Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency

CCIDA CEO and Deputy County Executive for Economic Development Mark Geise presented the 2022 Annual Report on the CCIDA to the Board on Tuesday.

He said the IDA Board had approved more than 50 projects in 2022, which included the approval of business loans, development project incentives, and the procurement of grants, “We approved in 2022, either through loans or grants or PILOT incentives, over $500 million. Last year (2021), I believe it was over $140 million. It’s over $500 million this year. We did nine Al-Tech loans. We did eight EDA CARES Act loans. We secured $2.8 million in grant funds.”

Geise said 363 full time jobs were created with 774 being retained in 2022. He said the projects also will create hundreds of temporary construction jobs.

He also discussed the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth, which was formed in 2019 as an initiative of the CCIDA’s non-profit subsidiary, the Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corporation.

Geise said the organization supports the five pillars of economic development, “We need to be thinking about place making, creating communities that people want to live. We need to be thinking about infrastructure – water lines, sewer lines, electric. We need to be thinking about house – creating housing that meets the needs and demands of talent. We’ve got to have the right housing stock. And workforce development, of course. We talk to businesses every day, ‘I need people.'”

Geise said CCPEG provided over $420,000 in financial assistance and technical assistance to support several dozen partner-led projects and initiatives. In addition, the Partnership was awarded nine grants in 2022, totaling over $1.4 Million, and leveraged an additional $7.5 Million on behalf of its partners.

Geise said his goals for 2023 include acquiring land for expansion of shovel-ready sites; and re-activating several key vacant buildings, including the Furniture Mart Building in Jamestown, Truck-Lite Building in the Town of Ellicott, and the Lenhart Hotel in Bemus Point.

He also wants to develop a marketing and branding strategy for the county to help address population decline and supply businesses with talent.

The CCIDA’s 2022 Annual Report can be found on the CCIDA website: https://ccida.com/about/

EDITOR’S NOTE: As a point of transparency and disclosure to our audience, Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency is a corporate underwriter for WRFA and has provided a financial contribution for the general operations of the station within the past year. Funding we receive for General Operations is not used to fund our coverage of local news in the community. That is only made possible through a Community Service Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 

Overland Trail in Chautauqua County

The Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corporation has received a grant to work on ways of bringing trail groups together.

The $25,000 grant from the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation will explore the feasibility of establishing a “Friends of Chautauqua County Greenways Group.” This effort will bring together various trails organizations and determine how best they can work together as a Friends group to provide mutual support and seek funding together.

Chautauqua County has also set aside $250,000 in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act for trail maintenance and upgrades. The County plans to purchase new trail maintenance equipment to improve efficiency, and repair bridges on the Overland Trails, among other projects. Funding was also allocated for various trail projects, including major improvements to the Westside Overland Trail in Chautauqua Gorge and Mount Pleasant State Forests, the installation of trailhead kiosks on the Overland Trails and the Chautauqua Rails-to-Trails, new trail signs on the Overland Trails, and trail maintenance projects on the Chautauqua Rails-to-Trails.

County Parks Commission member Jacob Bodway said the promise of a comprehensive “Friends Group” will help break down the silos that have made it difficult for communication and county-wide planning, “The ‘Friends Group’ will help get everyone on the same page and will enable us to seek larger grant dollars for future trail projects. This moment represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to upgrade and expand the county’s greenspaces and to market the county as a regional leader in outdoor recreation.”

The County Planning Department has also been working in partnership with the Town of Westfield to develop the Welch Trail, which will connect downtown Westfield to Chautauqua Creek via a mile-long loop trail. The project, funded through a grant from the New York State Office of Parks and Historic Preservation, is expected to be completed this spring. The Department has also been working to secure easements for a portion of trail that would connect Barcelona Harbor to the Chautauqua Institution, with additional funding from OPRHP.

For more information on Chautauqua County’s ongoing trail development projects and access to the County Greenway Plan, visit planningchautauqua.com/planning/trails/.

Lakeside Park, Mayville

A public input session on a draft plan to bring activity to Lakeside Park and Route 394 in Mayville has been scheduled for Monday, May 25.

The Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth, the Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corporation, and the Village of Mayville are holding the meeting where people can learn about the draft Master Plan for Lakeside Park and the West Lake Road corridor. People also will be able to provide feedback on the Mayville Strategic Waterfront Activation effort.

County officials said in the press release that the park facilities have degraded over time and some of the properties surrounding the park are underutilized. They said there is a growing need to assess Lakeside Park and the West Lake Road corridor, and identify necessary and opportune improvements.

The Master Plan will outline possible facility enhancements and funding opportunities, and is intended to identify improvements that could be achieved within a 5 to 10 year timeframe.

The meeting on Monday, May 25th will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Carlson Community Center located at Lakeside Park.

A presentation on the community surveys and project input that shaped the draft plan will be given, followed by community feedback through an open house setting. Light refreshments and drinks will be provided.

The link for additional project information can be found here: https://bartonloguidice.mysocialpinpoint.com/mayville-waterfront

The Lodge Condominium project

This is according to a lawsuit filed by Lake Shore Paving in Chautauqua County Supreme Court against The Lodge at Chautauqua Lake, The Estate of James K. Webb, Sally Webb, Executrix and Webbs Harbor Restaurant & Bowling Lanes, Inc. for lack of payment.

The lawsuit states in the complaint that when Lake Shore Paving Controller Ryan Rambacher spoke with Benjamin Webb on or about February 25, 2022, Webb informed him that the Bank of Erie would not be issuing a loan for construction and, therefore, would not be moving forward with the project.

Lake Shore Paving is suing for $127,155 for work they had completed related to the condominium project.

The Webb Hospitality Group, headed by Ben Webb, held a groundbreaking ceremony in July 2021 for The Lodge condominiums which was to have included 21 units.

The project had received $450,000 in Altech Revolving Loan funds as well as IDA tax lease program benefits such as mortgage tax rebate and sales tax relief on the construction from the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency. It also had received from the Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corporation a $217,000 term loan and $217,000 deffered loan.

WRFA reached out to Webb Hospitality for comment but did not receive a response.

Mayville Lakeside Park

Public input is being sought for the activation of the Mayville waterfront.

The Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth, Village of Mayville, and the Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corporation are asking local residents, business owners, and stakeholders to fill out a Recreational Demand Survey and an Interactive Map.

The Partnership for Economic Growth said in a release that Mayville’s Lakeside Park is a community resource with cultural, recreational, and scenic value. The historic train depot, boat launch, beach, floating stage, and other amenities have established Lakeside Park as a local and regional asset.

Officials say park facilities have degraded over time and some of the properties surrounding the park are underutilized. With The Lodge condominium resort project receiving approval to be built next to the park, officials say a master plan should be developed for facility enhancements and funding opportunities.

Hard copies of the survey will be available at the Village of Mayville Office, Town of Chautauqua Clerk’s Office, Mayville Library, Webb’s, and the Chautauqua Book Store. The survey and interactive map will be open to the public until Friday, February 25th, 2022.

To learn more, visit the project website at https://bartonloguidice.mysocialpinpoint.com/mayville-waterfront

Jamestown Container Corporation will receive $500,000 for a planned $1.6 million project at its Falconer facility. The money will be used to upgrade the Falconer site’s manufacturing and distribution operations, make facility repairs and equipment upgrades, and conduct certain remediation activities. The OCR award will fund a portion of the machinery and equipment, as well as provide for working capital costs associated with the project. 21 new full-time employees will be hired as a result of the investment.

Jamestown Advanced Products will receive $750,000 that will be invested in a new division of operations, toward a $3 million investment at its Ellicott location. Recently, Jamestown Advanced Products created a Homestead Implements division, specializing in the manufacture of high-quality 3-point and front-end loader tractor attachments. The company will introduce a new line of implements, specifically engineered for tractor dealers. New machinery, equipment, inventory, and parts will be purchased, with OCR funds to be used toward the machinery and equipment costs. Jamestown Advanced Products will create an estimated 55 new full-time equivalent jobs.

The IDA also approved a $400,000 AL Tech Revolving Loan Fund loan for ZTS Development to purchase real estate located at 201 Winchester Road in Lakewood, which was formerly owned by Lexington Machining, LLC. ZTS Development plans to lease the building as manufacturing space. $1-point-1 million dollars will be invested in the project.

This flexible funding pool is designed to provide critical local-matching dollars for economic and community development projects seeking funding from a multitude of local, state, federal, and philanthropic sources.

The Partnership for Economic Growth finalized and adopted a five-year economic development strategy last summer. The comprehensive approach resulted in the creation of five initiatives and dozens of other key recommendations to be initiated by individual partners .

The five individual work groups are Community Development, Business Development, Tourism, Workforce Readiness and Development, and Housing.

Specific projects to be funded by the Wilson Foundation award have yet to be determined, and criteria such as project readiness, feasibility, and economic impact will be used to guide decision-making.

For more information about the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth, please visit CHQpartnership.org.