At a glance
The Columbia Economic Development Corporation's Governance and Nominating Committee met Thursday to interview three candidates for an open board seat. The committee heard from Reef Bush, a Key Bank branch manager from Catskill; John Perry of Clever Property Management; and Jonathan Miller, a financial planner from Chatham. All three were recommended to the full board for approval. Each brought different experience: Bush has worked in Columbia County banking for a decade, Perry runs a property management company with nearly 300 units under management, and Miller is a financial planner interested in economic development.
Interview with Reef Bush, Key Bank Branch Manager
Committee members interviewed Reef Bush, who manages the Key Bank branch in Hudson and applied at the suggestion of a business client. Bush described his background in Columbia County financial services and small business advocacy.
Key points
- Bush grew up in Catskill and has worked in Columbia County banking for about 10 years, primarily at Key Bank
- He said he cares most about small businesses and watched his stepfather's local flooring store compete successfully with big-box retailers through community support
- As a branch manager working with business clients, Bush said he sees the local economy firsthand and described it as mixed, with both opportunities and challenges
- He said inflation and rising day-to-day expenses are making it harder for small businesses, and organizations like the CEDC are needed more than ever
- Bush is not currently serving on any other boards; he stepped away from boards in Catskill about five years ago during a life transition
- The Key Bank branch in Hudson is the third-busiest Key Bank in the country, with the largest staff, though currently short four people
Several names in this section were garbled or unclear in the auto-captions. The candidate's surname appears as 'Bush' based on context; exact spelling could not be confirmed from the transcript alone.
Board Member Expectations Explained to Bush
Committee members walked Bush through the expectations for CEDC board members: study up, show up, speak up, and ante up.
Key points
- Board members must read and understand the organization's bylaws, policies, and strategic plan, all available on the website
- Members are expected to attend monthly board meetings, typically held on weekdays at 8:30 a.m., and serve on at least one committee (Finance, Loan, Governance and Nominating, or Audit)
- Members are expected to ask questions, express opinions, and promote the CEDC among their contacts
- Each board member makes an annual dues investment ranging from $100 to $2,500 depending on the size of the organization they represent; Key Bank may already be a member
- Bush said the weekday morning schedule works well for him and that he has no children, one dog, and availability to attend
CEDC Staff Introductions and Mission Overview
Jonathan, the CEDC's leader, introduced the organization's structure and staff to Bush.
Key points
- The CEDC is a local development corporation with roughly a $1.3 million budget and seven staff members
- The organization manages the Hudson Industrial Development Agency and the Columbia County Industrial Development Agency, which provide economic incentives to businesses expanding or developing projects
- The CEDC also administers the county land bank, a nascent entity intended to help acquire property for development, especially housing
- The organization is probably best known for its small business loan program, run by Martha Lane and Steve Vandenberg; it is the seventh-largest SBA microlender
- Staff introduced themselves: Martha Lane administers the CEDC revolving loan fund and SBA microloan fund, Steve Vandenberg works with Martha, Lisa manages IDA administration and compliance, and Cat is the bookkeeper and IT specialist
Challenges Facing Small Businesses and Succession Planning
A committee member asked Bush about the wave of retirements and business closures in Columbia County and how the CEDC might help with succession planning.
Key points
- One member cited Jamie Dimon's comments about a huge problem for the American economy: the number of people retiring over the next 10 to 20 years and the lack of succession plans
- Columbia County has already seen a wave of companies sell or close because there was no succession plan in place
- Bush said he did not yet have enough information about the CEDC's day-to-day processes to answer how the organization could address the issue
- He said he sees the same pattern in his own work, where the clients he meets with are older and older and he sees fewer younger people
- Bush said the key is networking, finding the right people to talk to, and bridging the gap to help with succession planning, though he could not yet give a specific example of how the CEDC would do that
Staffing Crisis and Workforce Challenges
Bush described the difficulty finding staff for the Key Bank branch, where applicants are fewer and the quality of applicants has declined.
Key points
- Bush said it is the hardest he has ever seen in eight years as branch manager to find people
- Applicants are fewer in number and often apply for full-time jobs but say they can only work 28 hours a week
- The branch pays double what Bush made when he started as a teller, yet it is still hard to find people
- Bush said he thought the job should be a slam dunk for single parents or young people without a career direction yet
- He said he got into banking after working in sales for his stepfather's flooring business and meeting the president of a bank, who told him he would make a good banker
Interview with John Perry, Clever Property Management
The committee interviewed John Perry, who runs Clever Property Management and Clever Construction Management. Perry was approached by Brian Mahoney about joining the board.
Key points
- Perry's family business had been in Hudson before he launched Clever in 2019; a couple of months later the world shut down for COVID
- Property management worked out well during COVID because Hudson was the number one move-to address in the country at the time
- Clever Property Management now has just under 300 units under management and collects around $5 million in rent roll
- Perry said process and procedure are buzzwords he uses daily, ingrained from a prior career working for Morgan Stanley in their operations division
- He has started consulting with younger people who are getting into entrepreneurship, sharing what he did and did not do
Interview with Jonathan Miller, Financial Planner
The committee interviewed Jonathan Miller, a financial planner who lives in Chatham and works out of Delmar and Hudson. Miller is interested in business development and economic development.
Key points
- Miller does financial planning through New York Life and Northway Financial
- He moved to the area from Brooklyn in 2021 and is fascinated by all the exciting things going on in Columbia County
- He said he enjoys getting to know people, adding value, and connecting people in different businesses
- Miller is an active member of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and has met Martha Lane on several occasions through chamber work
Discussion of Columbia County Housing and Economy
Both Perry and Miller answered a question about the strengths and challenges of Columbia County's economy. Perry focused on housing costs and the factors driving them; Miller named housing affordability and an aging population as major concerns.
Key points
- Miller said housing is too expensive and many people who work in different businesses are coming from far away, which is a huge problem
- He said there is a lot of amazing development but also the housing issue, and the county is one of the oldest in New York State
- Perry said property management puts him on the front lines of the housing conversation and that rents have gone up significantly
- Perry said the cost to own and operate buildings has risen sharply: insurance is going through the roof, taxes are being reassessed, fuel and electrical costs are up, and many landlords are carrying those expenses
- He said many buildings were bought 10 to 15 years ago on low-interest loans that are now resetting to 6, 7, or 8 percent, and rents may not be able to carry the new debt
- Perry said Hudson rents were approaching $3,000 a month during COVID but have leveled off as some people moved back downstate
- He said homes in Ghent, Valatie, and other towns that were renovated and sold for $1 million to $3 million often sold quickly as the buyers left again, either downstate or further south to beat the tax burden
- Perry said restaurants on Warren Street are struggling, and the workforce is not there; clients who own in Hudson and Philmont say Philmont is now starting to grow, and the question is where does the displacement stop
- Perry said Habitat for Humanity is doing a great job building homes but their costs continue to go up; fuel costs drive up the price of everything in construction
Perry mentioned working on the Spring building restoration project in Philmont, where the numbers became too difficult and the project ultimately went to Lagonia. Jonathan confirmed Lagonia started work and found an operating partner for a restaurant.
IDA Application Timing and Risk
Jonathan described a shift in how businesses are applying for Industrial Development Agency benefits, with more applicants now applying before they have secured the property.
Key points
- Two years ago, all the deals came in with property already closed, investment stacks lined up, and applicants ready to roll
- Now people are applying for benefits before they have even secured the property, creating a bigger lag period and much more risk for the IDA to manage
Board Expectations Explained to Perry and Miller
Jim walked Perry and Miller through the same expectations given to Bush: study up, show up, speak up, and ante up.
Key points
- Board members must read and understand the organization's bylaws, strategic plan, and all rules and regulations, available on the website
- Board meetings are typically held on the last Tuesday of the month at 8:30 a.m. and last 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes
- Members are expected to serve on at least one committee (Audit, Finance, Governance and Nominating, or Loan); the loan committee meets monthly, others meet every other month
- Members are expected to offer opinions, share experience, and share information about the CEDC with their contacts in the community
- Each board member makes an annual membership investment ranging from $100 to $2,500 depending on the size of their business; the investment helps prove to the county board of supervisors that the CEDC is a public-private partnership
Executive Session and Approval of Candidates
The committee moved into executive session to discuss personnel matters, then returned and voted to recommend all three candidates to the full board.
Key points
- The committee moved into executive session on a motion, seconded, and approved
- After the executive session, the committee voted to approve all three candidates for board membership: John Perry, Jonathan Miller, and Reef Bush
- The motion was made, seconded, and carried unanimously; the recommendations will be presented to the full board
About this page
FUTURE HUDSON is an experiment in civic engagement: every public meeting of the City of Hudson since January 2026, transcribed and made readable, so any resident can follow what the city is deciding without attending every meeting. This page covers one meeting; see the full archive.
How it was made
The meeting video was transcribed automatically; the transcript was then organized into sections and summarized. The raw transcript is above, every claim can be checked against it.
What to be skeptical of
The transcript is automated and contains speech-recognition errors; names and numbers may be wrong. This page has not been reviewed by a human. Nothing here is an official record, the city's official minutes are authoritative.
About coverage of this body
The Columbia Economic Development Corporation is a county economic development corporation, not a City of Hudson body. Its meetings are in this archive because the City of Hudson Industrial Development Agency's business runs through CEDC, which staffs the agency and hosts its meetings. CEDC posts these recordings to its own YouTube channel. See the archive index for the full coverage note.