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Countywide economic development plan ready to be implemented | News, Sports, Jobs
It’s time to implement the countywide economic development plan.
On Wednesday, an online meeting was held to announce that after two years of organizing and creating a countywide economic development plan — also know as the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth — it’s time to implement the ideas. The online meeting was hosted by the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, county Planning Department and Camoin 310, the consulting firm hired two years ago to develop the countywide economic development plan.
Dan Gundersen, Camoin 310 senior vice president, said there are five work groups developed into the plan with 91 recommendations in the strategy. He said the five work groups include business development; workforce readiness and development; community development; housing development; and tourism and quality of life. He added that for each work group there is one “game changer,” which is intended to have wide-ranging economic implications for the county.
Gundersen said for business development the game changer is to develop appropriate sites for advanced manufacturing, science and research, and other key industries. He said manufacturing is the game changer for business development because that is Chautauqua County’s legacy. He said 17% of the jobs in the county are in the manufacturing sector.
“We think the future of Chautauqua County is in its past,” he said.
Gundersen said the workforce development and readiness game changer is to initiate and maintain a talent retention and attraction campaign. He said the “brain drain” of children from Chautauqua County graduating college and leaving to work and live in other states needs to stop. He added that only 12% of the people living in Chautauqua County have a bachelor’s degree.
Gundersen said the game changer for community development should be to produce 10% growth of tax revenues in core communities over seven years. He said the game changer for housing development is to determine housing needs by category and location, and construct 500 housing units by 2030.
He added the game changer for tourism destination and development is to increase the total number of visitors to the county by 50% within the next five years.
“Come out of COVID with a head of steam,” he said.
Gundersen said the countywide economic development plan has timelines and priorities for how to implement each of the 91 recommendations. He said the plan also presents a monitoring method so county officials can track if there is movement being made on the action plan. He added that the plan also includes 20 indicators for each of the five work groups that can be used to track performance.
“We engaged over 115 individual partners to develop an inclusive, collaborative and comprehensive countywide strategy that I’m confident will set the stage for Chautauqua County to reach its full economic potential,” said Mark Geise, deputy county executive for economic development. “I’m proud of the additional partnerships we’ve developed throughout the county and the early wins we’ve achieved. This is a smart, asset-based approach that is already proving to be impactful.”
The countywide economic development plan was re-worked to include a COVID-19 resiliency framework that the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth board and other partners will use to guide the process of economic recovery.
“Even though we face more obstacles than we did pre-COVID-19, we also have new opportunities to attract new residents and workers, to market Chautauqua County as a mecca for outdoor recreation and indoor entertainment, to promote remote work opportunities, and to tout our high quality of life and low cost of living,” said Matt Churchill, Water Street Brass fonder and president and Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth co-chair.
The plan also contains organizational recommendations for the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth as it develops into an economic development entity tackling the challenges facing Chautauqua County stakeholders. The intent is to create a sustainable funding model with public and private support for operations, and to advance the implementation of specific projects and initiatives that align to the priorities of the plan.
“We need all partners to get behind the strategy, and work collaboratively to implement its recommendations,” Geise said. “This is a new way of doing business, and we have a real opportunity to change the trajectory of our county.”
The Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corporation, the umbrella organization of the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth, launched this phase of the strategy, which was the second phase of the two-part economic development strategy development process, in August of 2019. The two-phase approach was designed thoughtfully with an emphasis on developing stronger partnerships and implementation methods, prior to determining specific economic priorities.
“This plan will only be successful if we have complete buy-in and participation by every economic development stakeholder, and by local, regional, state, and federal funders,” said County Executive PJ Wendel. “While the table is set, our work is just getting started. I’m confident that this public-private approach is the right way moving forward.”
The plan was funded by the Chautauqua County Division of Economic Development, the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency, and through the generous support of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.
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