Category Archives: Economical Development

The board of directors of EDC Warren County has made Jim Siplon its permanent president and CEO.

Siplon was serving as a member of the EDC board of directors last July, when longtime CEO  Edward M. Bartholomew died unexpectedly. He offered to step in as the organization’s interim leader, having recently retired as chief operating officer of JUST Water.

“Seven months ago, we recognized Jim as a colleague, strategist and advocate for economic growth. Since July, our board has seen firsthand how he energizes people, marshalls resources and catalyzes progress through public-private partnerships,’’ said Matthew Fuller, chair of the EDC board. “Our board concluded that we are fortunate to have in Jim Siplon a uniquely talented and insightful individual leading our economic development efforts at a moment of particular challenge and emerging opportunity.’’

Siplon said his immediate priorities will continue to be expanding reliable broadband and cell service countywide, attracting new residents and businesses, helping local governments obtain funding for major infrastructure projects, improving communication, expanding affordable housing, and helping local businesses recover from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under his leadership, EDC has collaborated with the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism on research to assess interest among professionals in relocating to the Warren County Lake George area and the Adirondack region. He has also overseen updates to the EDC website, including a blog featuring success stories of investing and professional relocation. HE has led expansion of social media, including creating a Facebook page, an Instagram page and a LinkedIn page for improved communications and marketing.

Under the leadership of newly-appointed president Jim Siplon, the EDC Warren County continues to focus on attracting new business to the area.

Siplon, a former EDC board member, has firsthand experience with the process.

“The EDC was instrumental in helping me when I was trying to get JUST Water off the ground, particularly Ed Bartholomew, who was the longtime president,” he said. At the time, Siplon was chief operating officer of the water startup and was responsible for choosing the company’s headquarters.

“I’m not a spectator in this. I’m a player. I came here in 2014 to figure out if this was a good place to base JUST. I looked at a number of places across the country, and I had never seen the receptivity and kind of collaborative nature that I found here. Now I’m trying to tap into it in my new role of working on economic development for the entire region.”

Siplon took the helm of the EDC during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. A top priority  was to offer support to the tourism industry, which accounts for 25 to 40 percent of the local economy.

“When COVID struck, we ran the risk of literally having the bottom dropping out of an enormous part of our economy,” he said. “Here in Warren County we immediately organized a group of private sector participants in the tourism and hospitality world to meet together with public sector players like the EDC and the county and municipalities to figure out what is that we can do that is both safe and can also potentially backstop this huge economic impact.”

By Susan E. Campbell
The Washington County Local Development Corp. (WCLDC) closed the year more quietly than in the recent past. But already in 2020, there are 10 new applications for loans in contrast to the five new loans that ultimately closed in 2019, according to Deanna Derway, president and executive director.
“Loans were made to a variety of different and unique companies, officially crossing the $18 million mark for total funding lent since the Corporation began in 1985,” said Derway, who has been with the WCLDC since mid-2008 and has headed it up since 2013. “That is a significant amount of funding across businesses in Washington County.”
January through March is the state reporting season for WCLDC, along with any other entity with public funding, and Derway has been busy with spreadsheets.
“Compared to the past four years, activity in 2019 was a little quieter,” she said. “We have nearly $700,000 to loan right now.”

By Rachel Phillips
Small business owners and hopeful entrepreneurs located in Glens Falls have the opportunity to win up to $40,000 to help fund their businesses.
The Retail and Small Business Development Competition will award a total of $280,000 in funding to the winners.
Current or aspiring business owners located within the Glens Falls Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) area have a chance to build or expand their businesses as part of the effort to encourage economic growth in the city.
The Greater Glens Falls Local Development Corporation (LDC) is heading the competition, and will be responsible for picking the winners out of the pool of applicants. The competition, based on other similar types of competitions that have seen success around the country, was the idea of city officials, including Mayor Daniel Hall.

By Christine Graf
For more than 30 years, Albany’s Center for Economic Growth(CEG) has been marketing the eight-county Capital Region as a great place for companies to do business.
CEG, a non-profit regional economic and business development organization, is the primary point of contact for businesses looking to expand or establish operations in Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, or Washington counties. They receive funding from local businesses, government grants, and fee for service.
“The Capital Region has a population of over one million people, and that puts us in competitive league with other major cities throughout the country,” said President and CEO Andrew Kennedy. “That’s something that is important for businesses when they are considering their relocation efforts. We work to raise visibility of the general population, the strength of our economy, the health of our economy, and the opportunities we see with development sites.

By Susan E. Campbell
Washington County is on a trajectory for continued low unemployment and healthy economic growth in 2019. The Washington County Local Development Corp. will cross the $18 million mark in loans since the public entity began in 1985, officials said.
“Things are going well for us,” said Deanna Derway, WCLDC president and executive director. Since 2015, we’ve approved over $750,000 in loan funding each year and we continue to see an increase in loan applications presented to us annually.”

By R.J. DeLuke
EDC Warren County is the key driver of economic development efforts in the Glens Falls area and as such, its staff is always busy.
Toward the top of the tasks this time of year is giving businesses and municipalities in the county assistance with application process for the annual Capital Region Economic Development Council grant awards. The state doles out millions statewide through its Consolidated Funding by New York State program. The funding helps many economic development projects in the area—for businesses and municipalities. The applications are competitive, so interested parties must submit compelling information. In the first eight rounds of the state money competition, New York has given out $6.1 billion to 10 regions. The Capital Region, that includes Warren and Washington counties, has received $588.9 million for 813 projects over the past eight years. Last year, the counties raked in about $9.8 million.

By Greg Hitchcock
Warren and Washington counties are benefiting from the economic growth in the region spearheaded by Saratoga County. The growth is continuing in 2019, according to the Center for Economic Growth.
According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, 17 counties in New York state had employment gains from June 2017 to June 2018 with Saratoga County having the largest gain up 2.7 percent.
“All three counties have grown their private sector over the last five years with GlobalFoundries kicking off this growth,” said Andrew Kennedy, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Economic Growth, an economic and business development agency serving as a primary point of contact for businesses interested in growing in or moving to the Capital Region.