FINGER LAKES 2021 Annual Report FINGER LAKES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEMBERS
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State of the Region: FINGER LAKES 2021 Annual Report FINGER LAKES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEMBERS Co-Chairs Executive Director Robert (Bob) Duffy Vincent Esposito President & CEO, Greater Rochester Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council Chamber of Commerce Denise Battles President, SUNY Geneseo Table of Contents Appointed Members Jaime Saunders President & CEO, United Way of Greater Rochester DeAnna Burt-Nanna President, Monroe Community College Bill Strassburg VP of Strategic Planning, Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. Matt Cole I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 4 Vice President, Commodity Resource Corp. Dawn Taubman Co-Chair, RocCity Coalition Steve Griffin II. STRATEGIC UPDATE .............................................................................................................. 8 CEO, Finger Lakes Economic Development Center Erin Tolefree Executive Vice President, Baldwin Richardson Foods Regional Priorities .........................................................................................................................................10 Matt Hurlbutt President & CEO, Greater Rochester Enterprise Statewide Priorities ......................................................................................................................................22 Steve Hyde Ex-Officios The “New” Challenge: Economic Justice ...............................................................................................36 President & CEO, Genesee County Economic Harry Bronson Development Center Assemblyman, NYS Assembly III. PARTICIPATION .....................................................................................................................46 Tony Jackson Adam Bello President, Panther Graphics County Executive, County of Monroe Workgroups ....................................................................................................................................................47 Grant Malone Robert Hayssen President, Rochester Building and Construction Trades Chairman, Seneca County Board of Supervisors Public Outreach and Engagement ...........................................................................................................49 Council Eugene Jankowski David Mansfield City Council President, City of Batavia IV. PREVIOUSLY FUNDED CFA PROJECTS ............................................................................52 President & Owner, Three Brothers Winery & Estates Lynne Johnson Overview of All Previously Funded CFA Projects ................................................................................53 Faheem Masood Chairman, Orleans County Legislature President & CEO, Eastman Savings & Loan David LeFeber Overview of Previously Funded Priority Projects .................................................................................55 Theresa Mazzullo Chairman, Livingston County Board of Supervisors Summary of All Past Priority Projects by Status ....................................................................................56 CEO, Excell Partners, Inc. Jack Marren Steve Mowers Chairman, Ontario County Board of Supervisors Map of All Past Priority Projects by Status .............................................................................................62 President, Claims Recovery Financial Services Kenneth Miller David Munson Chairman, Wayne County Board of Supervisors President, Rochester Institute of Technology Douglas Paddock John Noble Chairman, Yates County Legislature CEO, Synergy, LLC Rebecca Ryan Wade Norwood Chairman, Wyoming County Board of Supervisors CEO, Common Ground Health Rochelle Stein Peter Robinson Cover top left: Dylan harvests peppers at Wegmans Organic Farm & Orchard in Canandaigua, trialling over 75 organic crops since 2007. (Wegmans Organic Farm & Chairman, Genesee County Legislature Orchard) Vice President & COO, University of Rochester Jon C. (Chuck) Verkey Cover top middle: The University of Rochester celebrates graduates at their 171st commencement in May 2021. (University of Rochester) Hilda Rosario Escher Supervisor, Town of Arcadia Former President & CEO, Ibero American Action Cover top right: At Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, Demetrice Garcia served as a research assistant, extracting sugars from mushrooms for poten- League Lovely Warren tial commercial purposes. (FLCC) Mayor, City of Rochester Cover bottom: Roc City Skatepark became a reality in November 2020, bringing new vitality and a sense of energy to Downtown Rochester. The Skatepark is one of several ROC the Riverway projects designed to highlight the Genesee River as the centerpiece of the city. (City of Rochester) MESSAGE FROM CO-CHAIRS environmental justice. This Council will continue to endorse equitable and sustainable business The understatement of the century: 2020 was practices and corporate social responsibility a challenging year for all. The global COVID-19 among businesses and organizations within our pandemic changed our world, and it undoubtedly nine-county footprint. Our regional recovery changed our community. It will likely be some effort cannot simply return us to where we were time before we understand the full scope pre-pandemic but position our region to realize of impact this crisis has had on the Greater the Governor’s vision of building back better and Rochester region. revitalize our Finger Lakes Region. Throughout it, your Finger Lakes Regional PART ONE Our community is robust with leadership in Economic Development Council (FLREDC) worked every industry—from healthcare and education tirelessly to provide the latest information, to manufacturing and hospitality. As you read guidance, and services to businesses, through this report, please be mindful of how organizations, non-profits, and the larger you, your business, and your network can assist Executive community during their most trying times. As in achieving success around our key priorities. a result, we have continued to lead Greater Can you help to create jobs here at home? Can Rochester on our path toward greatness. you offer ideas for investment that will benefit Summary There is a saying that “a smooth sea makes not the community as a whole? Can you commit to a skilled sailor.” 2020 tested our resiliency in helping reduce poverty, improve educational ways we could never have imagined. It called opportunities, and promote equity and inclusion? to reckoning some of our most pressing social As we honor the ones we have lost to this issues. It forced us to work smarter, be more virus, we look with renewed hope towards the agile, and, most importantly, to pull together. It future. This organization, like many others in our made us stronger. community, has walked through the fire. We will The accompanying report will offer insight continue to serve as a beacon in the storm for into some of the incredible work being done Greater Rochester/Finger Lakes businesses and a throughout the Finger Lakes Region based on bold leader on the path ahead. our key priorities: (1) job growth; (2) increasing regional wealth; (3) driving private investment; and (4) reducing poverty. The report will also delve into some of the strategic partnerships in BOB DUFFY, DENISE BATTLES, which our region has engaged to achieve success Co-Chair Co-Chair in each priority like the one with ROC2025. Our report endeavors to make clear the region’s commitment to looking at each of the priorities through a lens of equity and inclusion. To date, through the REDC competition, our region has been awarded $721 million for 950 projects—among the most money and greatest number of projects in New York State. So, as we look toward Round 11 with a renewed commitment to building back better, we can rest assured that our collective passion, determination, and vision will result in even greater success for the Finger Lakes Region. Bob Duffy, Greater Rochester Denise Battles, SUNY Genseo Chamber of Commerce As we move forward from pre-pandemic to post- pandemic, we must not only open our economy and society but also undertake needed change to realize the role we play in addressing other pervasive issues such as economic, social, and Photo: Fireworks on display at the Dome Arena regional mass-vaccination site in Henrietta, celebrating reaching 70% of adults receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in New York State. 4 State of the Region: Finger Lakes 2021 Annual Report 5 Report Summary A DECADE OF GROWTH IN THE FLX ECONOMIC RECOVERY Ten years ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo established A sustained recovery is underway in the Finger Lakes ten regional Economic Development Councils across Region, with year-over-year job growth in 11 of the past New York State to encourage community-based 12 months and renewed vitality in most key economic collaboration and investment to spur economic growth sectors. From April 2020 to April 2021, the RMSA and prosperity for all New Yorkers. added 62,500 jobs, an increase of 14.1%. While the region is up from a year ago, it remained down 35,800 The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development from the same time two years ago. As the recent Council (FLREDC) wishes to thank the governor for his acceleration in recovery continues to narrow that gap, foresight and actions that helped to reverse the cyclical employers in most sectors once again face challenges decline plaguing upstate New York for decades. We finding job applicants and skilled labor to operate their also thank our community