Incoming Economic Development Director Kevin Sanvidge (left) and County Executive Vince Horigan.

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan has announced his choice for the new head of economic development.

On Wednesday afternoon, Horrigan announced the appointment of Kevin M. Sanvidge as the new Administrative Director/CEO of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) and Director of the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Economic Development.

Sanvidge begins his new position on Tuesday. He is replacing current director Bill Daly, who will be retiring on May 31.

Sanvidge is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Lake Shore Savings Bank, where he also serves as the chairman of its Compensation Committee and as a member of its Corporate Governance Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of ECR International Corporation and he’s is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce.

He previously was involved with both Cliffstar Corporation and Al Tech Specialty Steel Corporation.

The selection of the new director was made through the help of a search committee established by Horrigan. Members of the committee included: County Legislator George Borrello, former IDA administrative director, past acting county executive and president of Dawson Metal Dave Dawson and Mike Metzger and Dennis Rak, members of the CCIDA Board of Directors.

Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan.

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan says he’ll introduce the new head of economic development in Chautauqua County during a press conference later this week.

A release from Horrigan’s office says that the county’s new economic development director – who will be responsible for serving as the CEO of the County Industrial Development Agency, along with his role as Director of the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Economic Development – will be introduced on Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m. in Mayville.

Horrigan will also be joined during the announcement by members of the search committee.

It was announced in March that current economic development director Bill Daly would be retiring from the position he’s held for the past eight years. His final day on the job is scheduled for May 31.

Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan has started the process of finding a new director for the county’s Planning and Economic Development Department.

Last month, current P&ED director Bill Daly announced he would be retiring from the position at the end of May. Since the announcement, Horrigan has been working with a search committee to find the best possible candidate to replace Daly.

“I have two legislators. Legislator [George] Borello has agreed to chair the committee and legislator [Fred] Larson is also on that committee,” Horrigan said during the March 26 County Legislature Meeting, adding, “IDA Chairman Mike Metzger is also on that committee. David Dawson, who is a past IDA director is on that committee, and we will be adding a few more.”

Horrigan added that he will also be working with regional economic development officials to help find a candidate. He says that he’s hoping to have some names by the end of this month so that a new replacement could be selected by the time Daly retires.

“Our goal is to try to get this process underway quickly in April to be able to get some candidates for me to look at by the end of May. Mr. Daly will be there through the end of May. If we need an interim director, I have a couple of prospects but I’m not ready to announce that at this time.”

And while the county has received some recent bad news regarding layoffs and closures in the manufacturing sector, Horrigan doesn’t think that the timing of Daly’s retirement and the search for a replacement will impact the effort to bring in new businesses and jobs.

“That’s not a concern. First of all, those that know Mike Mitzger, he and I work very closely together. We talk one or two times a day. We have a great board of directors – Rich Dixon is doing a great job over there. We are in regular contact with companies. I have someone who is willing to step forward who is a very strong person if we need that in the interim.”

Not only does Daly’s position oversee the county’s department of planning and economic development, but it also is the executive director of the county’s industrial development agency.

Bill Daly

JAMESTOWN – The man in charge of economic development in Chautauqua County is retiring later this spring.

Chautauqua County Planning and Economic Development Director Bill Daly – who also serves as the executive director of the county industrial development agency – will be retiring on May 31.

The announcement was made by County Executive Vince Horrigan in a media release that was sent out Monday afternoon. In the release, Horrigan said that Daly notified him of the decision over the weekend. Daly, who is 65 years old, became director on Jan. 1, 2006, after being appointed by then-County Executive Greg Edwards.

As IDA director over the past 8 years, Daly has overseen 54 Business Loans in excess of $14 million, closed on 20 PILOTS with annual tax payments of $11 million and issued $103 million in tax exempt bonds supporting 5 projects valued at over $235 million. According to Horrigan’s media release, the impact of the economic benefits has retained thousands of jobs, brought in hundreds of new jobs, and leveraged over $500 million in private investment in Chautauqua County.

Daly and his department was also criticized in the 2013 county executive race, when democratic candidate Ron Johnson claimed that more than 7,000 jobs were lost in Chautauqua County during his time as executive director of the IDA. As Director of the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Economic Development, Daly successfully guided the development of award-winning New York State plans such as the County’s Comprehensive plan —Chautauqua 20/20, and the Chautauqua County Greenways Plan, plus the Chautauqua Lake Watershed Management Plan and the Macrophyte Management Strategy.

However, Daly was also involved with keeping several businesses in the area, including the SKF Aeroengine plant, the Weber-Knapp plant and most recently, working on a PILOT agreement with the NRG power plant in Dunkirk.

Horrigan said that he will be looking region-wide for the next director of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency and that the county will most likely need to hire an interim director until the position is filled.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Bill Daly will serve as the new chairman of the Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, and Steuben Counties’ Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority – Also known as STERA.

Daly has already served for 6 years on the STERA Board. He was elected to the position of chair after the resignation of John Margeson of Allegany County, who had been the long-time chairman.

Daly said he will continue to help find ways for the authority to improve rail service from Meadville to Hornell.  STERA is headquartered in Salamanca and works with other rail and economic development agencies in the Southern Tier to help maximize rail usage in the region.

The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency says Rae Foods, Inc. recently closed on the purchase of a new 15,000 square foot facility at 75 Bourne St. in Westfield for the “Nowinski Pierogi” manufacturing operation. Officials say in all, the project is expected to result in a $2.5 million investment in our economy.  The facility should be fully operational by early October, once significant renovations are completed. 

Through actions taken by the IDA Board of Directors the company will receive a 10-year Payment in Lieu of Tax schedule, $640,000 in AL Tech Revolving Loan Fund financing for working capital, machinery and equipment, abatement of sales tax during the construction period, and also abatement of mortgage recording tax.  Additional economic incentives were also approved by Empire State Development.

Federal and State elected officials were also involved in the project, providing support and resources to the new company. Once opened, Rae Foods is expected to hire up to 50 people within five years to work at the facility.

DUNKIRK METAL PRODUCTS

A series of recent actions taken by the County IDA Board of Directors is paving the way for Dunkirk Metal Products of WNY, LLC (DMP) to consolidate operations and grow their business in Chautauqua County.

The IDA Board approved the sale of its 40,000 square foot facility located at 3575 Chadwick Drive in the Town of Sheridan. The board also approved a Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) agreement that will result in real property taxes being collected with a gradually increasing payment schedule over a period of 12 years. Temporary sales tax abatement related to improvements and mortgage recording tax abatement will also be provided to the company, if needed.  In a related action, the Board also approved the eventual acquisition of the company’s 795 Deer Street, Dunkirk location.

County development director Bill Daly said that Dunkirk Metal Products has been a valued manufacturer and employer in Chautauqua County for over 60 years. He added that the new facility will provide the space the company needs to expand and grow their workforce for years to come

As part of the sale agreement, the CCIDA agreed to assume the lease and will eventually take the option to purchase DMP’s 795 Deer Street, Dunkirk location.  According to Daly, this facility will be marketed for sale by both the CCIDA and the City of Dunkirk.

As a result of the move, 20 jobs will be retained and 4 new jobs are projected.

Edward said that as soon as AFA Foods announced in July 2012 that it would be closing, Daly and the County Industrial Development Agency immediately began to work on marketing the site and Chautauqua County is now a contender to be the site of Saturn Petcare’s expansion project.

Saturn Petcare is a wholly owned subsidiary of a family run German group of companies active in meat processing, fine food, and pet food sectors, as well as importing and exporting food in the German and international markets. The company is planning on establishing a manufacturing facility for pet care products in the United States and they are looking at either purchasing the site in Ashville or in Michigan.

IDA Officials have been working with the Western NY Regional office of Empire State Development to coordinate local and State incentives to enhance the opportunities for the selection of the Ashville site by saturn.  If the company does purchase the building, they will spend $20 million on equipment and upgrades to the plant, and will create 100 jobs within five years.

• LISTEN TO MEDIA INTERVIEW WITH MAYOR TERESI AND DEJOY

Monday night was the culmination of nearly three weeks of preparation for DeJoy, who was announced as Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi’s selection to be the next development director. Speaking with reporters, DeJoy said Monday was his first day on the Job and he’s ready to hit the ground running.

“I spent the morning trying to get to know what [the staff] is working on and what they do. I’ve been thoroughly briefed in the past as to what projects they are working on, so I had my opportunities to ask some questions on it and what their priorities are and how they are tackling their many challenges to work through each day,” DeJoy said, adding, “I think the relationship has started off wonderfully between myself and the staff and I’m very excited to be working with some very talented and extremely experienced people.”

When DeJoy was announced as the mayor’s choice as the new city development director, he pledged to usher in a new era of collaboration in the city. Last night, DeJoy said he already has reached out to some of the local agencies and organizations in the area and will continue to do so in the coming weeks and months.

“I think some of our economic development partners, such as with the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation – Mr. Lombardi and his staff. Also as the mayor mentioned, I met today with the Empire State Development Corporation. I’ve had several meetings so far with [Chautauqua County] IDA members Mr. (Rich) Dixon and Mr. (Bill) Daly and I met with County Executive (Greg) Edwards. I am just so excited because they’ve been enthusiastic. They know me and I think they know that I am very sincere and passionate about Jamestown and Chautauqua County.”

The position of city development director is an unpaid position in Jamestown government. However, the director of development has also traditionally been the same individual who serves as Secretary of the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency – which is a paid position. DeJoy was already approved to be the next secretary of the agency during a meeting on Feb. 7.

DeJoy will replace former city Development Director Steve Centi, who announced his retirement at the beginning of the new year.

The Jamestown City Council voted 7 to 1 in favor of accepting the appointment of DeJoy as city Development Director, with councilwoman Kim Ecklund (R-At Large) voting against it.

The money will go to help of with expansion of the facility on Allen Street so it can house a new CNC Machine in the plant, which will allow Rand Machine Products to work on very large products.  The total project cost was more than $4,600,000.

Rand Machine Products is a custom contract manufacturing service. They machine and assemble a variety of products per customer drawings, such as railroad, pipeline couplings, defense work, mining industry, hospital and medical equipment and decorative brass hardware. The company currently employs 104 full-time employees. The project will create 10 new jobs at Rand.

The business has been in operation since 1949, with the Ruhlman family managing it since 1980.

According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, Edwards has responded to the legislators’ request, apologizing for not responding sooner, but said the letter had never arrived in his office – although it was read during the May voting session of the county legislator.

The county executive also informed the legislators that he has asked Planning and Economic Development Director Bill Daly to complete the data they have requested. The information will be presented during the Legislator’s Planning and Economic Development meeting in January.