Tagged: regional councils

There was a collective chuckle at the suggestion that the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council buy ad time during a Syracuse University basketball game to increase its visibility.

The council could never afford that, one member said.

But how to get the word out better about the council was a big focus of the council's first public forum since being the state's biggest winner last year.

The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council held its first meeting of 2012 Wednesday. It was the council's first public session since disappointing funding results were announced last December.

Details of the second round of regional council funding are still fuzzy.

But if one thing was for sure, it was this: Council members were not admitting defeat.

"First, we were winners," insisted council co-chair and University of Rochester president Joel Seligman.

Meeting for the first time since winning $100 million in a state competition late last year, the Western New York Regional Council (WNYREDC) was still aglow with pride Tuesday.

But in 2012, the council faces a litany of new tasks, starting its sophomore season with a to-do list longer than ever.

In fact, shortly into Tuesday’s meeting, the 30-member body was told their work has only really begun.

“Remember this is taxpayer dollars - so we need to ensure there’s appropriate documentation and due diligence demonstrating that the awardees did in fact do what they said they’re going to do,” Christina Orsi, a regional director with Empire State Development, told the council as it gathered in horseshoe-shaped seating arrangement.

Last summer when Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of 10 new regional economic development councils, his emphasis was on competition.

Each region was charged with developing a five-year strategic economic development plan, which would then compete against the other plans for a billion-dollar pool of state funds.

But as he announced the awards Thursday in Albany, which totaled $785.5 million, it was apparent that everyone was a winner.

The Finger Lakes regional economic development council liked its odds.

The region was steadily recording the most job growth in the state, its ten priority projects leveraged lots of private investment and the guy in the charge of the governor's regional council initiative was former Rochester mayor Bob Duffy.

But on Thursday its hopes were dashed. It did not win a "Best Plan" award.

"It's always disappointing not to win when you're in a competition," Greater Rochester Enterprise CEO Mark Peterson says. "Everybody likes to win."