Letter to Sanford Blitz, Federal Co-Chair of the Northern Border Regional Commission - New Tryon Business Park & Incubator

Letter

Dear Mr. Blitz:

I am pleased to write in support of Fulton County's application for funding under the 2014 Federal Grant Program. Such funding will enable Fulton County and Fulton-Montgomery Community College (FMCC), a component of the State University of New York, to rehabilitate recently-acquired space and, in turn allow FMCC to establish a new Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Trades Program at the site.

FMCC does not currently have the space required for this HVACR Trades Program. The Fulton County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) acquired existing space at the former Tryon Youth Detention Facility Campus and is converting this property into the Tryon Technology Park and Incubator Center. FMCC plans to utilize space in Building 3 at the Tryon Technology Park and Incubator Center, which will ideally suit its needs. The building has a central corridor with space for a lab on one side and space for a classroom directly opposite the lab. This setup will provide quick and convenient access for students and faculty to go back and forth between the lab and classroom as needed.

FMCC plans to convert existing spaces in the Midas building into lab and classroom spaces to begin offering an HVACR Trades Program. Building #3's heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, water, wastewater and electrical systems have been shut down since 2011. These systems must be restarted and repaired to make them operational. During that time, the combined effect of heat and humidity and the lack of an operational ventilation system resulted in moisture damage and mold forming inside the building, that must be removed before the building can be reused. The classrooms and laboratory/workshop space will also need to be cleaned and painted before the HVACR Program can become operational. This Workforce Development Project will include repairing and restoring Building 3 so it can be utilized by FMCC to implement its HVACR Trades Program and to allow for Building 3 to start to be repurposed into a Regional Business Training Center. This project will address the worsening shortage of workers trained in the HVACR field, and I applaud Fulton County and its partners for their foresight. I sincerely hope the applications meet with your approval, and strongly urge your support.

Thank you for your consideration. For additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me or my Grants Director in my Washington office.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator

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