LOCKPORT—Niagara County economic development officials and the leader of the County Legislature’s governing Majority Caucus hailed a Wednesday decision by the county’s power proceeds board to approve a 75-kilowatt power appropriation for a local company that manufactures leather holsters.
Majority Leader Randy Bradt, R-North Tonawanda, who is one of two county lawmakers appointed to the Empower Niagara Board, which oversees distribution of the county’s share of hydropower generated by the Niagara Power Project, praised the decision to award power to Alessi Leather Corp. Empower Niagara’s grant helps spur a $400,000 investment and the creation of seven new jobs at a Niagara Falls Boulevard facility.
“This Legislature’s constant, guiding principle has been that government policy should be conducive to the creation of private sector jobs,” Bradt said Thursday, after a vote by the Empower Niagara Board that forwards Alessi Leather’s allocation to the Legislature for approval. “This is consistent with that vision, and it’s good news for the families that will benefit from the creation of those jobs.”
Alessi Leather acquired a preexisting business, the Niagara Gun Range, an indoor pistol and rifle range located at 3355 Niagara Falls Blvd., and continues to operate the facility in its original role. Under Alessi’s application for the power allocation, however, they will carry out up to $400,000 in renovations including the addition of a 5,000 square foot training area for law enforcement.
This also moves Alessi Leather’s manufacturing facilities from Buffalo to Wheatfield, where they will be collocated with the gun range.
