{"id":16139,"date":"2015-01-07T19:01:18","date_gmt":"2015-01-08T00:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/01\/economic-outlook-2015---pete-bardunias.html"},"modified":"2015-01-07T19:01:18","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T00:01:18","slug":"economic-outlook-2015-pete-bardunias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/01\/economic-outlook-2015-pete-bardunias\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Outlook 2015 – Pete Bardunias"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"peter\n<\/div>\n
Pete Bardunias, president\/CEO, Chamber of Southern Saratoga County.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY PETE BARDUNIAS<\/p>\n

The year 2014 taught us some interesting
\nlessons. Businesses with the resources were
\nprobably aggressive, investing in a relatively
\nstrong Tech Valley economy.<\/p>\n

However, if finances were tight, many
\nindependent businesses appeared timid and
\ncareful about what to do next. Our challenge
\nas a business community is to support both
\ngroups. The Affordable Care Act had an impact,
\nat least early in the year, before businesses
\nbecame comfortable with their implementation
\nstrategies.<\/p>\n

The Saratoga County Community Development
\nProgram, administered by the Chamber of
\nSouthern Saratoga County with strong support
\nfrom the Saratoga County Economic Development
\nCommittee and the new Saratoga County
\nProsperity Partnership, really hit its stride in
\nthe past year.<\/p>\n

Initiatives included a boat show at the
\nWaterford Tugboat Roundup, a quest for
\nnew manufacturing businesses in the Town
\nof Halfmoon (by the Halfmoon Business and
\nEconomic Development Committee), local
\nfarm products loaded on a sailing barge at
\nthe Mechanicville docks bound for New York
\nCity, community celebrations for new business
\nopenings, addressing potential drinking water
\npollution in Schuylerville and Victory, and
\ncoordinated advertising for businesses in the
\nTown of Charlton, among others.<\/p>\n

The first new initiative of the coming year
\nis a Winter Celebration on Saratoga Lake, at
\nBrown’s Beach, during the final three weekends
\nin January.<\/p>\n

Several trends emerged in 2014 that must
\nbe reckoned with. Firstly, Luther Forest needs
\nour unequivocal support to ensure that sufficient
\nelectric power, natural gas and water is
\navailable to GlobalFoundries as it continues to
\ngrow. It’s crunch time – under the leadership
\nof General Manager Dr. Thomas Caulfield and
\nhis fine team, the Malta facility has a very real
\nchance to lead the entire world in this industry
\nfor a generation.<\/p>\n

The single biggest thing we can do for the
\nfuture of our families, our children, our quality
\nof life, and our property values is to help
\nthem succeed.<\/p>\n

To some companies, workforce development
\nneeds are acute. We keep hearing that potential
\nemployees “don’t want to work,” that government
\nprograms incentivize entitlements over
\nemployment, and that good paying jobs (and
\ncustomer orders) are going unfilled while a
\nclass of people stagnates right in our midst.<\/p>\n

Add to that the continuing mindset that
\ndistant four-year colleges and careers are the
\nway to go for many of our young people, and it
\nadds up to some real distress for our manufacturing
\nbusinesses.<\/p>\n

Kids (and parents) should consider two-year
\ndegrees, vocational programs, and high-paying
\ncareers in the trades. For those who want
\nlonger education opportunities, remember
\nthat our area universities are second to none
\nin many categories. We need to remind people
\nthat a good living can be made in manufacturing,
\nand let’s throw agriculture into the mix.<\/p>\n

Some, like newly-elected Assemblywoman
\nCarrie Woerner of the 113th District, believe
\nthat our high-tech prowess can revolutionize
\nthe agriculture industry and this makes some
\nvery real sense in a state whose number-one
\nproduct remains the food we put on our table.<\/p>\n

The transportation and timely delivery of
\nraw materials, finished goods and people to
\nour area has been at issue as the Midwest oil
\nboom brings trains full of oil tankers to our
\narea. The oil is necessary and welcome to fuel
\nthe resurgence of American industry, but it
\ncreates challenges when shipments of other
\nproducts are backlogged in rail yards, gradelevel
\ncrossings in Halfmoon, Mechanicville
\nand Stillwater are blocked by long freights, or
\npassenger trains are left waiting on a siding for
\nfreight trains to clear.<\/p>\n

Another issue is trucks. Some companies
\nreport difficulty finding CDL-licensed drivers
\nfor their private fleets. This spells opportunity
\nfor people looking for careers as drivers. The
\nTech Valley region is blessed with the ability to
\nmove materials, products and people in four
\ndimensions–air, highway, rail, and water–
\nand all resources should be fully utilized. It is
\nfolly to have our canals sitting virtually empty
\neight months out of the year while adjacent
\nroads and rails are bottlenecked. We need to
\nget more products moved by water.<\/p>\n

To help foster in a new age of water transport,
\na local inventor, former RPI professor
\nDavid Borton, is working on an interesting
\nproject befitting our region’s technical prowess.<\/p>\n

This year, a cargo vessel will enter service
\ncapable of moving a 12-ton payload anywhere
\non the canal system without the need for a
\nmule or a drop of fossil fuel for the first time
\nin history. Powered entirely by a solar-electric
\npropulsion system, the Solar Sal may be one
\nof the great inventions of history. It’s worth
\ninvesting the time to find out.<\/p>\n

Finally, we need to remember that the U.S.
\nmilitary is worth an annual $500 million to the
\nSaratoga area economy and nearly $1 billion to
\nthe Capital Region as a whole. We must support
\nthem through the Unified Military Affairs
\nCouncil and other initiatives, and remind U.S.
\nstrategists that it is in our nation’s strategic
\ninterests for the military to continue its strong presence here.<\/p>\n

On balance, 2015 looks to be a good year, and
\nour approaches to the above-mentioned issues
\nwill have a big impact on Saratoga County’s
\nbottom line as we move forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pete Bardunias, president\/CEO, Chamber of Southern Saratoga County. BY PETE BARDUNIAS The year 2014 taught us some interesting lessons. Businesses with the resources were probably aggressive, investing in a relatively strong Tech Valley economy. 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