829 - Powers and duties of the upstate council.
§ 829. Powers and duties of the upstate council. The upstate council shall have the power: 1. to make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs; 2. to make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers and functions under this article; 3. to appoint and remove an executive officer, officers, agents and employees, and prescribe their duties and qualifications and fix their compensation within the amounts made available therefor and to allocate funds for the actual and necessary nonpersonnel administrative costs of the upstate council; 4. to develop and implement a comprehensive marketing program and plan to promote the attractions within the upstate region to domestic and international travelers and to enhance tourism in the upstate region; 5. to establish and maintain such facilities as may be necessary for the transacting of its business, such facilities to include a state of the art tourism center located at the expanded carousel center, primarily devoted to tourism services and interactive exhibitions promoting tourism to the general public for the purpose of marketing tourism in the upstate region. This tourism center will also serve as the location of the general offices of the upstate council; 6. to utilize, to the extent feasible, the staff and facilities of existing state agencies, pursuant to an allocation to be made by the state division of the budget; 7. to contract for professional and technical assistance and advice; 8. to contract for and to accept assistance, including but not limited to gifts, grants, or loans of funds or personal property, from the federal government or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from any agency or instrumentality of the state, or from any other public or private source and to comply, subject to the provisions of this article, with the terms and conditions thereof. Notwithstanding the provision of section eleven of the state finance law, the upstate council may accept gifts, grants, devises and bequests, whether conditional or unconditional, providing that any gifts, grants, devises and bequests be consistent with the powers of the upstate council and the purposes of this article; 9. to develop and implement in cooperation with schools, colleges and universities a training and educational program to promote the tourism industry within the upstate region; 10. to review and comment on capital and long range plans of state agencies as they affect tourism in the upstate region; 11. to designate and develop model tourism projects in the upstate region to demonstrate the implementation of tourism planning and make contracts for assistance to municipalities and not-for-profit tax exempt entities within the upstate region therefor; 12. to encourage individuals, corporations, associations and public entities to establish, maintain, protect, preserve and promote the tourism resources of the upstate region; 13. to make grants to and contracts with municipalities and not-for-profit tax exempt entities within the upstate region to establish, maintain, protect, preserve and promote the tourism resources of such region; 14. to prepare an annual report on the conduct of its activities; 15. to utilize the staff and facilities of existing local agencies to the extent that local agencies make them available; 16. to sue on causes of action consistent with the purposes and its responsibilities under this article and with respect to contracts to which it is a party, but not for general enforcement of state or locallaws, provided that the right to sue, other than with respect to contracts to which it is a party, shall be limited to causes of action arising within the boundaries of the upstate region; and to be sued; 17. to hold hearings in the exercise of its powers, functions and duties provided for by this article; 18. to intervene in proceedings before state agencies on matters affecting tourists and tourism in the upstate region; 19. to, whenever in the opinion of the upstate council it would be in the public interest, after prior approval of the director of the budget, request the temporary assignment and transfer of certain employees of any board, commission, agency or department of the state or its political subdivisions, and said board, commission, agency or department, if in its opinion such transfer will not interfere with the performance of its duties and functions may make such assignment and transfer of said employees to the upstate council. Such assignment and transfer or extension thereof shall not in any way affect the civil service status, continuity of service, retirement plan status, right to compensation, grade or compensation or other rights or privileges of any employee so transferred; 20. to submit title to all interests or rights in real property proposed to be acquired by the upstate council for examination and approval by the attorney general of the state who shall also furnish any and all necessary legal services and advice required to assist such council in accomplishing its corporate purposes; 21. notwithstanding any other section of law, the upstate council shall not have the power of eminent domain or to acquire property by eminent domain; 22. to take any actions and to adopt regulations necessary to carry out the functions, powers and duties imposed by this article. Any such regulations shall be adopted in accordance with article two of the state administrative procedure act; and 23. to exercise and perform such other powers and duties as shall have been or may be from time to time conferred by law.