ON THIS SHOW, WE'VE BEEN SHOWCASING OSWEGO'S ECONOMIC PROGRESS.
IN OUR NEXT STORY, WE REVISIT THE PORT OF OSWEGO AND MEET WITH WILLIAM SCRIBER, THE PORT'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THEIR TWO POINT ONE MILLION DOLLAR DEEP-WATER MARINA AND GET AN UPDATE ON THEIR GRAIN EXPORT CENTER.
WELL, IT HAS BEEN FANTASTICALLY SUCCESSFUL.
WE HAVE AROUND 100 LOCAL FARMERS USING THE FACILITY.
THE VERY FIRST SHIP OUT OF THE GREAT LAKES FOR GRAIN LAST YEAR AND RECORD 164 CORN CARS TRANSPORTED OUT OF THE PORT LAST YEAR.
SO THIS IS GIVING FARMERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET AT THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET THAT WOULD NOTING BE AVAILABLE FOR CENTRAL NEW YORK FARMERS IN ANY OTHER WAY.
ONE OF THE GOALS I HAD WHEN I FIRST BECAME DIRECTOR WAS TO DIVERSIFY REVENUE AND THAT WAS NOT RELYING ON ONE CUSTOMER OR ONE LINE OF PRODUCT.
THE GRAIN HAS BEEN NOW BROUGHT IN, WHICH HAS CONTRIBUTED TO OUR RECORD YEAR LAST YEAR AS FAR AS OUR REVENUE.
OUR OTHER MARINA HERE OSWEGO ON THE EAST SIDE IS VERY UNIQUE ON THE LAKE BECAUSE WE HAVE A DEEP WATER DRAFT MARINA, WHICH MEANS SAIL BOATS AND LARGER PLEASURE CRAFT CAN EASILY GET INTO OUR FACILITIES AND DOCK.
THIS ONE WE WANTED TO DO THE SAME MODEL.
ORIGINALLY WE WERE AWARDED $1.8 MILLION TO DO THAT.
DURING COVID WE RAN OUT OF MONEY.
COSTS WERE VERY ESCALATED.
SO WAS WE DID WAS REDESIGN DOCKS.
WE WENT WACK TO THE STATE AND THE STATE WAS VERY COOPERATIVE WITH US.
WE HAD OTHER MONEY FOR DOCK IMPROVEMENTS.
WE TRANSFERRED MONEY TO THE MARINA WHICH BROUGHT IT UP TO 2.1 MILLION.
THE BIGGEST CONDITIONAL IS SUPPLY CHAIN, GIVING ME THE MATERIALS THAT I NEED TO FINISH PROJECTS AND LABOR.
EVEN THOUGH WE USE LOCAL LABOR, THERE ARE A LOT OF PROJECTS OUT THERE THAT WE COMPETE WITH LABOR FOR.
BUT MY TEAM HERE AT THE PORT, AND I HAVE A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE THAT WORK HERE FROM THE DOCK WORKERS TO THE OFFICE STAFF, WE ARE ALL DEDICATED AND FOCUSED ON MAKING THIS PORT VERY PRODUCTIVE, CARVING OUT A NICHE FOR LOGISTICS IN UPSTATE NEW YORK.
THE MARINA IS BASICALLY A COMMUNITY BENEFIT MARINA.
THERE ARE-- THERE WOULD BE A BIG INFLUX OF PEOPLE AND BECAUSE OF ITS LOCATION, WHICH IS BASICALLY IN DOWNTOWN OSWEGO, A SHORT WALK TO ALL THE RESTAURANTS UNDERSTAND OTHER LITTLE SHOPS, I BELIEVE IT'S GOING TO BE VERY TOURISTY AND WILL BREONNA TAYLORING IN THOSE-- AND WILL BRING IN PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES BECAUSE WE RECEIVE A LOT OF CANADIAN VISITORS.
THIS MARINA WILL BASICALLY BE A POSITIVE FOR THE CANAL TRAFFIC THAT IS TRANSITING FROM CANADA AND OTHER COUNTRIES THROUGH THE CANAL SYSTEM.
EACH CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN BROUGHT IN AROUND $50,000 OF REVENUE PER YEAR INTO THE LOCAL ECONOMY.
WE ARE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOURISM DOLLARS IN THE COMMUNITY PER YEAR THROUGH OUR DOCKAGE OF OUR CAPTAINS THAT ARE RUNNING SPORT FISHERIES OUT OF OSWEGO.
WE WOULD NEXT YEAR DOUBLE THAT WITH THE REVENUE COMING INTO THE COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE A LOT OF POSITIVE ITEMS THAT MICRON COULD USE.
NOT ONLY IN THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE, BUT, QUITE FRANKLY, THEY'RE CARRYING ON THEIR BUSINESS PHASE.
ONE OF THE MAIN SELLING POINTS OF COMING TO THE AREA WAS A PORT.
MANY OF THE STRUCTURAL STEEL LARGER ITEMS LIKE THE NEW PLANT LITHIUM RECYCLING PLANT OUT OF ROCHESTER AND NOVELLAS UT NIEZ THE POINT-- UTILIZE THE PORT FOR THEIR LARGE STRUCTURAL ITEMS THAT CAN'T BE BROUGHT ANY OTHER WAY.
WE ARE SUPPLYING A CRITICAL LINK IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN THAT MAYBE WAS NOT FULLY UTILIZED BEFORE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK.