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SC Partnership Celebrates Twenty! O
n October 9, at the Sullivan in Rock Hill, The Partnership for Economic Development will hold its annual meeting and celebration. This year marks the twentieth year the organization has been providing business and technical assistance services to Sullivan County’s private and public sector. The road traveled has not been easy as limited local resources, lack of infrastructure, location and other issues, have severely challenged Sullivan County to compete with other areas featuring those very assets. Yet there have been successes in spite of the difficulties. Firms like Kohl’s Distribution, Nonni’s, Ideal Snacks, Crystal Run Health Care, Home Depot, D.C. Welding, ASB Greenworld, Prohibition Distillery and others were projects facilitated by the organization that have invested in Sullivan County, created jobs and helped curtail the pressures of a shrinking local economy. The Partnership has focused on small business as well with most countywide Main Streets featuring at least one small business assisted by the organization. The Partnership continues to be the ‘go to’ place for economic development assistance.
HISTORY The Partnership for Economic Development in Sullivan County was incorporated in 1994 as a 501 C (6) organization. As the name implies, a private, public partnership was derived from a critical need to proactively pursue and respond to businesses interested in locating to, expanding within, or starting up in Sullivan County at the speed of the market place. In addition, the organization was needed to protect the proprietary and strategic work product of prospective
Legislature Chairman Scott Samuelson, left, talks with Partnership President and CEO Marc Baez at last year’s Annual Dinner. businesses, which was typically disclosed prior to making formal application and worked to dissuade potential businesses from locating or expanding in Sullivan County. The ‘partnership’ model had proven to be successful throughout the country and locally in neighboring Orange County. In fact, the Sullivan County Partnership was modeled after that entity. Today this structure has proven to be one of the best, organizationally, with partnerships and private economic development organizations outperforming public and 501 C3 models consistently over time. At the request of the business community, and residents at large, the County, the Sullivan County IDA and the business community agreed to put resources together, driven primarily by the private sector to efficiently and effectively carry out the economic development function in Sullivan County. Funds for the new corporation would be
raised through memberships, and matched by both the County, and the Sullivan County IDA through services agreements, in order to raise the necessary capital to carry out the function. At the heart of the mission of the Partnership was the facilitation of investment, jobs and tax ratables to our municipalities and the County. Since its inception, the Partnership has achieved extraordinary results given the difficulty of the task in our region. CURRENT STATUS The Sullivan County Partnership today stands proud of what it has achieved in its twenty year history as evidenced by the value of its work product. What is clearly evident is that the return on the investment to Sullivan County is most favorable. The total annual taxes collected for Partnership assisted projects that also received incentives in 2014 is more than $2.6 million. The County portion of
that equals just over $503,000 this year with respective school districts and local taxing jurisdictions receiving the bulk of the generated tax revenues. What is most telling is that these tax revenues continue to grow each year as more projects are completed. Moreover, approximately another $2.4 million, and $500,000 additional county tax dollars are collected that either did not receive any incentives or are beyond incentive program maturity dates.. These are not passive revenues determined by statistical reports or economic multipliers. Rather, they are guaranteed tangible revenues paid, and growing each year as pilot incentives continue to wane relative to proximity to maturity dates. In addition, over 1,311 current jobs generating an annual payroll of over $40 million works to further underscore the value of investing in the Sullivan County Partnership. While Sullivan County lost jobs year to year from 2013 to 2014, Partnership assisted projects increased jobs by 111. While this number may appear to be small relatively, clearly a net positive in our current economic environment shows the formula is working, despite the challenges. This past fiscal year three significant Partnership facilitated projects have materialized that will make an extraordinary positive impact on our economy. The first, Veria Lifestyle at the former Kutcher’s Resort is proposing a Canyon Ranch-Style spa resort slated for over $85 million in investment. A boutique hotel will be built and scheduled to open in 2015 featuring 75 rooms and a sportsman’s club, with the bulk of the development taking place thereafter. By any measure this project is an extraordinary economic development project that
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unfortunately gets lost in all of the casino discussions we are having at this time. The second, Lost Lake, a gated community with over 2,500 approved lots and various community spaces has already begun to secure commitments with over 40 lots in process currently. This predominantly second home community is a win-win for the Town of Forestburgh and the County as there will be virtually no negative impact on cost of services and the local school system. In addition the residential construction
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INSIDE: President’s Message page 2
Partnership names new board members page 3 Catskill Hudson opens new branch page 5 Engineering on the front lines page 6 Catskill Brewery up and running page 10 Proud to be Sullivan page 12 Eminence Road continues to grow page 14 Business group meets in library page 17 Albella’s unveils new bar page 18