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Press Release - ECIDA Board tables vote due to lack of quorum
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ECIDA Board tables votes for special projects due to lack of quorum
Special
project items included BNE labor market study,
minority-focused
Beverly Gray Business Exchange Center, Canadian lead generation
Buffalo, NY— The Erie County Industrial Development Agency's Board of Directors tabled votes for several special project items due to a lack of quorum at Wednesday's meeting.
Items
before the Board included $75,000 in funding for Buffalo Niagara Enterprise (BNE)
to conduct a Labor Market Assessment study that will shed new light on area
talent attraction, underemployment, workforce development, training and
employer costs. The new study will build on a University of Buffalo Regional
Institute report that was issued in 2010.
"Currently,
we don't have the detailed workforce data necessary in order to ensure the most
effective, cohesive workforce development strategy," said ECIDA President and
CEO Steve Weathers. "Updating these demographics will help us determine how we
can better align training, industry and employer incentives to continue our
economic development growth in Erie County," he added.
In
spite of the Board not being able to take any official action, BNE president
Tom Kucharski made an informational presentation for the Labor Market study,
and also requested $100,000 from the ECIDA to continue support for Canadian
lead generation and business attraction. Erie County lost the critical business
development funding when the Erie County legislature removed it from the
budget.
The Beverly Gray Business Exchange Center, a proposed minority
and women-owned business support facility championed by City of Buffalo Mayor
Byron Brown, requested $250,000 in support from the ECIDA, and the Board heard
a detailed informational presentation by Buffalo Office of Strategic Planning
official Rebecca Grandour.
The ECIDA Board also agreed to table approval of the
agency's legal RFP, due to possible issues regarding elected officials on the
Board of Directors who may have received campaign donations from any firms
under consideration. The Board agreed to examine any possible conflict of
interest issues that may exist, and revisit the issue at the March 31st
meeting.
The Regional Development Corporation, which serves as the
ECIDA's lending arm and shares the same Board of Directors, presented a $1.6
million loan for Robinson Home products, Inc. The local home goods manufacturer
will use the funds in combination with $5.6 million from First Niagara Bank and
$900,000 in equity to purchase and expand its current facility at 500 Bailey
Avenue in Buffalo, NY. The RDC Board unanimously approved the project.
The Erie County Industrial Development
Agency is an independent, public benefit corporation
sanctioned by the State of New York to offer
tax incentives to qualified businesses, and is dedicated to furthering economic
development, adaptive reuse of qualified properties, job creation and ensuring a
thriving business environment in Erie County. The staff of the ECIDA are not
employees of the City of Buffalo, the County of Erie, or the State of New York.The ECIDA does not receive operating funds from taxpayer revenues. The
ECIDA receives its operating funds by collecting fees from businesses that
enter into contracts with the Agency, from investments, and from loan fees.
For more information, visit www.ecidany.com
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