KINGSTON – Lance Matteson, president of Ulster County's Development Corporation, takes exception to much of the criticism leveled at his agency's job creation efforts in 2009.

"There were 480 new jobs created in Ulster County during the height of the recession last year," he said, exceeding the modest target, set last January, of 267. Matteson contends that many of the positions created are in manufacturing, which tend to offer higher wages to employees.

While admitting that the recession contributed to more jobs lost than gained in Ulster County last year, he said the county's unemployment rate compared favorably with that of other counties in the region and the county's "several excellent expansions helped us to beat statewide trends."

The county suffered the most job losses in the tourism sector; nearly 100 positions were lost when the Nevele Grande Resort shut its doors last year. In January, the Hudson Valley Resort filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. And just last week, the state-owned Belleayre Mountain Ski Center announced the layoff of 59 employees. While the ski center, a seasonal occupation, has annual layoffs, Belleayre Superintendent Tony Lanza conceded the action came sooner than in previous years and was more severe.

Matteson cited his agency's success in retaining another 160 jobs in companies slated to leave the county, such as Gillette Creamery. Established in Ellenville in 1985, the creamery, Eastern New York's largest dairy distributor, is expanding its operations to a larger facility in Gardiner, despite offers of lucrative tax incentives intended to lure the company to Vermont.

Empire State Development, New York State's lead economic development agency, provided a $600,000 grant to aid the company's expansion, and the Ulster County Revolving Loan Funds, which provides financial assistance to businesses within the county, lent the creamery $400,000. The monies from the two agencies cover a significant portion of the company's $5.7 million expansion investment.

Matteson also said the UCDC can claim credit for jobs created at Ameribag, Amthor, Benny's Pizza, the Center for Spectrum Services, Cobra Systems, Durable Systems, EarthKind, Oxclove, Sunwize, Rocking Horse Ranch, and Woodland Pond.

Seventeen new positions were created at Prism Solar Technologies, a start-up company in the town of Lloyd. Matteson noted that Prism expects to create 200 jobs to manufacture a patented photovoltaic module that uses holographic elements to capture light.

In his State of the County address, county executive Mike Hein called on the legislature to review, with an eye toward efficiency, the county's Industrial Development Agency (UCIDA). Some lawmakers have questioned the efficacy of both the UCDC and the UCIDA, claiming a duplication of services between the two agencies. Legislative Chairman Fred Wadnola said the agencies are an enormous expense to taxpayers and he's "not quite sure how successful it's been."

Matteson said he welcomes the scrutiny and expressed confidence in the structure of the agency and its staff. "My understanding is that the legislature and the county executive are interested in reviewing the entire structure of economic development services to make sure it is as efficient and effective as possible — and to fund it appropriately, if so."

He said the idea of consolidation was "thoroughly explored" in the process of the Ulster Tomorrow initiative. Claiming the agencies serve different purposes in the area of job creation, he said the UCIDA is "a public authority run by a seven-member board appointed by the county legislature."

The function of the IDA is to award tax incentives to eligible employers that provide new jobs or vital community services. The Ulster County Development Corporation (UCDC) is a private nonprofit that contracts with the county to do economic development services and administer the UCIDA by contract.