Economic development efforts in Warren County are about to become reanimated thanks to a cooperative agreement with the City of Glens Falls.
On Monday, Ed Bartholomew, Economic Development Director at the Glens Falls Economic Development Group, will assume his role of president of the Economic Development Corporation of Warren County.
According to the Warren County EDC, a multi-organizational effort over the past several months has been aimed at creating a “one stop shop” for businesses seeking economic development assistance. Bartholomew will step in after former EDC Presdent Vicki Pratt Gerbino left the organization in February for a position in Michigan.
In addition to his tenure with the Glens Falls Economic Development Group since 2010, Bartholomew served as mayor of Glens Falls from 1978 to 1985. Bartholomew says he sees the potential for more collaborative work between the city and the county.
"There has just been a tremendous amount of cooperation and overlap and often for the past several years there was always talk about putting a partnership together, the timing just wasn't right until recently," said Bartholomew.
The move will consolidate the economic development efforts between Glens Falls and Warren County. Starting January 1st, Glens Falls will pay the EDC Warren County $30,000 to handle economic and community development operations within the city.
Bartholomew said in his new role he will focus on promoting the industries of Warren County, including Glens Falls hospital, the largest employer in the county, the area’s paper industry, medical device companies, and also develop arts, tourism, and other areas of the county’s economy.
"We want to help our existing industries, we want to go out and recruit, as well as really branch and aggressively market more so our tourism, hospitality, and our industrial parks," said Bartholomew.
Kevin Geraghty, Supervisor of Warrensburg and Chair of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, said he is confident the move will help increase communication between the communities in northern and southern Warren County. He also mentioned Bartholomew’s experience in state government as a plus.
"He recently has a lot of contacts in the state, I feel that he's a perfect for this job as new president of the EDC," said Geraghty.
Bartholomew served as the Special Counsel of the New York Senate Majority and was Legislative Council for the New York Department of Motor Vehicles. He also worked in various positions with state lawmakers.
Bartholomew said that one of the first issues he’d like to address in his new position is Warren County’s aging infrastructure.
"Glens Falls has water and sewer lines in some areas that will go back to 100 to 110 years, some of the small areas of the communities have probably some aging infrastructure problems of 50 to 75 years," said Bartholomew.
Other issues include a lack of broadband internet access and aging bridges and highways.
An infrastructure forum put together by the Capital Region Economic Development Council, the Center for Economic Growth, National Grid, and others will be held for the eight counties of New York’s Capital Region in October.
