The Future is Now

 Is Columbia County ready for the future? As residents, business owners, employees and municipal leaders look to 2007 and beyond, are we addressing the issues that will lay the groundwork for successful, controlled growth? Five, ten, twenty years from now, will Columbia County continue to be a place in which we want to live and work, that attracts businesses that value its quality of life and a workforce that sustains those businesses?

These are questions the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce is posing, to encourage a continuing dialogue about the framework we are creating now for the future. The Chamber advocates responsible growth since the status quo is not an option. “But how are we positioned for that growth?” asks Chamber President David Colby.

By 2009, for example, the Tech Valley initiative in the Capital District is expected to swell to 200,000 people, 50,000 homes. Some will spill over to Columbia County , those tech support businesses that employ 10 to 30 people and can be housed in a five-state region, explains James Galvin, Executive Director of the Columbia Hudson Partnership.

What action can we take so the communication infrastructure throughout the county can support 21 st century businesses? As cell phone users know, the county is full of dead spots. Blanket coverage simply does not exist. High-speed internet access is even more limited, confined to densely populated areas, severely curtailing the growth of home-based and other small businesses. Without them, today's and tomorrow's companies and residents cannot function. “But there is not a coordinated, significant effort to meet the demand for high-speed access,” laments John Maiuri, Chairman of the Chamber Board of Directors.

What can we do to ensure housing stock to support the population – in 2010, 2015 and beyond? It is estimated that in only eight years, almost a quarter of the county's population will be 65 or older. Will there be sufficient senior housing for them, not to mention nursing home beds?

And what about homes for the workforce? Currently, the majority of affordable housing is confined to mobile home parks. While everyone needs the oil changed in their car, the plumbing or heating repaired, and the roads plowed in winter and repaired in summer, will there be sufficient, decent housing for these workers? “Affordable housing” is currently defined as under $150,000, a fairly large sum for many residents and yet, almost impossible to find. The housing situation is only likely to tighten further as we look ahead.

Will we become like a resort community, where the workers all live elsewhere and commute in? What can we do to forestall that scenario, because those same workers also double as our volunteer firefighters and emergency medical techs.

Will we continue to rely on volunteers to put out fires and respond to emergency calls? Will there be sufficient numbers in 10 or 20 years? Their numbers have been dwindling for decades now, as local rescue squads are forced to rely more and more on paid EMTs. Fire companies have so far resisted, but unless some substantial action is taken, they too will have to turn to paid staff to answer calls. The result: a tax increase to support such a critical service.

How can we develop a county-wide, coordinated plan to ensure appropriate community cash-flow development? Where will the money come from to run the towns and the county, asks Mr. Maiuri. How will we balance the economic activity needed to support local government services – from existing businesses, from new business development? And from which sectors will new businesses come: industrial, retail, agriculture, second-home development? Which agency or group is looking at the bigger picture, asks Mr. Maiuri. “There is no coordinated plan,” he worries.

Do we have in place clear zoning and planning regulations that allow for business friendly development? “The concept of home rule is wonderful,” says Mr. Maiuri, “with several towns working on their comprehensive plans, but there's no county-wide, consolidated effort to merge them and grow.”

Should we look at municipal and school consolidation?

Has the time come to modify our form of county government, to create a strong county executive, to professionalize the planning and zoning boards, and to create a single, super administration for the six public school districts in the county? The state, for example, is considering professionalizing the town court system, which still allows citizen-judges who have no law degree. Has the time come for us to look at some of these local governance issues?

Are we sufficiently set up for the future for workforce development? Do we have the programs in place that help keep a pool of available workers for current businesses as well as develop new workers for the potential influx of new businesses? The possibility, for example, of the Widewaters retail development in Greenport worries existing business owners. If that development goes through, Widewaters estimates 400 to 800 permanent new jobs. In a county that already has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state, where those workers will come from is of real concern to local business owners who are already scrambling for employees. A coordinated effort is needed among the high schools, local college and state development agencies.

Are we paying enough attention to the growth and development of existing businesses? We give tax abatements, for example, to attract new businesses that come in and compete with existing businesses, but should we be doing more to provide the education and resources needed to help the businesses that are already here?

Is the highway infrastructure sufficiently maintained? It took years, for example, for State Route 22, a main north-south road in the county, to be repaired. It was like driving on a washboard. Other local and state roads as well as bridges are in need of expensive upkeep.

How much gentrification do we want in the county? Do we want to allow 6,000-square-foot Hummer homes and clear-cutting on ridge lines that are an eyesore for the public? Just drive north along Route 22 in Hillsdale for the latest example. That town is now trying to rush through new regulations that would prevent that from happening again.

Do we want to create more public lands? Columbia County has an unusually small amount of acreage set aside for public use, in parks and an emerging rail trail. Should we be taking steps to protect more lands for public access?

How important is the Hudson River to the county's economic prosperity? What can the county do to maximize it?

Should we be taking steps to increase public transportation? As the county population ages and the workforce spreads out, should we be expanding the current, very limited, bus transportation system? Will Amtrak, which is expensive now to use, serve the county well in the future?

These are just some of the questions we need to wrestle with as we position Columbia County for the future. It has been suggested the county is in a position similar to Fairfield , CT , 30 years ago – with a great opportunity for growth. How we control that growth to ensure a business-friendly place that has not lost its quality of life along the way is the challenge facing all of us. The Chamber welcomes your thoughts and energy in addressing these pressing issues.

This article will appear in the Business Secion of the Register Star on January 4, 2007.