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Editorial: Tonko making the most out of the Mohawk
Editorial: Tonko making the most out of the Mohawk
Monday, June 13, 2011
As a state assemblyman, one of Paul Tonko’s major interests was tapping the economic potential of the Mohawk River, and as a U.S. congressman he remains interested. More important, he is now trying to interest and involve others through a regional Mighty Waters Task Force and regional conferences like the one held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Wednesday that attracted more than 300 participants.
Tonko’s first venture into these waters was in the late 1990s, when he sponsored legislation creating the Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor Commission. The commission did good work for a long time, identifying and marketing historic and cultural sites to lure tourists, getting groups and governments in 16 different counties to coordinate their events and otherwise work together. Unfortunately over the last few years, due to state budget cuts, the commission’s funding has run out.
But the regional approach is still the right one to take, and Tonko has wisely expanded it to get the Capital Region more involved. His task force includes people like Union College President Stephen Ainlay and Capital District Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Rocco Ferraro, and his two Mighty Water Conferences have been held locally — this year’s at RPI, last year’s at Schenectady County Community College.
The goal is to have the public and private sector collaborate on an economic development plan for the river that will preserve its beauty and character. Money, of course, will be important, and there are prospects for some of that: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is developing a flood control plan for the river, while Gov. Cuomo’s new regional economic development councils are designed to encourage efforts just like this one.
But it’s also a matter of vision and imagination, as well as political cooperation. Both have been in evidence at Tonko’s conferences, which bodes well for the future.