State, Micron announce community-engagement committee that’ll advise on Micron project

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul and Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) on Friday announced the members of the Micron community-engagement committee.

The group includes representatives from Central New York and Micron that will support the company’s community-investment strategy.

Hochul and Micron officials spoke during a late Friday morning event at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter.

The committee will work with Micron, Empire State Development (ESD), local governments, and regional stakeholders to develop a community priorities document. That document will provide a “guiding strategy” for investing funding allotted in the Micron Community Investment Framework into existing and new opportunities for residents, including “specific priorities for underrepresented communities,” Hochul’s office said in a news release.

Melanie Littlejohn and Tim Penix have been selected as the committee co-chairs “due to their proven public service track records and expertise and will assist in the management of this fund to better the lives of Central New Yorkers.

Littlejohn is VP for New York customer and community management at National Grid. Penix is vice president of the Syracuse Educational Opportunity Center.

In her remarks, Littlejohn called it a “transformative moment” and said both she and Penix are “honored” to lead the new committee.

“Tim and I beyond thrilled to work with this exceptional group of community leaders who together with Micron … Empire State Development and leaders throughout Central New York, our commitment is to ensure opportunities this project will create will be accessible to local residents, including the traditionally underrepresented communities,” Littlejohn said.

The formation of this group is a “critical component” of the Community Investment Framework agreement made between New York State and Micron in October 2022, Hochul’s office noted.

“Micron’s historic investment in Central New York will bring transformational growth to the region and to our state, and for a project of this magnitude, it is critically important that local residents have a seat at the table,” Hochul said in the news release. “The committed educators, advocates, and community leaders who make up the Micron Community Engagement Committee represent the very best of Central New York and will work to ensure that Micron’s investment — including the $500 million Community Investment Fund — meets the needs of this community. I look forward to a continued partnership with Micron, the committee, and all of our local, state, and federal partners as we work to build a global chip-making hub in New York State.”

Micron plans to invest of up to $100 billion over the next 20-plus years to construct a new megafab in the town of Clay. It is expected to help create 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, was made possible by the governor’s Green CHIPS program and the anticipated federal grants and tax credits from the CHIPS and Science Act, per Hochul’s office.