§ 176 — Erie/Barge canal challenge grant program

§ 176. Erie/Barge canal challenge grant program. 1. There is hereby\nestablished within the department an Erie/Barge canal challenge grant\nprogram to be administered in coordination with the department of\ntransportation for the purpose of providing municipalities adjacent to\nthe Erie/Barge canal with matching funds to plan and carry out\ncanal-related tourism activities; provided, however, that:\n (a) no grant to any municipality shall exceed the sum of twenty\nthousand dollars or forty percent of the total project cost, whichever\nis less;\n (b) each applicant, whether a single municipality or two or more\nmunicipalities acting jointly, shall be eligible to receive only one\nsuch grant in any twelve-month period;\n (c) no part of any such grant shall be used for salaries or for\nservices regularly provided by the municipality or for administrative\ncosts in connection with this grant;\n (d) the municipality or a designated nonprofit entity has committed\nsufficient funds to fulfill the local match requirements of this\nprogram;\n (e) in-kind services shall not be considered part of the local match\nrequirement; and\n (f) no grant shall be used for the direct benefit of a for-profit\nbusiness unless (i) the funded activity shall further a public purpose\nand have a clear, long-term benefit to the applicant and (ii) such\nfunded activity is not available to the business from other public or\nprivate sources.\n 2. Applicants for grants may be a municipality or two or more\nmunicipalities acting jointly. A municipality, or two or more\nmunicipalities acting jointly, may designate by resolution a county or a\nnonprofit entity to act on its behalf.\n 3. The commissioner shall establish and publish, on an annual basis,\nguidelines and a standard application form relative to the use of funds\nto be granted hereunder. In addition to such other information as shall\nbe requested by the commissioner, applicants shall provide a description\nof:\n (a) the activity or project for which a grant is requested and how it\nrelates to the canal;\n (b) how the proposed activity or project will contribute to or enhance\ntourism development along the canal;\n (c) project impact including, where appropriate, an estimate of the\nnumber of people to be served by the project, the length of time\nvisitors may be expected to spend in the area, the ratio between local\nresidents and visitors to be served by the project, the duration of the\nproject; and\n (d) whether it is part of an overall tourism marketing or development\nplan.\n 4. In reviewing and selecting applicants to receive grants under this\nprogram, the commissioner shall consider, in coordination with the\ndepartment of transportation, the following:\n (a) the nature and extent of economic distress within the applicant\ncommunity and the need for assistance. Preference will be given to\nmunicipalities which meet the criteria for economic distress as\nestablished by the department;\n (b) the potential of the proposed canal-related activity to make a\nsignificant and permanent contribution to tourism development within the\napplicant municipality and along the canal as a whole;\n (c) the existence of a local tourism marketing or development plan to\nenhance tourism activity, and the extent to which the proposed activity\nis consistent with the plan;\n (d) the nature and extent of local support for the proposed\ncanal-related activity including the commitment of additional financial\nresources;\n (e) the degree of support within the municipality for tourism\ndevelopment, in general, and the nature and extent of other canal\nrelated activities, in particular, engaged in by the municipality or its\ndesignated nonprofit entity, business community and community\norganizations;\n (f) preference shall be given to those applications submitted by two\nor more municipalities; and\n (g) preference shall be given to applications creating new tourism\nactivities.\n 5. Grants shall be awarded by September fifteenth of each year.\n