This time things will be different.
That’s the vow Schoharie County’s Economic Development team is making.
Armed with a grant County Administrator Steve Wilson got last fall, supervisors’ have put together an Economic Development Committee, chaired by Cobleskill Supervisor Leo McAllister and hired Fairweather Consulting of New Paltz to come up with a long-range plan for jobs, infrastructure, and more.
One of the first public discussions on the economic study will take place this Friday, when SUNY Cobleskill President Marion Terenzio hosts Mr. Wilson and Peter Fairweather at “Planning for Prosperity: Schoharie County’s Economic Development Strategy,” in a breakfast talk beginning at 7:30am in Upper Champlain Hall.
Mr. McAllister, who’s also head of supervisors’ Finance Committee, said his group met before Christmas; this is the next step.
“I know everyone’s rolling their eyes,” he said after Friday’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting, “but this study is going to be different,”--if only because he vows to step in if things go off-track.
Instead of hiring a consultant to tell supervisors what they need to do, Mr. McAllister said, the county went with Fairweather Consulting because the firm will be using input from the Economic Development team—which includes local businessmen, community leaders, and SUNY Cobleskill officials—to plot a strategy.
Mr. McAllister said he’ll be giving supervisors monthly updates on the process, something he sees as the best way to keep the study on task.
“We don’t need another study that says 48 percent of the county, or whatever the figure is, is living on welfare,” he said.
“What we do need to do is to talk to people who’ve been successful and find out why, and what worked and what didn’t. I understand people are skeptical that we’ll just end up with another study for some shelf. But I’m confident we can do this right this time. Otherwise, it’s wasted money and a wasted opportunity.”
Supervisors hope to use the eventual plan as a way to secure more grants and find ways to attract new businesses to the county—something they believe will be easier once they’re armed with the kinds of facts and figures that potential investors need.
Previously, economic development was part of supervisors’ Historic and Planning Committee.