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Finger Lake Regional Economic Development Council

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MEMORANDUM

TO: Finger Lakes Region

FROM: Council Co-Chairs Danny Wegman and Joel Seligman

CC: Robert McNary and Joseph Hamm

DATE: October 24, 2011

RE: Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council Draft Strategic Plan Accelerating ourTransformation

Governor Cuomo has proposed a fundamental shift in the states approach to economic developmentfrom a one-size-fits-all model to a community-based, grassroots-driven approach that recognizes each regionsunique attributes and emphasizes local collaboration. Following the launch of the Regional Councils at the endof July and our inaugural meeting on August 3rd, the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Councilhas been working diligently on developing key components of a comprehensive strategic plan. Our challengewas to develop a clear, focused, evidence-based five-year strategic plan that would accurately reflect all ninecounties in our region both now and into the future. Through the efforts of our 32 Council Members, thesignificant contributions of our 11 Work Groups, extensive research into current economic conditions and thereview of numerous studies, public outreach that has literally yielded scores of suggestions and several hundredparticipants in our public forums, we share with you our initial efforts at developing a strategic plan for theFinger Lakes region for your review and feedback.

This process and the draft Strategic Plan are a work in progress and still incomplete. At our October18th meeting, the Council agreed to proceed in the following manner. At that meeting, we addressed the firstfour sections of the Plan: I. Executive Summary; II. Regional Assessment of Existing Conditions and EconomicOpportunities; III. Economic Development Vision; and IV. Economic Development Strategy and Components.Still in development is the balance of the Plan, which includes sections on the Regional Implementation Agendaand Performance Measurements. We have requested our Work Groups help us further refine their submissionsto articulate where they want to be in five years, as well as prioritize transformative projects. In order to beincluded, these projects need to be consistent with the Governors requirements (firm commitments, significantleverage, and direct jobs), our goals and vision, and be measurable in their outcomes. Projects already submittedand solicited for inclusion are absent from this draft Plan because they are currently being scored and evaluatedbased on the proposed Priority Project Action Criteria also included in the draft Plan. At our November 1st

meeting, we will incorporate the public comments we receive to these sections and focus on the remainder ofthe Plan. As soon as the Council has completed review of the remaining parts of the Plan, we will post thesepublicly for public comment before our final meeting on November 9th.

As has been stated by the Governor and Lt. Governor, we are not only creating a plan to compete for the$40 million in regional funding, but creating a framework that will allow the region to pursue additional statesupport and continually identify, prioritize, and implement transformative projects for the next five years. Ourultimate goal all along has been to present the very best plan that supports Governor Cuomos goals of job

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creation, economic development, and improved quality life as well as being consistent with our vision for theFinger Lakes region. In order for this to happen, we need your assistance. Your feedback is critically importantto us and we welcome it through our next round of Public Forums scheduled for October 25th (Batavia), 26th(Geneva), and 27th (Rochester) or through email at nys-fingerlakes@empire.state.ny.us. We need to hear fromyou about what we got right and what we are missing. We also want to know whether we captured the rightnarrative and if these are the appropriate core issues, opportunities and strategies for our nine counties.

The draft Strategic Plan will continue to be refined from now until November 14th. We anticipate many

revisions and multiple drafts, but welcome your input throughout. We want to thank you for your support,participation, and patience and we look forward to your comments and suggestions.