Lewis County advances plan to form land bank, eyes state grants and CDBG funding

Connor Bllozi, the presenter on the disaster recovery capital project, urged the committee to approve the first steps to create a Lewis County Land Bank Corporation to “reclaim problem properties from limbo and transform them into productive assets to benefit the community.” He said the county will submit an application to Empire State Development (ESD) in March and that ESD could act on the application at its May meeting if the submission is complete.

Bllozi outlined the proposed governance structure and funding timeline: an odd-numbered board (no fewer than five and no more than 15 members), with the committee’s preferred approach of an 11-member inaugural board appointed by the legislature and a representative from each legislative district. He said the county manager (Tim) would serve as the county’s representative rather than a sitting legislator. Bllozi described a multi-pronged funding strategy that starts with a CDBG planning grant—he said a $50,000 request was submitted to pay for a vacant/blighted property inventory—and could include New York State HCR Land Bank Initiative funds (Bllozi described phase-one operations funding of roughly $200,000 over two years if that program’s funding is restored in the state budget).

Bllozi and committee staff said the ESD application requires adoption of a local law or resolution specifying the land bank’s name (the proposal uses “Lewis County Land Bank Corporation”), the number of board members, and identification of inaugural directors. The presenter said county staff (including Joan and the county attorney’s office) will prepare articles of incorporation and other materials for county attorney review. Committee members asked whether sitting legislators would serve on the board; Bllozi responded that legislators were expected to nominate district representatives and that the county manager would serve the county seat.

The committee forwarded draft resolution 10, authorizing formation of the Lewis County Land Bank Corporation and an 11-member board, to the full board for action by voice vote. Next steps noted in the meeting record: finalize board nominations, submit the ESD application in March, await ESD consideration (potentially in May), and prepare to apply for available land bank operational grants if the state program funding is available later in the budget cycle.