A report facilitated by Senator Michael F. Nozzolio

Our region has a strong tradition of supporting innovation, education, entrepreneurship, freedom and culture. Pioneers in industry, social reform, politics and technology have proudly called Auburn and Cayuga County their home.

The 21st Century presents us with many more challenges than in years past. Gone are the “smokestack industries” and major employers upon which this area has relied.  We now face a critically important choice: accept this state of decline, or like those before us, break away from the pack and push forward.  In that spirit of innovation and at the suggestion of a group of concerned citizens, a Focus Group of twenty three community members have met since early November 2006 to design a Blueprint for Auburn’s future.  The mission of the Focus Group was to select a series of key issues confronting our region, identify the necessary action items needed for implementation and strongly encourage broad based community support.

During this process, the group assessed the strengths and weaknesses of our community and region, and brainstormed ideas to enhance economic development. The best concepts were further researched; reports were then drafted, revised and adopted.

The focus group’s members are:

Cultural Development is Critical to Revitalize Auburn and the Region
This task force team confirmed that Auburn’s population, infrastructure and potential market size were quite comparable to both Niagara on the Lake and Stratford, Ontario. These are communities that host very successful large-scale theater festivals.  Auburn has some key advantages over both of these locations. The creation of a world class Musical Theatre Festival in Auburn could, in and of itself, completely revive our downtown, create an overwhelmingly positive national image for our region, and provide employment opportunities that would be a magnet for young professionals. 

The Festival would take place during the summer and would operate simultaneously with the already successful Merry-Go-Round Playhouse program at Emerson Park. There are a number of existing, viable venues for the festival. This list includes but is not limited to: the Auburn Public Theater, Cayuga Community College, Cayuga Museum, the Schine Theater, and the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center. All could host different types of musical theatre productions. Strong interest has been expressed by all of these organizations. The Cayuga County Office of Tourism will also be heavily involved in the planning of this project.

The Schine Theatre is the venue that poses the most significant problems and will require far and a way the most funds for renovation. The Schine Theater has been in decay for too long a time, but with its large seating capacity it would be an essential part of the success of the proposed festival. Properly renovated it could be used for new large-scaled productions which would draw tens of thousands of people to downtown fueling a positive community transformation. The potential seat count for all venues is almost 2,000. By comparison, the Shaw Festival has only 1,511 seats and they attract an audience of over 325,000 annually and have 600 employees.

The staff of the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse is fully on board to operate the festival and spearhead its development. But it will require a community wide effort and a strong public/private partnership to assemble the resources necessary.  The task force team is looking forward to meeting with City, County, State and Federal Officials to see how we can all make this happen. It is practical, it is achievable in a relatively short period of time and the benefits to the community would be breath taking. It is not pie in the sky, it is here and now. It needs to be priority step number one in the Auburn Renaissance.

Infrastructure Technology: Expanded & Modernized
We must embrace the power and advantages of "technology" and acknowledge the reality that providing a means of reliable, affordable and universal "broadband" Internet access is quickly becoming a necessary requirement for successful economic and social development. Furthermore, it is all too quickly becoming the trend that traditional "wired" models are giving way to "wireless" ones. Municipalities from smaller communities, such as Hastings, NE and Ashland, OR, to metropolitan areas, such as Philadelphia and Seattle, are currently tackling the issue.  It is with this in mind, we propose that Auburn must become a "Digital Community," a community where technology is applied for social and economic development. This begins and builds from the implementation of a municipal wide "wireless" network.

Once put into effect, wireless technology can streamline interaction between important sectors such as education, government and social services; improve public safety by facilitating communication of vital data to first responders; help to close the “digital divide” between our communities advantaged and disadvantaged citizens as well as improve our community’s marketability for new business, new citizenry, particularly young professional and our budding tourism industry.

This task force team has discerned that fortunately, the groundwork necessary for a wireless infrastructure has already been laid. Fiber optic cables surround downtown, continue down South Street, and extend out to Technology Park. In addition, the Cayuga County Chamber has a powerful Point of Presence, and small Wi-Fi access points, like Auburn Public Theater, Cayuga Community College and Seymour Library already exist throughout our community.

We have the opportunity to position our community as a leader in this endeavor, one which is rapidly taking root across our nation. We have a choice: "take point" and give Greater Auburn what could truly become a tangible competitive advantage OR wait for the inevitable when we are forced to rapidly and perhaps without careful consideration implement this technology to merely catch up with the crowd.

Health Care
Close and reliable health care are important components of a sustainable society. Healthy communities focus on preventative care and wellness versus emergency services. Not to mention, they keep health care dollars local. Having Auburn Memorial Hospital in our city, providing a full range of health care services, is vital to the future of Auburn.

Proximity to quality health care is also crucial for the recruitment of new business. For decades, Auburn Memorial Hospital has served that purpose, but with changes in the health care industry and our community demographics, it is difficult to attract and retain health care professionals.

This is demonstrated in the recent recommendations from the NYS “Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century.” If hospitals are to survive, they need to change the way they do business. It is imperative that this community have available to it physicians practicing in a multiple specialties on a regular basis, even if not locally based.

The task force calls therefore upon the business and government sectors to partner with Auburn Memorial Hospital to put in place incentives that will attract and retain physicians in the very competitive and demanding health care sector. The Community, as a whole, must take ownership and responsibility for its local health care facilities, which includes utilizing this asset instead of going to other providers outside this community as well as supporting forthcoming fundraising efforts.

Riverfront Development
The now, correctly identified, Owasco River provides us with a vast number of recreational and economic opportunities. Flowing north from Owasco Lake, through our City’s core, the river’s potential has never been utilized for purposes other than industrial development. Auburn’s founder settled Hardenburgh’s Corners to build a grist mill powered by the river’s current. Water power was what influenced Hardenburgh’s decision to invest here, but sadly those days are gone.

To date, many different innovative proposals such as the Market Street Kayak Park, or the creation of new hiking and biking paths have for various reasons never advanced past the planning stages. Monies have even been secured from various levels of government to move forward with these initiatives, yet the distressing truth is that the departments, organizations and individuals who’ve worked for months or even years, have done so to no fruitful end.

We need to address why these efforts are failing and move forward. Other communities envy this asset, and it’s time now to capitalize on it. Concerted clean-up efforts, park designations and limited, but environmentally-conscious development projects, would make a huge impact. Housing, dining and shopping options are just a glimpse of the types of businesses that would thrive on our riverfront. Let’s stop “treading water” and put plans in motion that will be completed.

Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Cayuga Community College, in partnership with an Advisory Council of prominent regional stakeholders, has developed the concept of an Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the College. Housed within the Institute will be three Centers focusing on related segments of the market. The Centers will facilitate the sharing of intellectual, financial and physical resources, resulting in a synergy never before seen.

The Center for Entrepreneurial Initiatives will work to nurture budding businesspeople.  By providing a clearinghouse for information, support services and expertise designed to complement existing agencies, entrepreneurs will be able to transform their dreams into reality. Business plan development will spark emerging enterprises. Neighborhood ventures would be supported to promote revitalization of economically challenged areas.

The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies will provide traditional and innovative educational programs. CCC’s students will find courses and entrepreneurial opportunities to pursue, including a student incubator system in which to test and promote new ventures in the marketplace. Public school students will be challenged to explore their dreams in a hands-on learning environment. Internships and work-study opportunities will provide the experiential learning so vital to the educational process.

The Center for Workforce and Community Development will develop trainings for existing and emerging organizations. Innovative programs, workshops and seminars will increase worker motivation and productivity, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations.  The Center will also serve as a testing site with the latest video and audio conferencing and technology.

This will require that the community at large, which includes all business sectors, all economic development entities, the not-for-profit sector and all secondary education institutions to buy into this project providing collaborative opportunities such as internships, service learning and work study programs.

Protecting our Watershed
Our region is truly blessed with a beautiful natural environment that is framed by Lake Ontario and the glorious Finger Lakes.  The area’s future success will require the preservation and protection of our local watershed that provides so much to the recreational, cultural, and social fabric of our lives.  Our access to these lakes is truly special and has been a magnet for job development in the past.  In the future, all comprehensive regional and economic development planning must take into consideration the importance of the watershed in our area.

Owasco Lake provides drinking water for over 70,000 residents in Cayuga County and our dependence on this lake demands that more be done to ensure the protection of its water quality.  Similar to what has been done on Canandaigua and Skaneateles Lakes, a lake steward for Owasco Lake must be established.  The lake steward would monitor and enforce regulations that protect the Lake from pollution.

The critical step is establishing a lake steward must be the recognition by local municipalities of the collective responsibility to protect the water quality in our watershed.  All units of government must partner to establish stable local, state and federal funding to preserve and protect the lake.

Community Collaboration and Support for Job Creation
Retaining and recruiting jobs to our area is the most important priority for our region. Significant changes are necessary to achieve this goal and must be done in a collaborative fashion that not only seeks to bring together the City of Auburn and County of Cayuga, as well as the areas towns and villages together, but also utilizes the assets, expertise and input of the private sector. To achieve this there is a need for not only inter-governmental dialogue, but cooperation. A Job Development Action Plan is needed to create a positive image which will brand our region as a desirable location and assets in the recruitment and return of talented people to our area.

While there are currently a plethora of economic development programs both at the State and local level, we believe that in the case of Cayuga County, they do not provide the coordination and synergy needed to achieve the results desired. Job attraction and retention efforts within our area are not effective as they could be and are flawed in their execution because they lack coordination. A central coordinating mechanism needs to be created to coordinate all economic development activities.

It is our belief that steps need to taken to resolve this situation that include:

• Focused dialogue at the inter-governmental level that eliminates duplication and would bring current economic development structures into a coordinated focus. This would also avoid the divisive competition between well intentioned entities.
• By joining with the private sector, a united voice will provide a focused message that allows the region to sell itself as a whole.
  

It is our belief that the economic development entities already working in this area have to participate as a coordinated team to accomplish the following:

• Local governments must look for a hybrid economic development structure that brings such efforts into focus and provide a single point of entry for job prospects. We further believe that for this type of effort to succeed there is a need for not only fully funded professional staffing by local governments for the long term, but also cross board representation on an oversight board. We believe that the City and County should make the resources available to achieve this no later than January 1, 2008 so that Cayuga County will speak with one voice when seeking to attract new employers.
  
• We believe that this region is full of undersold assets and must put together a comprehensive Marketing Strategy for the region that puts forth a cohesive message about these positive assets to foster job creation and retention.

CALL TO ACTION
The Focus Group recommendations represent a call to action for local and regional leaders in government, education, business and industry. The challenges also require everyone, leaders and members of our community, to work together in partnership to achieve the important objectives of making the City of Auburn and the entire region more livable, more affordable and a place where future generations will want to call home.

Have Questions or comments? please email: contact@cayugacountychamber.com