2020 Recap from CCIDA Executive Director Corey Wiktor
2020 Recap from CCIDA Executive Director Corey Wiktor
Despite the pandemic, CCIDA continues its ongoing efforts to assist in various capital investment projects.
ELLICOTTVILLE, NY - This past year proved to be yet another busy, challenging (and scary) year, but in the end, let’s hope 2020 ends with a ray of hope for us all with a New Year right around the corner, a prosperous 2021.
I am pleased to provide the community and our stakeholders with a year-in review of the activities of the County of Cattaraugus Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) and our ongoing efforts to enhance the economic prosperity of our County as a whole.
In 2020, CCIDA projects resulted in capital investments of approximately $120 million dollars into the County. This is a significant accomplishment given the challenges of the pandemic. These projects also created and retained jobs and in fact, since 2013 the CCIDA has helped create 733 new jobs while retaining 3,997 jobs through our various incentives and programs.
The projects supported by the CCIDA have been diverse and spanning. We continue to work closely with local family-owned businesses such as Worthy Pharmacy & 3M Property Management, LLC. We once again demonstrated the value of utilizing our Adaptive Reuse Program through the $11.7 million redevelopment of the Manny-Hanny Building by Savarino Companies out of Buffalo. Our tourism policy also assisted with several development projects in the millions of dollars at Holiday Valley.
We also unveiled a sales tax initiative for companies producing Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). Companies purchasing materials, supplies and equipment in order to manufacture medical and hospital devices, disinfectants and sanitizers, sterilizing and sanitizing equipment, medicines and pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter products are eligible for the sales tax exemption. We were pleased to support Essential American Products which invested $1 million at its manufacturing facility in the town of Ellicottville.
The fact remains, while we may live and work in a small rural economy, we are part of the global economy. We know that there is no “silver bullet” when it comes to economic development. Processes will always have to be identified, refined and implemented to the best of our ability. It’s a challenge we accept and continue to work to the best of our abilities each day.
What we have accomplished during a very difficult year could not have been achieved without the direction, guidance and support of our voluntary Board of Director members. An important partner in our efforts also includes the Cattaraugus County Legislature, their Leadership and also the Cattaraugus County Economic Development Department and Team. Thank you!
For instance, we worked collaboratively in navigating through the complexities of adopting a uniform tax policy for solar energy projects. Since adoption of this policy, the IDA has consulted several IDA’s across the state on how we went about communicating and working with not only developers, but local taxing jurisdictions and landowners to adopt a policy that works. We can anticipate even more such projects in 2021 as upstate New York has become a focus of the renewable energy sector.
Due to the ever-changing landscape that we all faced in 2020 as a result of the Coronavirus, we were in frequent contact with our state and federal elected leaders, including being appointed to Congressman Tom Reed’s Regional Economic Recovery Team. It was critically important that we speak with a unified voice in communicating to businesses across the county the various programs, services and grant opportunities available to them during these unprecedented times.
Even through the pandemic, we worked very hard to meet with as many local municipalities and taxing jurisdictions as we could. The Agency continues to strive to be in regular communications with our thirty-two towns, nine villages and two cites and thirteen school districts to make them aware of the IDA projects, programs and policies.
The pandemic has wreaked havoc at the Canadian border, but we have been able to stay engaged as a result of our board membership with the Can-Am Council which is comprised of representatives from member companies engaged in cross border commerce. The Council focuses on bi-national relationship-building, joint planning, border advocacy and business-to-business interaction. As we well know, the Canadian marketplace is critical to our county’s economic growth.
We continue to be active in business organizations such as the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Invest Buffalo Niagara (IBN) and the New York State Economic Development Council to name just a few. IBN coordinated visits to destinations in the county for site selectors from New York City. In fact, we submitted nine sites in the county to IBN over the past year as possible locations for those interested in bringing a business to western New York.
Our sister agency, the Cattaraugus Capital Resource Corporation (CCCRC) continues to meet with prospective not-for-profit organizations regarding our tax-exempt bond financing programs. We look forward to making some exciting announcements with the CCCRC in 2021 about some of these opportunities being pursued by the not-for-profit sector.
We are collaborating with Jamestown Community College to help create a certificate program for employment opportunities at commercial solar farms. We have conducted a few meetings with various developers in discussing workforce needs pertaining to the installation and maintenance of these renewable energy projects.
These are just some of the many initiatives and collaborations the CCIDA has undertaken over the last year. Despite the chaos and turmoil of 2020, Cattaraugus County - especially our business community - is poised to emerge stronger and even more resilient as we prepare to meet the challenges of 2021.
-Corey Wiktor,
Executive Director of the Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA)
