{"id":31748,"date":"2018-01-04T13:52:50","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T18:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=31748"},"modified":"2019-07-08T11:21:25","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T15:21:25","slug":"economic-outlook-2018-pete-bardunias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/01\/economic-outlook-2018-pete-bardunias\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Outlook 2018: Pete Bardunias"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Peter Bardunias, president\/CEO, Chamber of Southern Saratoga County.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BY PETE BARDUNIAS<\/p>\n

Every year January prognostications touch on the same themes: workforce (we need more of it), collaboration (how to achieve it), corporate investment (how to attract it) and innovation (how to encourage it).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll add another one: regulation (how to reduce it).<\/p>\n

After seven years at the helm of the Capital Region\u2019s third largest chamber (based on number of members), I am convinced that our business community has both the tools and desire to succeed, if we can get government out of the way and encourage a disruption in the pre-conceived notion of what it means to be successful in terms of workforce education and in economic development. The measurements we have been using to guide our efforts are, at least in some cases, flawed or incomplete.<\/p>\n

For example, when the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership\u2019s Marty Vanags stood before the cameras in December to discuss the proposed Area 3 Halfmoon Industrial Complex, he was justifiably proud of the collaborative study effort that led to the announcement. I was excited to be standing alongside him as well as officials from the town of Halfmoon, volunteers and property owners from the community, and representatives of National Grid, which had partially financed the project.<\/p>\n

The jury is still out on whether Area 3 will ultimately amount to anything substantial, but the fact is that the work done doesn\u2019t fit the usual economic development mold. We didn\u2019t have a big sum of money to acquire land and prepare a shovel-ready site to promote to corporate site selectors. What we had was a knowledgeable and impetuous committee chairman in Scott Roth of RLF Realty, dedicated volunteers like Thad Casey of IMC Consultants and Michael Hale, formerly of the LA Group, interested land owners who recognized the value of coming together to try and market their properties as a whole, a town (Halfmoon) which was receptive to the idea, and an area chamber of commerce willing to step outside of its comfort zone, show leadership and initiative, and give the concept a try.<\/p>\n

The more we investigated, the more we realized that the natural advantages of the site (adjacent to rail, canal and a state highway) coupled with timely improvements already in place (gas, water, sewer, electricity) made Area 3 far more attractive than might otherwise be the case.<\/p>\n

If this team is ultimately successful in attracting a major company, I will always believe that the ultimate factor that made it possible was the time spent getting to know the local community\u2019s needs, concerns, fears and interests. The Chamber\u2019s community development work enabled us to formulate a plan to help Halfmoon and Mechanicville improve their local economy, and it so happens that the site may also become one of Saratoga County\u2019s prime economic development successes in the process. This certainly has proven to be a good exercise in \u201cout of the box\u201d thinking.<\/p>\n

Regarding workforce, the Empire State seems to have a real communication challenge with both students and parents. Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul said during a recent speech that she wanted to make New York the \u201cmost educated\u201d state in the union. I urge her to substitute \u201cmost appropriately educated\u201d into that sentence.<\/p>\n

We need to promote the concept of getting the right education\u2014no more, no less\u2014for the available jobs in New York State and not continue this endless quest to achieve academic excellence with no clear idea on how to make back the massive college expense which often has no correlation to available job opportunities. The key isn\u2019t so called \u201cfree college,\u201d because for people who choose their education options carefully and wisely it is very possible, check that, downright easy to pay off student loans and receive a return on the education investment after just a few years in the workforce. Setting aside preconceived notions would literally pay big dividends here.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s small-business world needs innovation and enhanced opportunities to compete. We should encourage small retailers to try and sell at least 50 percent of their inventories online in the next few years, as some already have achieved.<\/p>\n

Additionally, its time to find new outlets and attractions to draw the public in. That\u2019s why the Chamber has agreed to host, administer and promote the May 19 Waterford Canal Festival for the first time in conjunction with the Village of Waterford. We are going to pull out all the stops to showcase the area business community, and to help locals and transients alike discover the culture of the canals and river towns, while learning something about the businesses which make their home here in southern Saratoga County.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

******<\/p>\n

Tedisco: State Needs To Create A Better Environment For Growing Small Businesses<\/a>
\nEconomic Outlook 2018: Todd Shimkus<\/a>
\nEconomic Outlook 2018: Dennis Brobston<\/a>
\nEconomic Outlook 2018: Mark Shaw<\/a>
\nEconomic Outlook 2018: Marty Vanags, CEcD<\/a>
\nEconomic Outlook 2018: Teddy Foster<\/a>
\nEconomic Outlook 2018: Janet Basheer<\/a>
\nEconomic Outlook 2018: Todd Garafano<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY PETE BARDUNIAS Every year January prognostications touch on the same themes: workforce (we need more of it), collaboration (how to achieve it), corporate investment (how to attract it) and innovation (how to encourage it). I\u2019ll add another one: regulation (how to reduce it). After seven years at the helm of the Capital Region\u2019s third […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":31717,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-outlook-2018"],"yoast_head":"\r\nEconomic Outlook 2018: Pete Bardunias - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/01\/economic-outlook-2018-pete-bardunias\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Economic Outlook 2018: Pete Bardunias - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BY PETE BARDUNIAS Every year January prognostications touch on the same themes: workforce (we need more of it), collaboration (how to achieve it), corporate investment (how to attract it) and innovation (how to encourage it). 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