Editorial: Transparency lacking from photonics leaders

In the summer of 2015, elected officials were breathlessly promising that AIM Photonics would create thousands of jobs in our region. It does not take an investigative journalist to figure out that has yet to happen.

If you go to the AIM Photonics website, there is a picture of a green highway sign with the words “Opportunity Just Ahead” emblazoned on it. When you click on the picture, it leads to a listing of current job openings. There are seven.

Two of the openings are in Albany, not Rochester. So, technically, there appear to be only five jobs related to the nation’s top photonics testing, assembling and packing site. To qualify for any of these photonics positions, you must be a highly skilled engineer with at least one year of industry experience.

Story:How Rochester is harnessing the light: Photonics gains foothold

If hired, it is unclear where you will report to work, since the actual AIM Photonics facility on Lake Avenue has yet to open. There is no definitive date for a ribbon cutting.

Note to elected officials: It is time for a detailed update.

Investigative journalist Brian Sharp went searching for one in his report on AIM Photonics’ second anniversary.

He discovered that nearly $120 million in public funds have been, or are about to be, spent on the institute. Where our tax dollars have gone remains largely a mystery.

The institute is an incredibly complex and expensive undertaking, no doubt. And, photonics is a highly secretive industry given the intense global competition for market share. The United States is far behind dominating players like China, Japan and Germany and we cannot afford to slip up.

There are several good reasons why some information should be withheld from the public eye, even when the public is footing the bill.

But, as has been the case since Day One of AIM Photonics, its leaders are not being as forthcoming as they should be.

The public, through our tax dollars, is leasing Eastman Kodak Co.’s old Building 81 for the institute, but we have no idea what terms we have agreed to.

READ: Former Kodak building being tapped for photonics hub

EDITORIAL: SUNY Poly response to records request

The public, through our tax dollars, is just starting to fix the place up. Presumably that means we will be doing work such as tearing down walls and erecting new ones, equipping clean rooms and installing high tech security features. But, we are not being allowed into any part of the building to see progress, or envision our future. The Democrat and Chronicle asked to take a photo or two, but no one would open the door.

This is the sort of information that the public should have access to. We should also have a better understanding of how the politicians got their job numbers so wrong, and whether we could be doing more to make them right.

Two years ago, our local elected officials were fighting to get into the photonics spotlight. Those very same leaders should be engaged every step of the way, demanding transparency and accountability from AIM Photonics, making sure that our dollars are being invested wisely, and providing concrete reasons to believe that our patience will pay off.