Clinton County outlook called decent

<a href="mailto:jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com">By JOE LOTEMPLIO</a>
Staff Writer

April 03, 2008 07:37 am

— PLATTSBURGH -- While the rest of the country may be suffering from economic doldrums, the North Country remains somewhat insulated from the downward spiral.
But many challenges still loom for Clinton County.
"We are pretty blessed, in a weird way," Clinton County Legislature Chairman Jimmy Langley told the Plattsburgh Noon Rotary Club Wednesday.
"We do not have the big booms that some areas have, but then we don't have the big bust, either, like what is going on across the country right now."
NEW AIRPORT CRUCIAL
Langley (R-Area 7, Peru) said the overall state of the county right now is good, and he hopes that trend can continue.
A lot depends on the success of Plattsburgh International Airport, he said. The airport, which opened last June, saw its 9,000th passenger take off in 2008, a figure that county officials did not expect to hit until next year.
Langley explained that if the county reaches 10,000 enplanements a year and does so for two consecutive years, it will be eligible to receive about $1 million in federal airport-improvement aid.
A successful airport will mean more growth, hopefully for the whole county, Langley said.
"The terminal and the business of air service really do not make any significant revenue for the county.
"Our intention has always been and will continue to be that of a job creator in the aeronautical industry."
Langley said that efforts to bring in more aviation-related businesses, including Laurentian Aerospace, are ongoing.
"My colleagues and I would like to see more emphasis on the industrial side than what we see now.
"It will come. I don't know when, but I hope soon."
OLD AIRPORT SALE
While the new airport is cutting its teeth, the county is aiming to sell the old Clinton County Airport property on Route 3.
Langley hopes the 800-acre parcel can be put out to bid between August and October.
Revenue generated from the sale of the old airport will go toward moving tenants to the new site.
The Development Corp. has proposed a major project for the site that would include industrial buildings, government offices, housing, retail and recreational facilities.
TAX REVENUE
Langley said the county remains blessed with healthy sales-tax revenue, which it gladly shares with the towns and villages, and some promising economic-development opportunities.
He noted the pending arrival of Nova Bus and possibly 300 new jobs and the purchase of Wyeth pharmaceutical company in Rouses Point by Akrimax.
Langley said the popular bass-fishing tournaments held on Lake Champlain also continue to bolster the county's sale-tax coffers and helped lead to the pending hotel occupancy tax, which will help promote the area even more.
"The occupancy tax does not hurt any resident of the county, and it is the beginning of the process of making us self-sufficient in promoting the area."
jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com

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