ME&A Aids Local Economic Development in Western New York

The Local Economic Development (LED) Committee of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation (NCCF) in Chautauqua County western New York recently held its annual meeting and forum, “Chautauqua On The Move.” Among the many topics discussed was the proposed construction of an Athenex pharmaceutical plant in Dunkirk, New York. When finished, the plant will manufacturer up to six new cancer drugs in its state-of-the-art facility.

Since 2011, the LED Committee of which ME&A President, Thomas England, is a long time member, has been engaged in projects to assist the City of Dunkirk and other localities in Northern Chautauqua County along the coast of Lake Erie with LED strategies to foment business growth and job creation. The projects attack systemic problems with local government organization and services. Working with the LED Committee, ME&A helped to create this private sector initiative of business leaders from the region. ME&A also provided lead authorship of the Northern Chautauqua Regional Economic Profile and Competitiveness Assessment.

The LED group engages local governments including the City of Dunkirk, Villages of Fredonia, Brockton, Westfield, Silver Creek and Ripley and surrounding townships. It works cooperatively with other private sector organizations including the county planning and development agency, Chamber of Commerce, and Visitors Bureau. The LED group is supported by the State University of New York at Fredonia and its Business Technology Incubator, forming a three-pronged public, private and educational institutional approach to solving the region’s economic problems. The group currently works at cluster levels to identify strategic thrusts and projects in such areas as Lake Erie waterfront development, tourism, manufacturing, agribusiness and food processing, and health services.

For more information about the LED Committee of the NCCF go to http://www.nccfoundation.org/initiatives/