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GCEDC to consider three projects at meeting Tuesday, including Batavia Shoes, LLC

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) will consider three projects at its August 12, 2014, board meeting.

Muller Quaker Dairy is planning to improve its data infrastructure with a new enterprise backup and test environment solution, a project which would retain 143 jobs. The benefitted amount of project the GCEDC board can assist with is $185,000 and the total project incentive request is $14,800 for sales tax exemptions only. The board will consider a final resolution for the project.

Batavia Shoes LLC is planning to purchase the assets, manufacturing facility and client lists of PW Minor, a manufacturer and distributor of leather footwear and orthopedic products located in the City of Batavia. The board will accept the application for the project and consider an initial resolution.

Calamar is planning to build a 117,000-square-foot, three-story building that will house 110 senior apartment units, a lobby and common rooms in the Town of Batavia. The company is investing $11 million which will create up to 200 temporary construction jobs. The board will consider an initial resolution that will set a public hearing for the project.

The GCEDC Board meeting will take place at noon and is open to the public. Meetings are held at the Dr. Bruce A. Holm Upstate Med & Tech Park -- 99 MedTech Drive, Batavia, NY, on the 2nd floor, across from Genesee Community College.

Bob Harker

Let me get this straight. The Muller plant, which is new, needs taxpayer money to improve its IT department already, or else it may have to lay off 143 employees. Howard, how much corporate welfare did they get in order to build what became obsolete in a few short years?

Add to that the fact that the two principals purchasing P.W. Minor are Andrew Young and Peter Zeliff, both board members of the local EDC. Of course any consideration will be completely objective with "not a smidgen" of appearance of impropriety.

Funny how these two pieces of great news were released on a Friday afternoon with the meeting being held on Tuesday at noon - how many taxpayers will be able to attend?

Our tax dollars hard at work for us!

Aug 8, 2014, 8:09pm Permalink
Brian Graz

This whole concept of GCEDC picking and choosing winners and losers, and redistributing taxpayer money to who they so deem, is BS! It is nothing but corporate welfare, and it is becoming more and more obvious that it is an insider game.

Aug 10, 2014, 2:08am Permalink
bud prevost

C'mon, the GCEDC creates jobs, good paying jobs at that. $10 an hour temp jobs will be saved by the actions of this heroic organization. God bless these wonderful people for fleecing the sheeple yet again.

Aug 10, 2014, 9:14am Permalink
Dave Olsen

The sheer existence of all the EDC's / IDA's in NYS is totally in violation of the NYS Constitution. James Ostrowski, a Buffalo Attorney actually brought this to the NYS Court of Appeals in 2011, representing 50 NY taxpayers who contended that the use of taxpayer money to benefit private companies violated the State Constitution. The court decided that since it has been a common practice for many years now, it should continue. ?!?! Honest, that's the argument. Apparently, the rule of law is a charade in NYS, for the entertainment and benefit of the politically connected. I don't care how many jobs the GCEDC "claims" it creates or saves, it's unconstitutional. In 1967, allowing EDC's / IDA's was put on the ballot, statewide. It was defeated. That didn't stop the practice either. What can never be proven, is what could have been without the manipulation and interference with the natural marketplace. Would taxes have gone down? Would some industry or service have organically come about? We will never know.

Aug 10, 2014, 10:03am Permalink
Dave Olsen

The Constitution of New York State. Article VII, § 8.1 "The money of the state shall not be given or loaned to or in aid of any private corporation or association, or private undertaking; nor shall the credit of the state be given or loaned to or in aid of any individual, or public or private corporation or association, or private undertaking, but the foregoing provisions shall not apply to any fund or property now held or which may hereafter be held by the state for educational, mental health or mental retardation purposes."

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/new-york-court-appeals-wrong-toss-co…

Aug 10, 2014, 10:29am Permalink
Bob Harker

Dave, both your comments prove that we the voters, we the the tax payers, don't matter in this state. My honey and I are here because her Mom is elderly and won't leave.

From that, predict the future.

Aug 10, 2014, 1:26pm Permalink
Dave Olsen

I hear you Bob. We are just pawns. The GCLP hopes and tries to do our best by achieving ballot access for the Libertarian Party and then to find good, honest, liberty oriented candidates to get into public office wherever we can, it's a very slow process and a long steep hill. I'll climb and push until I can no longer.

Aug 10, 2014, 6:52pm Permalink

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