2024 Fall IDA Academy - Westchester
2024 Fall IDA Academy
Thursday, November 7, 2024
Crotonville Conference Center, Westchester, 1 Old Albany Post Rd, Ossining, NY
The IDA Academy provides regular training for Industrial Development Agency (IDA) staff and executives on a variety of issues to help operate an IDA office more efficiently and effectively. The Fall 2024 Academy will offer training sessions that include best practices, powers and tools available to IDAs, and public policy that impacts their authority and operation. The NYSEDC will administer this program in partnership with its IDA members, state agencies, and other industry experts.
The IDA Academy will be held at the Crotonville Conference Center, 1 Old Albany Post Rd, Ossining, NY, 10562.
Member Rate: $125.00
Future Member Rate: $175.00
Group Rate (5) $500.00
Event Location + Hotel Information
Crotonville Conference Center, 1 Old Albany Post Rd, Ossining, NY, 10562.
Rooms Block, $189 per night.
To reserve a room, please select the Overnight Guest - Room Reservation option in the registration link. The Conference Center will be provided with your contact information for your reservation and confirm directly with you.
Agenda Subject to Change
Thursday, November 7
Breakfast Served at Learning Lab
Registration
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Shelby Schneider, Deputy Director, New York State Economic Development Council
Getting to Board Approval
Board members are volunteers and not often economic development or financial professionals, but their decisions can have major impacts on their communities, and face scrutiny from a range of people, from regulators and elected officials to community stakeholders. The information and communication around a proposed project must therefore meet very high standards for quality, clarity, and usefulness of information, and also reflect the uniqueness of each Board and community. This session is a panel discussion among current IDA leaders about how they work with their Boards to evaluate projects, including the effectiveness of analytical tools such as benefit/cost analyses, choice of PILOT schedules, market-based fiscal performance benchmarks, or a robust project evaluation criteria workbook. Experiences about what makes a project challenging to bring to a Board, what questions are most difficult to answer, and how analyses and tools continuously evolve to increase Board confidence will also be part of the conversation.
- Moderator, Victoria Storrs, Storrs Associates, LLC
- Jaime McGill, Executive Director, Yonkers IDA
- Frank Ferrara, Chairman, Village of Port Chester IDA
- Chris Steers, Administrator, Village of Port Chester IDA
ABO Compliance - Best Practices
- Shannon Wagner, Associate, Hodgson Russ
- Andy Corcione, COO, City of Albany IDA and Director of Real Estate Development, Capitalize Albany Corporation
Networking Break - Lunch served
Lunch and Learn | Changes to New York's Freshwater Wetlands Act and How It Will Impact Projects
New York State has moved to expand the freshwater wetlands that the State regulates. In 2022 the State Legislature and the Governor adopted amendments to the law and the NYSDEC has just proposed regulations to implement the law. What may have previously been wetlands regulated only by the federal government will now also be regulated by the NYSDEC and will be expanded to include at a minimum a regulated 100-foot upland adjacent area around the regulated wetlands. This panel will discuss the changes to the Wetlands Act and how it will impact landowners and IDA projects moving forward.
- Terresa Bakner, Partner, Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, LLP
- Robert McLaughlin, Partner, Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, LLP
Additional Resources:
Update from Office of the New York State Comptrollers Office
- Robin Lois, Deputy Comptroller of Local Government and School Accountability, Office of State Comptroller
- Christopher Fedorick, Auditor 3, Binghamton Regional Office, Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Local Government and School Accountability
- Alan Zimmerman, Senior Examiner at the NYS, Office of the State Comptroller
IDA Case Studies and Best Practices - Part I - Housing
How are IDA’s making a difference in Market Rate and Workforce Housing Development
Today’s financial realities are bringing the development of critically-needed workforce and market rate housing to a standstill. This panel will weigh in on why IDA’s should continue to facilitate housing development and how to effectively get it done. The panel will also highlight examples including the Westchester IDA Housing Flex Fund. Westchester County allocated $100 million of their ARPA funds to create the fund. The program is being administered by the Westchester County IDA and will fund 16 developments across the County creating 1,200 units of affordable housing for people who are at or below 65% AMI.
- Moderator and Presenter | Amanda Fitzgerald, Counsel, Barclay Damon
- Steve Porath, Executive Director, Rockland County IDA
- Joan McDonald, Chair, Westchester County IDA
IDA Case Studies and Best Practices - Part II - Adaptive Re-Use Projects
- Moderator | Melissa Bennett, Partner, Barclay Damon
- Matt McDonough, McDonough PLLC, Special Counsel to the Town of Babylon, IDA, and LDC
- Sarah Lee, CEO, Th!nk Dutchess and Dutchess County IDA
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
