Town of Diana businesses sluggish in account sign-up for new bank despite early commitment
Jun. 24—HARRISVILLE — Northern Credit Union has opened in its temporary location at the former health clinic building and while residents have been opening accounts to start banking with the institution, businesses have not yet showed up in anticipated numbers.
When Community Bank announced its closure of the local branch earlier this year, both Carthage Savings and Loan and Northern Credit Union looked into serving the community in the northeast corner of Lewis County bordering Pitcairn in the town of Fine in St. Lawrence County, but only Northern was willing to move forward.
That decision was based in part on the commitment by many business owners in meetings and via a survey conducted by the town of Diana to switch their accounts to Northern due to their concerns about not having a local bank for their deposits.
At this point, only a few have followed through.
Although Northern has been in negotiations with Sliders Food Mart at the intersection of state Routes 3 and 812 to build an advanced automatic teller machine kiosk and an addition on the store that would become the bank's permanent home with staff at least two days a week, the organization has maintained from the beginning that the level of business generated in the community will dictate how much the bank is able to invest.
"While the number of residents and businesses that have signed on to date has been slower than expected, we remain confident the Harrisville community will ultimately provide Northern with the level of support we need to justify our commitment to provide the hometown banking they desire," said Northern Chief Executive Officer Daniel W. St. Hilaire via text.
Town Supervisor Zachary J. Smith said some business owners told him they still plan to switch but have not found the time to take away from their daily operations to make the switch in the two weeks since the temporary location opened.
"They say they still plan to do it, though, and Northern has been really trying to be as available as possible to help with the transitions," said Mr. Smith who was on the way to open personal checking and savings accounts on Friday. "Like we all talked about before, we need to get behind the bank if we are going to keep them here."
A letter from Mr. Smith with additional encouragement from county legislator for the district that includes Diana, Phil Hathaway, is being sent to all of the local business owners encouraging them to follow through and open accounts and similar outreach is taking place in neighboring Pitcairn.
"I can't force anyone, but I really hope they do it. The town accounts would have been switched already if I could and I know the school feels the same way, but the law doesn't allow it so we're stuck there," added Mr. Smith.
State banking regulations prohibit credit unions from accepting municipal accounts.
Ensuring Northern is willing to establish a permanent location has taken on additional urgency now that the Lewis County Health System has included re-opening the health clinic in their strategic plan approved last month, although details and timeframes for that process have not yet been determined.
For now, 14214 Church St. is Northern's local branch and through the end of the month, the bank has extended its business hours to make it easier for residents and business owners to open accounts.
The bank is open from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Monday, 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday or by calling 315-782-0155 if special arrangements are needed.
Initial discussions into the purchase of the former Community Bank building with the help of county-level economic development agencies was tabled when it became clear the building will not be available for purchase until much later in the year, according to Naturally Lewis, the administrative group for development in the county.
