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Members of the Mohawk Valley Economic Development Council met Thursday afternoon to do a post mortem of its showing in the 2011 statewide competition for development funds and to plan for this year’s round.
The region — which includes the counties of Oneida, Herkimer, Otsego, Schoharie, Fulton and Montgomery — got $60.2 million in awards that were announced in December.
That’s the second-lowest award given out in the 10-region contest.
But council members pointed to the fact that the funds are coming and the next step is to ensure that those who receive it follow through on their plans.
“One of the ways we will be judged next time is to show we delivered what was promised,” said Lawrence Gilroy III, co-chairman of the local council along with SUNYIT President Wolf Yeigh.
More than 50 members of the public turned out for the meeting at SUNYIT.
Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy also attended.
The amount up for grabs in this year’s competition will be announced after the state budget is finalized in April. The application process, complete with community meetings, will go on during the summer, and the awards should be announced in the fall, Yeigh said.
Duffy said the state still is refining the process, and he is looking for input from those involved in the process. “In Boilermaker terms, we aren’t even to the golf course yet,” he said.
One local businessman, Phil Szeliga, who attended the meeting, said he thinks the process is a good one. “Dialogue cannot hurt in any way,” Szeliga, president of Human Electronics in Utica, said. “New York is trying to take steps to make things better, which is very energizing.”
Members of the Mohawk Valley Economic Development Council met Thursday afternoon to do a post mortem of its showing in the 2011 statewide competition for development funds and to plan for this year’s round.
The region — which includes the counties of Oneida, Herkimer, Otsego, Schoharie, Fulton and Montgomery — got $60.2 million in awards that were announced in December.
That’s the second-lowest award given out in the 10-region contest.
But council members pointed to the fact that the funds are coming and the next step is to ensure that those who receive it follow through on their plans.
“One of the ways we will be judged next time is to show we delivered what was promised,” said Lawrence Gilroy III, co-chairman of the local council along with SUNYIT President Wolf Yeigh.
More than 50 members of the public turned out for the meeting at SUNYIT.
Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy also attended.
The amount up for grabs in this year’s competition will be announced after the state budget is finalized in April. The application process, complete with community meetings, will go on during the summer, and the awards should be announced in the fall, Yeigh said.
Duffy said the state still is refining the process, and he is looking for input from those involved in the process. “In Boilermaker terms, we aren’t even to the golf course yet,” he said.
One local businessman, Phil Szeliga, who attended the meeting, said he thinks the process is a good one. “Dialogue cannot hurt in any way,” Szeliga, president of Human Electronics in Utica, said. “New York is trying to take steps to make things better, which is very energizing.”
