BY BARBARA PINCKNEY
On a given day, Edward Bartholomew and his
team may be found at Finch Paper, discussing the
company’s $20 million modernization plan. The
next day, they may be up in the North Country, visiting
a fishing guide in need of a small business loan.
Bartholomew, president of the Warren County
Economic Development Corp., said it is that kind
of diversity that makes the county great and keeps
his job interesting.
“The challenge is to allocate our time to our
manufacturers, the larger industries and larger
businesses, while still paying attention to the
smaller businesses in the area,” he said. “Because
they are all equally important.”
And when it comes to economic development
in Warren County, businesses large and small, in
every part of the county, look to the EDC. Just over
a year ago, the nonprofit organization expanded
its role to handle economic development not only
for the county, but for the city of Glens Falls, the
town of Queensbury and every other town in Warren
County.
Its contract with Glens Falls includes oversight
of the city’s Industrial Development Agency and
Community Development Corp., which handles
housing rehabilitation and first-time home buyers
funding programs.
In addition to his title with the EDC, Bartholomew
is known as economic development
director for Glens Falls.
“It has been crystallized into one organization,
so we can go out and work very closely with the municipalities
and be able to speak on their behalf and
work in obtaining funding and new employment
opportunities,” he said. “We’re speaking with one
voice on economic development for Warren County.
“And I think as we go forward with the scarcity
of funds, and with the competition in bringing
new businesses and industries, it is always more
effective to have everybody rowing in the same
direction.”
The economic development tasks EDC takes on
are as varied as the types of businesses for which it
provides them. Its priorities include marketing the
county and its communities to businesses, as well
as helping with the site selection process; supporting
regional infrastructure projects–increased
broadband and wastewater treatment are top
on this list this year; fostering the growth of such
established industry clusters as medical devices,
paper, health care and tourism; and providing
financial support to businesses of all sizes.
“Over 80 percent of all new jobs created in the
northeast come from expansion of existing businesses,”
Bartholomew said. “That ranges from a
small family operation of five or six people up to
the large business that will continue to grow or
stabilize through assistance.”
He said noteworthy projects over the past year
ranged from helping SheetLabels Inc., which had
outgrown its space in Queensbury, move into a
30,000-square-foot facility in Pruyn’s Island Business
Park; assisting Finch Paper in securing $1
million from the state toward its expansion; and
providing financial assistance so Martha’s Ice
Cream could expand on Route 9 in Queensbury.
“I think one of the areas where we have made
major advancements is in our oversight of the
Glens Falls IDA and the Warren County Local
Development Corp.,” Bartholomew said. “In 2013,
due to a variety of factors including the economy,
there were no monies advanced or loaned. In 2014,
nearly $900,000 was loaned to businesses and we
essentially retained or created over 200 jobs in
Warren County with those loans.”
The EDC administers a number of loan funds,
and in April will roll out a $500,000 revolving loan
fund to be offered in conjunction with the Washington
County LDC.
“This is the first time there has been a bi-county
loan fund like this,” said Deanna Derway, president
of Washington County LDC. “So it is kind of a new
process we’ve been traversing together which we
hope to unveil soon and begin ushering some businesses
into that program.”
Business financing and job creation are the
main jobs of the Washington County LDC, which
although private is housed in the county offices in
Fort Edward.
Derway said that since its formation in 1985, the
organization has made 153 loans totaling $14.5 million.
It has 40 active loans on its books at the moment,
and Derway said applications have jumped
over the past year as the economy has improved.
“It is an extremely varied list [of borrowers],”
she said. “Washington County has such
a diverse business climate, more diverse than
most counties–everything from large industry
like Adirondack Scenic, which works with all the
Broadway shows, down to little mom and pop
shops.”
She said the LDC’s role as a lender is very important,
particularly for small businesses who may
be turned away by banks.
“We can look at a project and help evaluate the
best options are for them,” she said. “We also do
some grants through this office. Businesses can’t
apply for grants directly so they need a nonprofit
to apply on their behalf.”
The organization also provides training for
entrepreneurs, which Derway described as a “business
boot camp.” And the LDC is always there for
business owners who just need advice and direction.
Derway estimated that she spoke to about 150
business owners in 2014, on a wide variety of topics.
The Washington County LDC also plays a role in
marketing the county to businesses, a job Derway
said has gotten easier since the county appointed
an economic development director, Laura Oswald,
last year. Derway, Oswald and County Planner Chris
DeBolt, work closely together.
“We try to maximize what each of us has to offer,
because we are all just one person in our departments,”
Derway said. “So that has been a nice thing,
to market the country through collaboration.”
She said that collaboration was one reason
Washington County was awarded more than $3
million in the state’s Consolidated Funding Application
economic development grant competition
last year for various projects throughout the county.
Economic developers and environmental activists
will also partner in a new initiative to increase
business for local farmers. Representative of EDC
Warren County, Tri-County Transition Initiative
and Glens Falls Farmers Market have formed an
informal volunteer committee to market local
agricultural products to local restaurants.
“The initial goal is to identify one or two restaurants
that would agree to use local agricultural
products, and then promote those restaurants as
role models”, said Bartholomew.
The committee was a suggestion from members
of Tri-County Transition Initiative, a local global
awareness advocacy group that participated in
a regional planning process conducted by the
Adirondack Gateway Council, a coalition of government,
economic development and planning
entities in Warren, Washington and northern
Saratoga counties.
Photo Courtesy EDC Warren County