County Seeking Ways to Leverage Technology

Village of Sharon Springs Mayor Denise Kelly recently told a Schoharie County committee she intends to do all she can to aid the redevelopment of the long-closed Adler Hotel in the village.

SCHOHARIE COUNTY — Finding ways to maximize potential in marketing, economic development, and other areas through technology was the topic of some discussion and a video at the Thursday, Aug. 29 Schoharie County Economic Development Committee meeting.

County Economic Development Coordinator John Crescimanno showed an eight-minute video from CORI Independence on "Leaning into leveraging technology in a rural community and what that means." The video sparked some discussion among committee members and others.

Crescimanno said one of the overarching goals is to see how the county can take full advantage of economic development, marketing, and other opportunities while "keeping its rural charm."

"A study might be crucial on how we take that next step forward," he added. 

County Administrator Korsah Akumfi noted that some of the challenges are "What can we do with what we have? How can we maintain that and still be competitive? We want to still be in the marketplace and competing for stuff."

One of several objectives is to "identify areas that can be developed with the least amount of impact on the communities they serve," pointed out Economic Development Committee Chair and county Supervisor Werner Hampel of Cobleskill.

"How do we bring in more technology-related businesses on a small scale," Crescimanno said. "We want to continue supporting entrepreneurs and be leaders in technology and innovation."

The video touched on a variety of topics, including creating co-working spaces for business people. Schoharie Economic Enterprise Corporation Executive Director Julie Pacatte was enthusiastic about the discussion.

"When we see videos like this, we get excited," she said at the Aug. 29 meeting. "We have co-working space (at SEEC headquarters on Main Street in the Village of Schoharie) and it's been used by people from Finland, The Czech Republic and other places. We see the potential and see the future in things like this."

Hampel sounded an optimistic general note about how business and economic development are going in the county.

"There's a lot of activity in Cobleskill and around the county," he said. "We definitely see good things coming down the pike."

In other news from the Aug. 29 meeting, Village of Sharon Springs Mayor Denise Kelly briefly addressed committee members on progress toward redevelopment of The Adler Hotel on Main Street in Sharon Springs, a 61,000 square-foot structure built in 1928 that has been closed since 2004.

"We've been trying to get the project to move forward," Kelly said. She added that she plans to approach the current hotel owner Bonnie York and talk to her about progress on selling the property, what can be done to aid the process, and other related matters aimed at rejuvenating the property.

The Schoharie County Board of Supervisors has approved spending $25,000 from the county's share of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money for immediate stabilization of the hotel, which includes tarping the roof and other work meant to shore up the foundation. That work has not been 100 percent completed.