SMETHPORT – There’s a ray of hope coming for McKean County’s
economic woes.

On Tuesday, McKean County Commissioner Chairman John Egbert told
The Era that former Bradford Office of Economic and Community
Development Executive Director Ray McMahon will officially assume
the role of director for the county’s new economic development
agency, starting Tuesday.

McMahon will earn $45,000 in the position, according to Egbert.
He will garner $47,319.01 annually from the city for his
pension.

Egbert said McMahon was targeted for the position from the start
and nobody else was considered for the role, adding he approached
McMahon after learning of his impending retirement from the city.
McMahon, whose retirement from the city is effective Thursday, has
been widely considered for the job since county officials announced
the creation of the agency.

“The advantage of Ray to the county are his connections,” Egbert
said during a discussion with reporters in his office at the
courthouse. “Ray knows where the money is in Harrisburg and he
knows who to call to get it.

“He’s been doing this for a long time and he’s good at it. We
look forward to Ray joining ‘Team McKean.'”

McMahon – who has more than 25 years of economic development
experience under his belt in Bradford – said Tuesday afternoon ” …
there will be an emphasis on working with existing companies to
identify problems that may be in existence that would discourage
them from expanding.

“We’ll try to see if we may be able to coordinate local and
state resources to eliminate this problem or reduce its impact,”
McMahon said. “The biggest thing will be working with local
businesses on a county-wide basis and encourage expansion.”

McMahon also said there will be an effort to look at various
state and federal grant and loan programs and encourage local
businesses to take advantage of those.

“For the most part, it will be an additional presence to market
them and to encourage their use,” McMahon said.

Officials said while McMahon will be alone in his department for
the time being, there will eventually be interaction with members
of the McKean County Planning Department, headed by Debbie
Lunden.

The two departments will be located at the former county home
complex along U.S. Route 6 in Smethport.

“Debbie and Ray’s people will work hand-in-hand,” Egbert said.
“There are a lot of things that can be done to make more jobs in
the county and make it a better place to live.”

According to Egbert, McMahon will really start on the job
Friday, when he and Egbert travel to Erie along with Richard Welch,
owner of Rustick LLC who owns the county landfill, to meet with a
member of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Action Team in an effort to
secure help for expansion plans at the facility.

Egbert said the crux of the meeting will be trying to obtain
funding for a rail siding and building in relation to the
expansion.

The commissioner also said McMahon will be charged with
streamlining the county’s existing economic development
agencies.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to get the existing economic
development agencies working in concert rather than competitively,”
Egbert said, noting Bradford, Port Allegany and Kane all have
individual agencies. The county also sports the Industrial
Development Corp. and Industrial Development Association.

According to Egbert, “They (agencies) need to be coordinated. If
somebody comes into the county looking to place a business here, we
need to point them in the right direction.”

In regards to how long McMahon will be in the position, Egbert
said that will be up to him. “He’ll be able to get us started and
put us in a position to eventually recruit somebody else when he
decides to officially retire and go fishing.”

County officials are hoping the agency will play a part in
expanding the county’s tax base enough to secure no property tax
increases for several years. The county has not had a tax increase
the past two years, but is fighting a flagging tax base and high
unemployment rates across the board.

“I think what you have is existing county commissioners that
have been able to set aside resources to promote economic
development,” McMahon said. “To their credit, they have been able
to (do that).”

Joining the economic development and planning departments at the
Old County Home will be the new Soil and Water Conservation
department, which doesn’t yet have a director.