ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CANADA ON CLINTON COUNTY EQUALS $1.33 BILLION!

    The Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce released a comprehensive assessment of the economic impact of Canada on Clinton County, New York today, demonstrating a favorable impact of more than $1.33 billion (U.S.) annually as of 2000.

    The unique assessment is conducted every two years by the Chamber as a means of quantifying and tracking crossborder economic integration in the Quebec-New York Corridor region.  The study includes all sectors of the economy where significant activity occurs, including industrial investment and payroll, crossborder trade activity, retail and tourism expenditures, real estate, taxes, professional services, insurance, banking, energy, media, health care and others.

    The first assessment, which covered calendar year 1994, established a total impact of $784 million (U.S.), which means the total economic impact has almost doubled in just six years.

    "This study confirmed in 1994 that the Plattsburgh area was truly becoming an important economic suburb of Montreal and a strategic bridge into the U.S. economy for all of Quebec," states Garry Douglas, Chamber President.  "Now we can see increasing integration and activity almost across the board as the Quebec-New York Corridor from Montreal to Albany emerges as an exciting new bi-national economic region, with the Plattsburgh area as its gateway and as a unique service hub in both directions."

    Clinton County is the jurisdiction immediately surrounding Plattsburgh, New York, and has approximately 80,000 residents.  In recent years, it has enjoyed unprecedented economic growth, earning recognition as the #5 small city in the United States in 2001 for economic development success.

    Among some of the findings of the new study which were revealed today were the following:

    This economic impact assessment is the only such study of its kind conducted by a border community in the U.S. or Canada.  It is a service of the Can/Am Connection Council of the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce, and is coordinated by Yellow Wood Associates of St. Albans, Vermont, acting as consultants.

    A summary of the study may be obtained by contacting the Chamber at (518) 563-1000. 

QUEBEC-NEW YORK CORRIDOR AGREEMENT LAUNCHED IN MONTREAL

    More than 100 business and government leaders joined in Montreal this morning to witness the official signing and launch of the Quebec-New York Corridor Agreement, joining the business communities of New York State and Quebec in a comprehensive partnership for future growth and development.

    The agreement is the result of two years of development and planning by chambers of commerce and economic development agencies within the Corridor region, which stretches from Quebec City and Montreal through Plattsburgh to Albany and New York City.  It recognizes the emergence of a new bi-national economic region along this north-south trade route, and creates a permanent structure of partnership and collaboration in a number of strategic areas including:

    The Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of commerce is serving as the lead organization on behalf of New York, and the Quebec (Provincial) Chamber of Commerce is serving as the lead on behalf of Quebec.

    In addition to officially signing the agreement, which is the first of its kind between the Quebec and New York business communities, a number of plans and priorities were unveiled for 2002, including:

    "This is an extremely proud day for our Chamber," states Garry Douglas, President of the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce, "and a truly historic day for the future of northern New York and southern Quebec.  The Plattsburgh area is pleased to serve as a natural bridge and connection between these two great neighbors and economic partners, and we expect great things to occur in the future as a result of the process we launched today."

    Also participating in the signing ceremony and expressing strong support for the initiative were representatives of New York State, the Quebec Government, and the U.S. and Canadian federal governments.

NOTE: NEWS MEDIA WISHING A COPY OF THE FULL QUEBEC-NEW  YORK CORRIDOR AGREEMENT MAY OBTAIN ONE BY CONTACTING THE PLATTSBURGH-NORTH COUNTRY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AT (518)563-1000 (SUSAN MATTON OR GARRY DOUGLAS).

CHAMBER APPLAUDS $75 MILLION COMMITMENT BY QUEBEC GOVERNMENT

         The Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce is applauding an announcement today by Quebec Transport Minister Guy Chevrette, committing $75 million (Canadian) to develop the potential of the Quebec-New York Corridor.

    The announcement was made in Montreal this morning, following a meeting between Minister Chevrette and New York State Transportation Commissioner Joseph Boardman.  The commitment is part of the "Port of Excellence" project being promoted by the Chamber for the Champlain/Lacolle border crossing, and will fund a comprehensive project on the Quebec side of the border to harmonize with planned improvements at Champlain.

    Garry Douglas, President of the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber, first met with Mr. Chevrette a year ago, and the Chamber and New York State D.O.T. have been working with the Quebec Government regularly since then toward this commitment.

    "This is an incredibly important piece of news for the North Country in particular and the entire Quebec-New York Corridor region in general," states Douglas.  "This promised investment by our Quebec partners will truly round out the picture, helping to achieve the kind of excellent border crossing at Champlain/Lacolle that we have been advocating, but which could never be accomplished without improvements on both sides of the border."

    The Quebec funding commitment follows a meeting in New York City last week between New York State Governor George Pataki and Quebec Premier Bernard Landry, attended by the Chamber, which embraced the Quebec-New York Corridor Agreement and set the stage for a summit between the two leaders next spring.  Tomorrow (December 4th), the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber and the Quebec Chamber of Commerce will participate in the official signing and launch of the Quebec-New York Corridor Agreement in Montreal.  The agreement commits the business communities of Quebec and New York to a permanent structure of comprehensive transportation, economic development, tourism, energy and technology.

GOVERNOR: OPTIMAL ROBOTICS OPENS U.S. FACILITY IN PLATTSBURGH, U-Scan Manufacturer Creates Up to 80 Jobs

    Governor George Pataki today announced that Optimal Robotics Corp. will open a major U.S. assembly facility in the Clinton County Air Industrial park in Plattsburgh, creating approximately 80 new jobs.

    Over the next few years, Optimal Robotics expects to invest $5.75 million at the facility, where it will assemble its principal product, the U-Scan Express self-checkout system. This project also supports more than 250 jobs at Optimal Robotic's New York suppliers, Integral Fabrication Inc. in Plattsburgh and Dawson Metals in Jamestown.

    "U-Scan will be a product of New York parts, labor and know-how," Governor Pataki said. "Optical Robotics' decision to manufacture its world-renown U-Scan system in New York is a clear indication that we have the right climate for high-tech manufacturing. This facility will support 80 new jobs for Plattsburgh-area residents, and support more than 250 jobs at Integral Fabrication in Plattsburgh and Dawson Metals in Jamestown.

    "Today's announcement is solid proof that our upstate economic agenda is reaping benefits for the North Country," the Governor said. "Our tax cutting, job=generating policies have enabled the private sector to create more than 700,000 new jobs across New York State."

    Optimal Robotics has leased 40,000 square feet in the Clinton County Air Industrial Park where it will manufacture its principal product, the U-Scan Express, an automated self-checkout system that enables shoppers to scan, bag and pay for their purchases with limited or no assistance from store personnel. The system will be entirely assembled in New York by Optimal.

    "We are very excited to be a part of the upstate New York business community," said Holden L. Ostrin, Co-Chairman of Optimal Robotics. "In making our decision to expand our operations to Plattsburgh, we were strongly influenced by the dedicated workforce and the welcoming business environment that the North Country and the state of New York offer to high-tech companies like ours. We look forward to many years of being a significant and responsible corporate citizen in New York."

    Optimal Robotics Corp., based in Montreal, is a publicly traded company on NASDAQ (symbol: OPMR) and is the leading provider of self-checkout systems to retailers in North America. The U-Scan Express, which processed more than 45 million customer transactions in 1999, is designed to reduce retailer checkout costs and increase shoppers' convenience. More than 600 U-Scan systems and over 2,400 checkout lanes are already installed across the United States.

    Optimal's systems are installed in leading retailers, including The Kroger Company, Meijer, Inc., Ahold NV, The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co., Inc. ("A&P") and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Optimal's 6300 POS point of sale POS cash register system currently operates in all Price Chopper supermarkets.

NORTH COUNTRY BUSINESS EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE AND OPINIONS

    The Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce has released the results of its 2000 Issue Survey, which achieved a record response of 30% of more than 1400 businesses in the region. The bottom line is a very strong expression of confidence in the regional economy and a very clear agenda in Albany and Washington this year.

    When asked for their business outlook for the year ahead, a full 85% indicated that they expect their business or sales to be up in 2000. This compares with the already strong figure of 75% a year ago, reflecting strong and growing business confidence in the three county region. Only 4% expect their business to be down.

    "Inspite of this optimism, North Country business has some serious concerns and needs to be addressed in Washington and Albany," notes Chamber President Garry Douglas, "and they have expressed those needs very strongly and loudly."

    Asked to identify their top three priorities for action on the federal level this year, North Country business spotlighted the following: 

 	#1 - Modernize and expand the U.S. border facilities at Champlain to create a "Port of Excellence".
 	#2 - Reduction of capital gains taxes, including indexation for inflation.
	#3 - Elimination of federal estate and gift taxes for family businesses and farms.

     On the New York State level, business has identified the following issues as their top three priorities this year:
	 #1 - Further reductions in state business taxes.

	 #2 - State support and funding for the Champlain-Hudson Corridor as a focal point for 
      	        regional economic development.

 	#3 - Further reforms in Workers Compensation.

    Among other issues contained in the survey, the business community expressed its overwhelming support for the following:

    Strong opposition was expressed to the following: Opening Unemployment Insurance to people who are not unemployed, such as persons on voluntary family leave; Federal taxpayer financing of Congressional campaigns.

    When asked for their opinion on several major regional transportation and infrastructure projects, business voiced its strong support for the following:

    The results are being shared with the region's elected representatives and will be used b the Chamber in its very active advocacy and lobbying efforts in Albany and Washington on behalf of the North Country business community.

    The survey is a project of the government Affairs Committee of the Plattsburgh-North Country chamber of Commerce. For more information, contact he Chamber at (518) 563-1000.

 

"COMMITTEE OF 100" TAKES BORDER CAMPAIGN TO WASHINGTON

    The Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce has significantly stepped up it's campaign for new U.S. border facilities at Champlain, New York, announcing a "COMMITTEE OF 100" and an appearance this week before a Congressional committee.

    Matthew Boire, Chairman of the chamber's Champlain-Hudson Corridor Coalition, has unveiled a 100 plus member Leadership Committee which has joined in support of the cause. "This extraordinary committee is clearly the broadest and most powerful coalition to come together behind a project in the North Country in many years, " states Boire, "and it continues to grow each day as more of the region's leaders step forward to add their active support."

    The Committee of 100 features federal, state, local and Canadian officials; major Chambers of Commerce and economic development agencies from Montreal to Albany; fifteen labor union organizations; New York and Quebec trucking interests; major employers and business leaders.

    This extraordinary coalition will be cited before Congress on Thursday, February 10th as Garry Douglas, President of the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce, testifies before the House Transportation Appropriations subcommittee in Washington on the critical need for improvements at Champlain.

    Douglas cites "real progress, thanks to the attention we have all begun to focus on Champlain and its current crisis." Built in 1967, the U.S. border facilities at Champlain are largely the same as when they were constructed and are no longer able to function at even minimal levels in the face of exploding north-south trade and commerce. It has become routine for trucks to back up for five miles or more on Quebec Highway 15 north of the border, threatening operations and future development in the North Country region.

    "Because of our efforts, the General Services Administration and its engineers have finally developed a scope of work and cost estimates for the creation of the Port of Excellence we need and demand at Champlain," notes Douglas. "For $23 million, we can achieve that vision, which is a remarkably small investment by our federal government in our nation's fourth most important northern gateway."

    The Chamber and the Committee of 100 foresee at least a two year effort to fully accomplish its goal, hoping to bring about the start of work on some elements of the project as soon as this spring. Working with Congressmen John McHugh and John Sweeney, targets are being identified for possible earmarks in appropriations bills to cover various pieces of the total undertaking. This week's presentation to the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee will request $6 million in federal Corridors funding for next year.

    The Committee is working on other strategies as well, including the possible retention of a top Washington advocate to assist in the campaign, and the creation of a video to show the problem and tell the story. Arthur Spiegel, President of UPS/Trans-Border, is chairing a fund raising effort to fully finance a sustained, professional campaign.

    For more information, contact the Chamber at (518) 563-1000.

CHAMBER LAUNCHES "NORTH COUNTRY ENERGY ALLIANCE" TO CUT ELECTRIC BILLS FOR REGION'S BUSINESSES 

    The Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce has officially launched the "North Country Energy Alliance," promising lower electricity costs for thousands of businesses, municipalities and organizations in Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties.

    "Deregulation is already kicking in and it's time we took advantage," states Garry Douglas, Chamber President. "If business pools together, we can get them savings tomorrow, with bigger savings down the road as we make the pool bigger."

    The Chamber has retained the independent services of Salerni & Boyd, Inc. of Saratoga Springs to coordinate the program, which consists of use analysis and group bidding. Deals are already in place for savings for New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) and Niagara Mohawk customers. The program is not available to customers served by municipal electric companies.

    "All that a business in the three county area needs to do is complete a simple form which will generate an estimate of the savings they can enjoy," states Douglas. "Then they officially sign up and the savings actually start."

    By joining with the Rensselaer and Saratoga County Chambers, the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber is able to help North Country businesses tap into existing deals which have already been bid out and established.

    "What's really exciting is the next step," according to Douglas. "Once we get the area together in this Alliance and saving what's now available, we will be joining with a dozen sister chambers across upstate New York to form a mega-pool at the end of the year for fresh bids. The savings can only end up being greater, and everyone who joins the pool now will be first in line for the next stage."

    Historically, consumers of all kinds paid one all-inclusive price for electricity, covering generation, transmission, meter reading, customer service and maintenance. Under the new system, generation is being unbundled from the other charges. The utilities will continue to operate the transmission system and be responsible for service and maintenance, but the actual electricity can be purchased from any number of generators and dealers.

    As with other commodities, bigger demand will attract better pricing, which is why the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber and other major New York State chambers are stepping in to help business pool their demand for shared buying.

    The Alliance is open to all commercial electricity customers now served by NYSEG or NiMo in Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties, including businesses of all types and sizes, organizations, schools, local governments, churches and others.

    For more information, including a registration form that will begin the process, contact the Chamber at (518) 563-1000.