NORWICH – Route 12, healthcare, jobs and gas drilling topped the list of concerns local business and elected leaders shared with Congressman Mike Arcuri during an economic roundtable held at Commerce Chenango Thursday.
Approximately 20 local leaders, including elected officials and representatives from area businesses, attended the event, which was one of several stops the New York Democrat made during his visit to Chenango.
For representatives from Unison and Raymond Corporation, improvements to the Route 12 corridor was a priority.
“What can we do to push it?” asked Unison’s Director of Operations, Gary Cummings, who has voiced his concerns about the safety of the aerospace component manufacturer’s more than 280 employees who travel the state highway to and from work each day.
Raymond’s Pete Komendarek echoed Cumming’s concerns referencing the material handling equipment manufacturer’s 800 local employees as well as the volume of trucks which transport goods in and out of the company’s Greene facility.
“It’s become a bottleneck for us,” said Komendarek, who came to the meeting armed with the proposal initially prepared by the Route 12 Improvement Committee, dated July of 2002, to illustrate how long local leaders had been advocating for upgrades to the roadway.
Arcuri assured both that improvements to the transportation corridor remain a priority for him.
“The longer we put off doing 12, the worse he gets,” he said. While he and Senator Charles Schumer have secured roughly $1 million in appropriations for the project, he said this is only a “drop in the bucket” of what will be needed to complete the planned work.
Dr. Drake Lamen, president and CEO of Chenango Memorial Hospital, shared his concerns with Arcuri regarding the difficulties hospitals, particularly small rural facilities, have in recruiting physicians.
According to the hospital administrator, one of the problems is the high costs of attending medical school. New doctors graduate with up to $150,000 in school loans, he explained, making it impossible for them to go into private practice. And in order to recruit them, hospitals must pay large sign-on bonuses and salaries, making it even more difficult for them to cover expenses.
“Reimbursements go down, expenses go up,” Lamen explained, and hospitals get “squeezed” in the middle.
“If we can’t get physicians, then we can’t provide services; it’s that simple,” he said, suggesting that measures other than scholarships and school loans need to be explored.
Arcuri said he recognizes the need to “incentivize” nurses and providers to work in rural areas.
“I don’t see myself supporting the Senate bill,” he said, “because it not only doesn’t address this issue but because it increases the number of people who would qualify for Medicare/Medicaid, but doesn’t increase the reimbursement rate.” The result, he said, would be more people would be eligible, but less doctors willing to serve them.
Agriculture was the area of concern addressed by Chenango County Farm Bureau President Bradd Vickers. The ag advocate spoke to Arcuri about proposed climate legislation which would take some 59 million acres of farmland out of production. He also addressed proposed changes to the Chesapeake Watershed, which he said would grant “ridiculous authority” to the EPA without a legislative hearing.
“It’s a problem for our farmers,” agreed Arcuri, who said he has been able to ask the right questions in committee thanks to information provided by the Farm Bureau.
For Sidney Federal Credit Union President Jim Doig, federal regulation of the financial industry was of concern.
“Go easy on us,” Doig asked, in terms of the new regulations being imposed, which increase the cost of doing business for lending institutions like his own.
“We are all in favor of consumer protection,” he said, but explained that the “cost of complying” with regulations was inhibiting the ability of credit unions to serve the needs of the community.
Steve Palmatier, Chenango County’s natural gas consultant, questioned Arcuri on his stance on natural gas exploration.
“It can be done safely and the economic impact is broad,” said Palmatier, who spoke at length about potential benefits to the area and addressed some common concerns surrounding drilling. He asking the congressman to “take a serious look” at the issue from the local point of view.
“I am not opposed to drilling,” said Arcuri, but he qualified that statement by saying he still wasn’t “convinced” that it wouldn’t pose a threat to what he called Upstate New York’s biggest natural resource - water.
“Any contaminant that could contaminate our ground water is problematic,” he said.
Job creation and retention were of primary concern for Dick Decker, chairman of Chenango County’s Board of Supervisors.
“We’ve got a great opportunity to expand the workforce in this county,” said Decker, referencing expansions at Raymond and the pending sale of the P&G Woods Corners facility to Agro-Farma. In order for these jobs to be realized, however, “we need a great amount of help.”
Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter also raised the topic of the former New York State Veterans’ Home in Oxford, which was vacated in November when residents were transferred to the newly constructed building. Carpenter called on Arcuri for his assistance in supporting a proposal by a non-profit organization called Wounded Warriors and the Veterans Business Council to utilize the 1970s era building as rehabilitation facility for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
“That’s a great idea for that facility,” Arcuri said, who referred the matter to one of his staffers present for follow up.