Development agency mulls retaining administrators

KINGSTON, N.Y. » Ulster County Industrial Development Agency officials are reviewing an offer from the Christopher J. O’Connor accounting firm to help the agency transition into its new administration.

The proposal was provided on the same day that five of the seven board positions were taken over by new members.

Chairwoman Diane Eynon during a meeting Wednesday said the proposed contract was submitted shortly before the session began and details of the contract had not been throughly reviewed.

“We are going to review under counsel and under (Governance Committee),” she said. “One of the things that Governance is looking at is organizational structure. So they’ll be reviewing the contract as well.”

Officials expect the board will schedule a special meeting before June 30 to avoid a lapse in the current contract.

Details of the proposed contract were not immediately available but the agency has $151,200 budgeted in 2022 for administrative staff fees for the Industrial Development Agency and $12,600 for the county Capital Resource Corporation, which serves as the agency’s financial arm.

Agency Chief Executive Officer Rose Woodworth, an employee of the O’Connor firm, said the year would allow board members time to conduct a full search for someone to take over her position.

“Right now, under the current contract, for the transition after June 30, I have to provide two hours a week for four weeks,” she said. “That’s going to do nothing and I truly believe that a 90-day extension is not enough because they are going to have to find someone who is qualified and they are going to have to find staff.”

Woodworth was initially hired by the agency in 2019 as a transition to a more autonomous public authority after firing the county Office of Economic Development from its role as administrator. That contract was never updated to reflect the evolution of the administration into a longterm role involving financial and regulatory oversight.

“I don’t think they’ll be looking for a firm,” Woodworth said. “I think they’ll be looking for an employee.”

Eynon, who has been on the board for two years, said the agency will be looking to evolve into a public authority that meets community needs when working with developers who are seeking tax breaks. She expects priorities will include developing policy that covers housing aspects of projects that have a job creation element.

“This is a complex issue and an IDA is not the single solution to the housing crisis in Ulster County,” she said. “We have to work with the county, the Legislature, and all their stakeholders to really understand what each of our roles are and how do we work together and not at cross purposes.”