Former Truck-Lite facility in Falconer

The former Truck-lite facility in Falconer is being sold to The Krog Group.

The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency Board approved a $900,000 Al Tech Loan, mortgage tax abatement, and sales tax abatement. The total project cost is $3,655,000.

IDA Business Development Manager Carol Rasmussen said Peter Krog plans to purchase and lease out the 160,000 square foot facility for office and manufacturing space. He will be doing some renovation work as well.

The IDA board also approved an updated payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement for the Welch’s Building project in Westfield.

Chief Financial Officer Rich Dixon said 2 Portage LLC previously had been approved for a 15-year PILOT by the IDA, “The developer was talking with his investors and with people who were making him the loan. They were hoping they could get more certainty as to what the tax payments would be after year 15. They originally came to us and talked about maybe a 30-year, 25-year (PILOT). We ended up with a compromise that I think is very fair.”

Dixon said the agreement is for a 20-year PILOT that has the same terms for years 0 through 15 as the current PILOT and then years 16 through 20 are at 100% tax at a fixed rate.

The Welch’s Building project previously received a $475,000 AL Tech Loan Fund as well as $1.5 million in Restore New York funds for the $18 million project.

Dixon said there is no change to the project other than the change to the PILOT.

The IDA Board also approved an Al Tech loan of $100,000 for BP Endeavors LLC to purchase Wildwood Acres Campground on Brown Road in Bemus Point. The total project cost is $668,000.

Rasmussen said the current owner, who has ran the campground for 21 years, is selling the property due to illness. The new owners plan to open up 20 to 30 new sites on the ground for rent.

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. 

The Falconer village board during its Jan. 13, 2020 meeting, the first with new mayor Jim Jarosynski.

FALCONER – The Village of Falconer will have to find a fourth member of the village board of trustee.

The village board held its first meeting of the year with new mayor James Jaroszynski, who said that the write-in winner from last year’s election – Phil Ribaudo – has decided not to take the position.

“He has elected to not take the position. He’s informed me officially he’s not going to take it, so by election law you have 30 days before Jan. 1 or 30 days after Jan. 1 to take the oath. So we have to wait until Jan. 30 and then I’ll be seeking people that want to serve on the village board. They can contact me directly or through the village clerk’s office.”

Once all potential candidates have come forward, Jaroszynski will then bring his recommendation to the full board for a vote.

Also during Monday’s meeting the village approved the 2020 officers for the Falconer Volunteer Fire Department, which includes a new fire chief.

New chief Bryce Webster will replace Fire Chief Charles Piazza. Piazza was initially voted by the fire department members to be the cheif for 2020 but the village board raised concerns due to his residency being outside of the fire district. As a result, Piazza opted to withdraw his name and a new vote took place with Webster being selected as chief.

Jaroszynski said there were several challenges facing the village in 2020.

“We’ve certainly worked together fine as a team and with the addition of [new trustee] Gustafson I can only see that continuing. So we definitely have some challenges ahead of us. It’s no secret with the annexation issue. We’re also negotiation our water agreement with the Board of Public Utilities and we have the recent news regarding Truck Lite, so we definitely have a lot on our plate to do and think about,” Jaroszynski said.

Jarosynski added that he looks forward to another meeting Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist and others to see if there is an alternative solution to the annexation issue involving the Dow Street Substation – although no specific date has been set.

The Post-Journal reports company officials remain committed to keeping the production operation in place and have said that critical functions that support the day-to-day oversight of the Falconer location, as well as plants in Pennsylvania, will remain in Falconer.

The add that the positions tied to “global growth and strategic initiatives” will be based at the new headquarters in Michigan once it is built.

Truck-Lite also said that recent reports that dozens of corporate jobs would be moved to Michigan while others would be shifted to Pittsburgh were not accurate.

Last week it was announced that Truck-Lite planned to build a new $4 million headquarters in Southfield, Michigan.
The company makes heavy-duty lighting for trucks and other vehicles.

According to reports from The Detroit News, the company that specializes in making light components for semis, trucks and other vehicles plans to invest $4 million into a new building in Southfield, Mich.

The move is expected to create 95 jobs, though it’s not yet known how many local employees will be affected.

The local Truck-Lite facility, including the current headquarters, is located at 310 E. Elmwood Ave. in Falconer. In all, the company employs about 3,000 people at all of its locations.

Congressman Rep. Tom Reed was in Falconer Oct. 13 to tour Truck-Lite Company, Inc. and recognize the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier and Dream It Do It Western New York for their effort in training the workers of tomorrow.

FALCONER – Chautauqua County’s representative in Washington says the only way America can remain competitive on the world stage when it comes to manufacturing is by equipping the workers of tomorrow with the skills and knowledge they’ll need to get the job done.

Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23) was in Falconer Tuesday to promote National Manufacturing Month with a tour of Truck-Lite and to recognize the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier and Dream It Do It Western New York for their efforts in training the workers of tomorrow.

Reed pointed out that Truck-Lite has been a major partner with the local Dream It Do It program, giving high school students in the area an opportunity to learn about the operation and what they’ll need to know to work in a manufacturing setting.

“This is manufacturing of tomorrow,” Reed said. “It takes a hi-tech [approach]. It takes a lot of science, technology, engineering and mathematics – that’s why we’re a firm believer in the STEM program. And it’s also about raising awareness. This being National Manufacturing Month, one of the things we hope to accomplish with this [visit] is to raise awareness to the next generation and to mothers and fathers and say, ‘This isn’t the manufacturing of the 20th century. This is the manufacturing of tomorrow, which is safe, it’s exciting, it’s hands on and it’s stimulating.”

Truck Lite Sr. Vice President Brad VanRiper said the Dream It – Do It program has become a valuable component for the local manufacturer.

“Through Dream It – Do It and the education coalition, we’ve seen an effort to align education with the needs of business and industry,” VanRiper said. “If education doesn’t know our needs and the students don’t know the opportunity, then we can’t get the employees – which is probably the single biggest opposition to our growth here in Western New York.”

Reed also presented a Congressional proclamation to Manufacturers Association director Todd Tranum and Dream It Do It Coordinator Justin Hanft, who said the program has given hundreds of students an opportunity to learn how they can work in manufacturing.

“Dream It Do It program throughout Chautauqua County – through a variety of different strategic approaches – hosts a lot of different events around the county at different times throughout the year,” Hanft said. “The one we just did recently was our Manufacturing Day event on Oct. 2, when we had over 600 kids throughout the county that visited a manufacturer, Truck-Lite being one of them.”

In addition to the proclamation, Congressman Reed also toured the Truck-Lite plant to learn more about the operation and the products that it provides to its customers around the globe.