Conservation.



#2 -- Overseeing Establishment of Two Federal Opportunity Zones in Warren County with Tax Incentives for Investors

EDC was the agency that organized and submitted required information to Empire State Development and the Governor's office, and lobbied for establishment of two zones in Warren County: in the City of Glens Falls and the Town of Johnsburg (including the hamlet of North Creek). This is quite an achievement for a county of our size. 

A January 9, 2019, article in the Albany Business Review and a  November 2018 article in The Sun  describe the program as it relates to Johnsburg/North Creek, citing EDC Warren County's work on the effort to get these zones established to benefit the county's long-range economic growth.

A December article in the Albany Business Review details the significant investment incentives related to Federal Opportunity Zones.



New York Unemployment Falling

As reported by The Post-Star, " New York state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level since the current system of record-keeping began in 1976.  The new numbers...show New York's jobless rate fell to 3.9 percent in November of 2018...[though] still slightly above the national average in November of 3.7 percent."

Read More in The Post-Star
WARREN COUNTY HAPPENINGS
BOCES Plans Career & Technology Open Houses

As reported in The Post-Star, " The Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex Career and Technical Education Program will host several open houses over the next week to give students and parents the opportunity to learn more about the courses it offers. The program has nearly 200 business and industry partners, giving students a chance to learn skills that transfer into careers after graduation."

Jan. 15, 6 to 7:30 p.m.SUNY Adirondack Queensbury campus
Early College Career Academy

Jan. 17, 6 to 8 p.m., Southern Adirondack Education Center in Kingsbury
Sessions focused more on the technical training courses, including heavy equipment, automotive repair and construction, welding, and others.

Read More in The Post-Star
Lehigh Cement to Host Community Meeting on Alternative Fuels

Lehigh Cement Company LLC will host a Community Information Meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 29, to present information and answer questions about its proposal to replace a portion of its fossil fuel use at its Glens Falls plant with an alternative fuel product made up of plastic trimmings and paper fiber from recycled paper mills. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the Adirondack Room at The Queensbury Hotel in Downtown Glens Falls.
AngioDynamics Reports Positive Second Quarter Results

Medical device provider AngioDynamics posted positive second quarter results led by a strong upswing in oncology product sales. In the quarter ending November 30, 2018, the company reported net sales of $91.5 million, an increase of 5.5% year over year.

Read More on  Business Wire
Queensbury's Gracenote Improving TV Content Discovery

As reported by  Fast Company, " Gracenote, the media metadata provider  scooped up  by Nielsen in 2017, has what it hopes will be the next generation in content discovery. The company announced the launch of a new product called Gracenote Video Descriptors, which it says will offer deeper engagement metrics to pay-TV providers, streaming services, and connected device makers, thereby allowing them to produce better content-discovery mechanisms."

Read More in Fast Company
Read More  in this  M&E Daily update from the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & REGIONAL NEWS
Amendments to State Environmental Quality Review Regulations Became Effective January 1

As noted in a January 7, 2019, post on the Harris Beach PLLC website, "To ensure that New York state agencies and local governments can meaningfully assess the environmental impact of proposed projects, the State Environmental Quality Review regulations received substantial amendments this year. This Legal Alert provides an overview of the key SEQR amendments."


Read More on the Harris Beach PLLC website

Chester Residents Speak Up Regarding Town Wish List

As reported by The Sun, "Town of Chester citizens say they want new enterprises to come to town, and their wish-list includes a bakery, a car wash, a laundromat and artisans' galleries, according to the results of a recent survey" by the North Warren Chamber of Commerce. The survey also revealed desired services as well as what types of development residents do not want. 

Read More in The Sun
Lake George Set Invasive Species Boat Inspection Record in 2018

As reported by The Daily Gazette, " The program to prevent invasive species from getting into Lake George examined a record number of boats in 2018...  The program had contact with 32,019 boats, did 10,617 entrance and 13,447 exit inspections, and decontaminated 1,601 boats, according to the just-released annual report of the Lake George Aquatic Invasive Species Program.  The total inspections were the highest in the five years of the inspection program."

Read More in The Daily Gazette
APA and DEC Holding Joint Public Comment Period on Proposed Ski Trail Guidance until February 1

To  address a growing interest by the general public in backcountry skiing, the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are holding a joint public comment period regarding proposed guidance for ski touring trails in the Adirondack Forest Preserve and their conformance to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. The proposal will augment existing standards and guidelines for cross-country ski trails as currently defined. The joint public comment period will conclude on February 1, 2019. 

Read More on Linked In
Read More in  The Adirondack Daily Enterprise
UPCOMING EVENTS

EDC Warren County Economic Outlook Breakfast
January 31, The Queensbury Hotel

Prepared by Warren County Tourism Department


CONTACT EDC 
For member information on how to join EDC, contact:
Ed Bartholomew, ebartholomew@edcwc.org

To share your news, submit to info@edcwc.org

STAY CONNECTED:
EDC Warren County  |  www.edcwc.org  |  518-761-6007