KERHONKSON – David O'Halloran wears a number of hats these days, not the least of which is the ten-gallon variety he figuratively sports as owner of the Pine Grove Ranch & Family Resort in Kerhonkson. But O'Halloran is also a member of the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency (IDA), and was recently elected president of that body. Additionally, he was recently asked to join the Ulster County Board of Tourism, a group that represents 1,400 businesses in the lodgings and attractions industry, something with which he has a great deal of first-hand experience. O'Halloran says that he hopes to use his experience to promote tourism in Ulster County, and that he sees the two positions as complementing one another.

"We've been working with the county in trying to steer the occupancy tax, or room tax as it's known, toward the promotion of tourism," O'Halloran says about his work with the tourism board.

He says that New York State is atypical when it comes to the way it distributes the room taxes collected by county governments. In other states, these taxes are usually earmarked for the promotion of tourism. Here in New York, however, most of this money goes to the general fund. O'Halloran feels this money would be better spent on bringing more tourist dollars into the area.

Currently, the county takes in as much as $1.5 million per year, though this number has been closer to $1.0 million in recent years, according to O'Halloran. Given the nearly $350 million the county is set to spend in 2010, O'Halloran feels that this would be a relatively small investment — especially given the fact that tourism is the number-one industry in Ulster County.

"If they invest in it, they'll see a positive return on their investment," O'Halloran says.

He and his colleagues on the board have gone so far as to provide Ulster County Executive Mike Hein with documentation supporting this claim, and this has resulted in a modest increase in the 2010 budget for tourism promotion, according to O'Halloran.

"Our view is you need vested players and vested participants in order to steer you in how best to spend those dollars in marketing this area," he says.

O'Halloran says that it is his experience in marketing that made him an ideal candidate for the board, and, most specifically, a seat on the board's subcommittee on media and marketing placement. He says that he is continuing to meet with county officials and that they have been receptive to the subcommittee's suggestions.

"They are listening," O'Halloran says. "And we're continuing to make suggestion on how to get the most bang out of each dollar spent."

O'Halloran says that, in addition to the Ulster Tourism Board, he's also been active on the IDA board for a little over a year, and that he was gratified to have been elected as the board's president.

"I think the county needs to move in a couple of different directions," he says.

The first is that the county, he feels, is relying too much on the possibility that a "white knight" will emerge. Simply put, the idea that a major manufacturer will come to Ulster County may not be realistic given the current economic environment.

"We have the facilities," O'Halloran says. "So, if it happens, that's great. But we risk putting all our eggs in one basket."

O'Halloran feels that it may be more productive to focus on "small growth" rather than waiting for a major business to set its sights on this area.

"If you help each and every 'mom and pop' there's no telling which of them will become the next [major employer]," he says.

Another item on the IDA's agenda would see a number of "incubator" sites designated, with the idea being to help startups defray some of the costs associated with starting a new business. Businesses often fail in the early going because of a lack of financial resources. Offering things like tax breaks, for example, can be the kind of thing that would make a real difference.

O'Halloran also says that the IDA will be looking for ways to improve local infrastructure in order to attract small businesses from the city that might find this an idea spot to relocate or to open a satellite office. Things like good broadband Internet coverage, for example, are key, according to O'Halloran.

"We're hoping that the IDA can take a greater position in helping to achieve goals like that," he says.