Residents Voice Concerns Over GLC
Great Lake Cheese Co. Modifies Request from CCIDA
A special meeting of the Board of the County of Cattaraugus Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) was held on Wednesday, April 5th to address the project modification request from the Great Lakes Cheese Company (GLC). GLC is seeking an additional $45 million in sales tax abatement due to the original $500 million budget increasing by $121 million from inflation and supply chain issues.
Residents Raise Concerns
Last week a public hearing was held at the Farmersville Town Hall to receive public comments on the GLC project revision and additional sales tax abatement. Several critical comments on the GLC project and their request for additional sales tax abatement were received by Franklinville and Farmersville residents. Communication issues, Franklinville benefiting more than Farmersville, lack of local jobs being created, truck noise, traffic issues, and concerns with poor cost forecasting were the concerns raised by the attendees who spoke at the meeting.
CCIDA Board Member Ginger Schroder who is also a Cattaraugus County Legislator and Franklinville resident offered an apology on behalf of the community for what she termed the “myopic and shortsighted” issues that were raised at the public hearing. Ms. Schroeder mentioned that she and others knocked on over a hundred doors of residents and received overwhelming support for the GLC project.
Positive Direct Economic Impact
Corey Wiktor Executive Director for the CCIDA and GLC representative John Jennings addressed several of the concerns raised at the Farmersville public hearing. The concern about local labor not being utilized was dispelled. While exact numbers were not available at the meeting, Mr. Wiktor and Mr. Jennings described the variety of local labor being used for trucking, laborers, food vendors, propane supply, and many other roles. Mr. Jennings called out that only very specialized roles are being brought in from outside the local area. Mr. Wiktor detailed the direct economic benefits of the project and noted that the local job estimates for the plant construction will be updated as part of the application approval process.
CCIDA Approves Additional Funding
After reviewing the public hearing concerns, the CCIDA Board unanimously approved a resolution in support of the GLC project modification request for an additional $45 million in sales tax abatement.
Before adjourning, a brief review of the CCIDA financial report was conducted and correspondence from attorney Peter Sorgi was acknowledged
The next CCIDA Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 25th at 11:30am in at the CCIDA Ellicottville office. For full meeting details and CCIDA updates, please visit the CCIDA website at https://www.cattcoida.com.