§ 2306 — Purpose and powers of the authority

§ 2306. Purpose and powers of the authority. The purposes of the\nauthority shall be to promote, develop, encourage and assist in the\nacquiring, constructing, reconstructing, improving, maintaining,\nequipping and furnishing industrial, manufacturing, warehouse,\ncommercial and research facilities and facilities for use by a federal\nagency or a medical facility including industrial pollution control\nfacilities, which may include transportation facilities including but\nnot limited to those relating to water, highway, rail and air, in one or\nmore areas of the city, and thereby advance the job opportunities,\nhealth, general prosperity and economic welfare of the people of said\ncity and to improve their medical care and standard of living; provided,\nhowever, that the authority shall not undertake any project if the\ncompletion thereof would result in the removal of an industrial or\nmanufacturing plant of the project occupant from one area of the state\nto another area of the state or in abandonment of one or more plants or\nfacilities of the project applicant located within the state, provided,\nhowever, that neither restriction shall apply if the authority shall\ndetermine on the basis of the application before it that the project is\nreasonably necessary to discourage the project occupant from removing\nsuch other plant or facility to a location outside the state or is\nreasonably necessary to preserve the competitive position of the project\noccupant in its respective industry. Except as otherwise provided for in\nthis section, no financial assistance of the authority shall be provided\nin respect of any project where facilities or property that are\nprimarily used in making retail sales to customers who personally visit\nsuch facilities constitute more than one-third of the total project\ncost. For the purposes of this article, "retail sales" shall mean: (i)\nsales by a registered vendor under article twenty-eight of the tax law\nprimarily engaged in the retail sale of tangible personal property, as\ndefined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph four of subdivision (b) of\nsection eleven hundred one of the tax law; or (ii) sales of a service to\nsuch customers. Except, however, that tourism destination projects shall\nnot be prohibited by this paragraph. For the purpose of this paragraph,\n"tourism destination" shall mean a location or facility which is likely\nto attract a significant number of visitors from outside the economic\ndevelopment region as established by section two hundred thirty of the\neconomic development law, in which the project is located.\n Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, such\nfinancial assistance may, however, be provided to a project where\nfacilities or property that are primarily used in making retail sales of\ngoods or services to customers who personally visit such facilities to\nobtain such goods or services constitute more than one-third of the\ntotal project cost, where: (i) the predominant purpose of the project\nwould be to make available goods or services which would not, but for\nthe project, be reasonably accessible to the residents of the city of\nAuburn because of a lack of reasonably accessible retail trade\nfacilities offering such goods or services; or (ii) the project is\nlocated in a highly distressed area. With respect to projects authorized\npursuant to this paragraph no project shall be approved unless the\nauthority shall find after the public hearing required by section\ntwenty-three hundred seven of this title that undertaking the project\nwill serve the public purposes of this article by preserving permanent,\nprivate sector jobs or increasing the overall number of permanent,\nprivate sector jobs in the state. Where the authority makes such a\nfinding, prior to providing financial assistance to the project by the\nauthority, the chief executive officer of the city of Auburn shall\nconfirm the proposed action of the authority. To carry out said purpose,\nthe authority shall have power:\n 1. To sue and be sued;\n 2. To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;\n 3. To acquire, hold and dispose of personal property for its corporate\npurpose;\n 4. To acquire by purchase, grant, lease, gift, condemnation, or\notherwise and to use, real property or rights or easements therein\nnecessary for its corporate purposes, and to sell, convey, mortgage,\nlease, pledge, exchange or otherwise dispose of any such property in\nsuch manner as the authority shall determine. With respect to real\nproperty conveyed to it by the city, however, such power of disposition\nshall be limited as hereinafter provided in section twenty-three hundred\nten of this title;\n 5. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs\nand, subject to agreements with its bondholders, for the regulation of\nthe use of the project.\n 6. With the consent of the city, to use agents, employees and\nfacilities of the city, paying the city its agreed proportion of the\ncompensation or costs.\n 7. To appoint officers, agents and employees, to prescribe their\nqualifications and to fix their compensation and to pay the same out of\nfunds of the authority, subject, however, to the provisions of the civil\nservice law hereinafter provided in section twenty-three hundred eight\nof this title;\n 8. To retain and employ financial advisors, engineers, architects,\nattorneys and other consultants for professional and technical\nassistance and advice; that an attorney acting as bond counsel for a\nproject must file with the authority a written statement in which the\nattorney identifies each party to the transaction which such attorney\nrepresents. If bond counsel provides any legal services to the parties\nother than the authority, the written statement must describe the nature\nof legal services provided by such bond counsel to all parties to the\ntransaction, including the nature of the services provided to the\nauthority;\n 9. To make contracts and leases upon such terms as the authority shall\ndeem appropriate, including without limitation leases which grant the\ntenant of a project an option to renew or an option to purchase the\nproject, or both, at a fixed or otherwise predetermined price, and to\nexecute all instruments necessary or convenient;\n 10. To acquire, construct, reconstruct, lease, improve, maintain,\nequip or furnish one or more projects;\n 11. To accept gifts, grants, loans or contributions from, and enter\ninto contracts or other transactions with, the United States and the\nstate or any agency of either of them, any municipality, any public or\nprivate corporation or any other legal entity, and to use any such\ngifts, grants, loans or contributions for any of its corporate purposes;\n 12. To borrow money and to issue bonds and to provide for the rights\nof the holders thereof;\n 13. To designate the depositories of its money in the city of Auburn.\n 14. To enter into agreements requiring payments in lieu of taxes. Such\nagreements shall be in writing and in addition to other terms shall\ncontain: the amount due annually to each affected tax jurisdiction (or a\nformula by which the amount due can be calculated), the name and address\nof the person, office or agency to which payment shall be delivered, the\ndate on which the payment shall be made, and the date on which payment\nshall be considered delinquent if not paid. Unless otherwise agreed by\nthe affected tax jurisdictions, any such agreement shall provide that\npayments in lieu of taxes shall be allocated among affected tax\njurisdictions in proportion to the amount of real property tax and other\ntaxes which would have been received by each affected tax jurisdiction\nhad the project not been tax exempt due to the status of the agency\ninvolved in the project. A copy of any such agreement shall be delivered\nto each tax affected jurisdiction within fifteen days of signing the\nagreement. In the absence of any such written agreement, payments in\nlieu of taxes shall be allocated in the same proportions as they had\nbeen prior to January first, nineteen hundred ninety-three for so long\nas the authority's activities render a project non-taxable by affected\ntax jurisdictions. A notification of the expiration of such agreement\nshall be delivered to the affected tax jurisdiction two years prior to\nthe expiration of such agreement and immediately upon early termination\nof an agreement;\n 15. To establish and reestablish its fiscal year; and\n 16. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes\nand exercise the powers expressly given in this title.\n