Summary
Ken Adamczek of the Center for Regional Growth asked the board to indicate whether the LDC would consider advancing pre‑funding to expand a careers and virtual‑reality program across six Mohawk Valley counties; the project already received a $549,000 Mohawk Valley Empowers grant.
Ken Adamczek of the Center for Regional Growth presented a regional education‑to‑careers project that uses student‑produced videos and mobile virtual‑reality immersion rooms to connect students and jobseekers to local businesses and career pathways.
Adamczek said the project has been operating and building a library of more than 300 employer videos and that it was awarded $549,000 by the Mohawk Valley Empowers grant in January 2025 to expand across six counties. He asked whether the agency or its affiliated Local Development Corporation (LDC) would consider providing short‑term pre‑funding—proposed informally at $75,000 from each IDA or partner county—to cover upfront purchases such as virtual‑reality goggles and a mobile five‑sided immersion room the project proposes to deploy to schools and community events.
Board members and staff discussed limits on authority. One board member noted the New York State Constitution prohibits IDAs from lending money; staff and Adamczek discussed routing funds through an LDC, Community Investment Corporation (CIC) or similar vehicle and recovering the advance through grant drawdowns. Adamczek said several counties had already indicated interest (Fulton, Montgomery tentative, Schoharie, Herkimer) and that his plan would repay contributors within about 12 months as grant drawdowns occur.
The board did not take a formal vote but was asked to indicate whether the LDC board (the same people in a different corporate capacity) would be willing to entertain a funding recommendation and to call an LDC meeting if so. Staff said any authorization would require counsel review and an LDC action.
Adamczek emphasized the project's workforce and educational benefits, including use in family and career science classes, workforce offices and higher‑education partners, and said the project would deliver virtual‑reality equipment and curricular resources to school districts across the six‑county Mohawk Valley region.
