NIAGARA FALLS — Following Thursday’s tour of Old Falls Street, the president of the New York Power Authority vowed to develop some type of economic development package to provide assistance to projects in downtown Niagara Falls and other parts of Niagara County.

After getting an up close look at the city’s downtown conference center and new-look West Pedestrian Mall, Power Authority President Richard Kessel said he would like to have a formal plan in place in a matter of months.

The plan he envisions would involve authority resources and local partners much the same way as the authority worked with officials in Erie County as part of the ongoing redevelopment of Buffalo’s inner harbor.

“We’re now looking at what is the mechanism to do that here,” Kessel said.

Kessel stopped in the Falls following a visit to Buffalo, where he announced the authority has received 43 proposals for the development of solar projects as part of a statewide initiative. He came to the Falls on the invitation of Mayor Paul Dyster, who earlier this year went public with the details of a $120 million economic development package he asked the authority to support. The proposal, which includes $100 million for downtown projects and another $20 million for brownfield regeneration, followed the December announcement of a financing deal that will allow the authority to provide $105 million for waterfront redevelopment in Buffalo.

On Thursday, Dyster noted that during the Buffalo stop, Kessel expressed an interest in providing a similar type of financial commitment for redevelopment efforts in Niagara County. Dyster said he’d welcome the authority’s help in a variety of areas but is most interested in working with the agency on tourism-related projects in the downtown area. Dyster said much of what already has been done donwtown was the result of work involving the state-run USA Niagara Development Corp. and, given the state’s financial situation, new partners and alternative funding streams may be necessary to maintain progress.

“This is the first impression you get of the city of Niagara Falls,” said Dyster, who held a press conference with Kessel, Democratic state Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte and other officials at the intersection of Old Falls and First streets. “What I see as I look around here, I see a lot of hope. I see a lot of great projects that we have completed with our state agency partners. I see some projects that are half done. But I’m concerned, under the existing economic circumstances, that there are some projects here that need to be done and we need some help.”

The authority’s waterfront assistance in Buffalo was the result of an agreement that compressed payments owed to the community under the 50-year relicensing deal into 20 years of funding and added another 20-year grant in support of the harbor project. Kessel said the “how, what and where” of a similar deal in Niagara County has not yet been determined and will be developed during negotiations with local leaders.  He added that it is something the agency wants to accomplish in months, not years.

“In the end, we really wanted to make it more of a community decision than a NYPA decision,” Kessel said.

Kessel’s Falls stop comes as the Niagara County Legislature is continuing to pursue a lawsuit against the authority in an effort to reverse the so-called sweep of more than $500 million in agency funds into the state’s coffers. Kessel did not address the pending lawsuit but did say he’s looking to develop an incentive package that would benefit not only the city but the county as well.

“We’re looking at the whole county,” Kessel said. “Niagara Falls, as a city, is a very critical part of this thing.” 

Dyster said he’s hopeful the authority’s commitment will extend to other projects in the county, outside of Niagara Falls, including, for example, the Flight of Five canal locks restoration effort in Lockport.

“I have to be an advocate for my city first and foremost,” Dyster said. “But, I know, that as we develop this regional tourism economy, it’s important that other projects in Niagara County progress as well.”