Economic development board takes shape in Pine Plains

PINE PLAINS — There is a growing concern in the town of Pine Plains that there are not enough business opportunities to provide for an economically sound community — and that concern has led one man to take action. That man is entrepreneur Dale Mitchell, who owns Antique & Vintage Woods of America.

"I got involved in this when I went to a Town Board meeting in late July and said I felt the board should appoint an economic development commission and be prepared for what might happen for changes in the economy," Mitchell said. "I was told, ‘If you want that go out and start it and bring it back to us,’ so I did.

"My objective is not to have any real impact on who is on that committee, nor on the direction it goes in," he added. "My role is just to get it started."

Thus far he’s succeeded. The newly minted Pine Plains Economic Development Commission Advisory Board (PPEDC) held its first meeting on July 31. It met again on Aug. 14. A third meeting is tonight, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. The board itself will be an eight-member board, with six advisory committees to help with "specific aspects of local economic development," according to Mitchell. Those include: central waste disposal; community investments; community public relations; community improvements; and the creation of new businesses.

"My general philosophy about the whole advisory board and economic development committee is I think what we should do is have a common goal to produce an economically strong community and produce opportunities for our youth to live and work in this area," Mitchell said. "I would hope that would be a driving factor in everyone."

Stissing National Bank Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Kevin McLaren has been chosen to head the commission. McLaren previously sat on the EDC in Saugerties. The eight members will likely be chosen at tonight’s meeting. The advisory committees will need about 30 people, according to Mitchell.

"Those people would really be the driving force behind submitting ideas to the commission," he said. "The commission would then take those ideas to the Town Board and try to get them to take action."

Town Supervisor Gregg Pulver said he thinks the idea is a good one.

"I fully support it," he said. "I think that especially with these tougher economic times we need to do something and if there’s some way we can facilitate it, government wise, I would love to help."

The work of the advisory committees, according to Mitchell, will be crucial in moving the business community forward.

"For one, I think you have to put in a central waste disposal system," he said. "If businesses want to grow, or move here, in many cases they can’t... because they can’t get rid of their waste appropriately. That’s one of the things we have to be talking to the Town Board about. We’ll go nowhere without addressing that problem."

Another issue that needs to be tackled, according to Mitchell, is the need to invest in the town. He compared Pine Plains’ unfulfilled potential to the success its neighbor, Millerton, has seen in recent years.

"I remembered when Millerton was considered the dregs of the community. You just didn’t go there," he said. "Now I think Millerton has done a spectacular job of positioning itself as an economic horse in the area. That was done primarily, if I recall, by one or two families making a decision to invest in that community, and eventually others followed in their footsteps. Pine Plains has never gotten there."

Pulver said the PPEDC may be just what the town needs to create a similar circumstance of success.

"I think this [involves] a little more strategic planning to find out what we can do and point people in the right direction," he said. "I hope we can find a couple of businesses to draw other businesses and people into town and then just let it snowball and build momentum, and then go from there.

"I think this is great," the supervisor added. "This is exactly what we want. [The town government] will facilitate in getting [the PPEDC] technical support and any other thing we can do, but it’s nice to see a group of people with a common goal who want to see it through."