Wayne Supervisors take step in securing Project Blackhawk
By John Zornow

One piece of the county's plan to boost business and economic growth was put into place after a public hearing Monday.

Following the hearing, at which there was no public comment, the Wayne County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the allocation of Empire Zone lands for Project Blackhawk in the town of Galen.

'The regionally significant project is one piece of the puzzle and not the last piece of the puzzle under the Empire Zone law,' said Wayne County Industrial Development Agency Director Peg Churchill.

Shrouded in mystery since the beginning of the year, the code name Project Blackhawk was dubbed while the unnamed company, now revealed as Parker Hannifin, determined where to build a new manufacturing site. Sites considered for the 100,000-square-foot manufacturing plant were at 1635 Commons Parkway in Macedon and a parcel on state Route 31 in Galen.

Parker Hannifin chose the Galen site, which is close to its existing facility at 124 Columbia St. in the village of Clyde.

Monday's approval also paves the way for the creation of some 68 new jobs and retention of 215 jobs, when and if the project comes to fruition.

Galen Supervisor Steve Groat called the area's excellent pool of labor a plus for the expansion.

'General Electric left the Clyde area in 1966,' he said, 'and tough times followed.'

Businesses designated as part of the Empire Zone are eligible for certain tax incentives. That, along with other programs, is what the IDA said it has been using to build and keep jobs in Wayne County. The IDA made similar moves just three years ago when Garlock Sealing Technologies, Wayne County's largest employer, considered moving south, closing its operations in Palmyra.

Tax incentives and grant money from all levels of government helped fund the $30-million rebuilding of the 100-year-old plant and kept more than 450 jobs in Wayne County.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors is Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 9 a.m. in the Old County Courthouse in Lyons.

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