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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1104

To establish the Great Falls Historic District Commission for the preservation

and redevelopment of the Great Falls National Historic District in

Paterson, New Jersey.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 24, 1993

Mr. KLEIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Great Falls Historic District Commission

for the preservation and redevelopment of the Great

Falls National Historic District in Paterson, New Jersey.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

4 For the purpose of preserving and interpreting for

5 the educational and inspirational benefit of present and

6 future generations the unique and significant contribution

7 to our national heritage of certain historic and cultural

8 lands, waterways, and edifices in the Great Falls of the

9 Passaic/S.U.M. National Historic District located in the
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1 City of Paterson, State of New Jersey (Alexander Hamil2 ton’s laboratory for the development of industrial America

3 as well as America’s first industrial city) with emphasis

4 on harnessing this unique urban environment for its edu5 cational value as well as for recreation, there is hereby

6 established the Great Falls Historic District Commission

7 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’), the pur8 pose of which shall be to prepare a plan for the preserva9 tion, interpretation, development, and use, by public and

10 private entities, of the historic, cultural, and architectural

11 resources of the Great Falls of Passaic/S.U.M. National

12 Historic District in the City of Paterson, State of New

13 Jersey.

14 SEC. 2. MEMBERS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall consist of

16 nine members, as follows:

17 (1) The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary

18 of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary

19 of Transportation, and the Secretary of Commerce,

20 all ex officio.

21 (2) Five members appointed by the Secretary of

22 the Interior, one of whom shall be the Director of

23 the National Park Service, two of whom shall be ap24 pointed from recommendations submitted by the

25 Mayor of the City of Paterson, one of whom shall be
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1 appointed from recommendations submitted by the

2 Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Pas3 saic, New Jersey, and one of whom shall be ap4 pointed from recommendations submitted by the

5 Governor of the State of New Jersey. The members

6 appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall have

7 knowledge and experience in one or more of the

8 fields of history, architecture, the arts, recreation

9 planning, city planning, or government.

10 (b) SUBSTITUTE MEMBERS; COMPENSATION.—(1)

11 Each member of the Commission specified in paragraph

12 (1) of subsection (a) and the Director of the National

13 Park Service may designate an alternate official to serve

14 in his stead.

15 (2) Members appointed pursuant to paragraph (2) of

16 subsection (a) who are officers or employees of the Federal

17 Government, the City of Paterson, the County of Passaic,

18 or the State of New Jersey, shall serve without compensa19 tion as such. Other members, when engaged in activities

20 of the Commission, shall be entitled to compensation at

21 the rate of not to exceed $100 per diem. All members of

22 the Commission shall receive reimbursement for necessary

23 travel and subsistence expenses incurred by them in the

24 performance of the duties of the Commission.
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1 SEC. 3. ORGANIZATION.

2 (a) CHAIRMAN.—(1) The Commission shall elect a

3 Chairman from among its members.

4 (2) Financial and administrative services (including

5 those relating to budgeting, accounting, financial report6 ing, personnel, and procurement) shall be provided for the

7 Commission by the General Services Administration, for

8 which payments shall be made in advance, or by reim9 bursement, from funds of the Commission in such

10 amounts as may be agreed upon by the Chairman of the

11 Commission and the Administrator, General Services Ad12 ministration. The regulations of the Department of the In13 terior for the collection of indebtedness of personnel re14 sulting from erroneous payments shall apply to the collec15 tion of erroneous payments made to or on behalf of a Com16 mission employee, and regulations of said Secretary for

17 the administrative control of funds shall apply to appro18 priations of the Commission. The Commission shall not

19 be required to prescribe such regulations.

20 (b) STAFF.—The Commission shall have power to ap21 point and fix the compensation of such additional person22 nel as may be necessary to carry out its duties, without

23 regard to the provisions of the civil service laws and the

24 Classification Act of 1949.

25 (c) TEMPORARY AND INTERMITTENT SERVICES.—

26 The Commission may also procure, without regard to the
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1 civil service laws and the Classification Act of 1949, tem2 porary and intermittent services to the same extent as is

3 authorized for the executive departments by section 15 of

4 the Administrative Expenses Act of 1946, but at rates not

5 to exceed $100 per diem for individuals.

6 (d) FACILITIES AND SERVICES.—The members of the

7 Commission specified in paragraph (1) of section 2(a)

8 shall provide the Commission, on a reimbursable basis,

9 with such facilities and services under their jurisdiction

10 and control as may be needed by the Commission to carry

11 out its duties, to the extent that such facilities and services

12 are requested by the Commission and are otherwise avail13 able for that purpose. To the extent of available appropria14 tions, the Commission may obtain, by purchase, rental, do15 nation, or otherwise, such additional property, facilities,

16 and services as may be needed to carry out its duties.

17 Upon the termination of the Commission all property, per18 sonal and real, and unexpended funds shall be transferred

19 to the Department of the Interior.

20 SEC. 4. PLAN.

21 It shall be the duty of the Commission to prepare

22 the plan referred to in section 1, and to submit the plan

23 together with any recommendations for additional legisla24 tion, to the Congress not later than eighteen months from

25 the effective date of this Act. The plan for the Great Falls
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1 of the Passaic/S.U.M. Historic District shall include con2 siderations and recommendations, without limitation, re3 garding—

4 (1) the objectives to be achieved by the estab5 lishment, development, and operation of the area;

6 (2) the types of use, both public and private, to

7 be accommodated;

8 (3) criteria for the design and appearance of

9 buildings, facilities, open spaces, and other improve10 ments;

11 (4) a program for the staging of development;

12 (5) the anticipated interpretive, cultural, and

13 recreational programs and uses for the area;

14 (6) the proposed ownership and operation of all

15 structures, facilities, and lands;

16 (7) areas where cooperative agreements may be

17 anticipated; and

18 (8) estimates of costs, both public and private,

19 of implementing and insuring continuing conform20 ance to the plan.

21 SEC. 5. TERMINATION.

22 The Commission shall be dissolved (1) upon the ter23 mination, as determined by its members, of need for its

24 continued existence for the implementation of the plan and

25 the operation or coordination of the entity established by
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1 the plan, or (2) upon expiration of a two-year period com2 mencing on the effective date of this Act, whereupon the

3 completed plan has not been submitted to the Congress,

4 whichever occurs later.

5 SEC. 6. PROPOSED AUTHORIZATIONS TO BE INCLUDED IN

6 PLAN.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is contemplated that the plan

8 to be developed may propose that the Commission may

9 be authorized to—

10 (1) acquire lands and interests therein within

11 the Great Falls of the Passaic/S.U.M. Historic Dis12 trict by purchase, lease, donation, or exchange;

13 (2) hold, maintain, use, develop, or operate

14 buildings, facilities, and any other properties;

15 (3) sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of real or

16 personal property as necessary to carry out the plan;

17 (4) enter into and perform such contracts,

18 leases, cooperative agreements, or other transactions

19 with any agency or instrumentality of the United

20 States, the State of New Jersey, and any govern21 mental unit within its boundaries, or any person,

22 firm, association, or corporation as may be nec23 essary;

24 (5) establish (through covenants, regulations,

25 agreements, or otherwise) such restrictions, stand-
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1 ards, and requirements as are necessary to assure

2 development, maintenance, use, and protection of

3 the Great Falls of the Passaic/S.U.M. Historic Dis4 trict in accordance with the plan; and

5 (6) borrow money from the Treasury of the

6 United States in such amounts as may be authorized

7 in appropriations Acts on the basis of obligations is8 sued by the Commission in accordance with terms

9 and conditions approved by the Secretary of the

10 Treasury.

11 (b) PURCHASE OF OBLIGATIONS.— The Secretary of

12 the Treasury is authorized and directed to purchase any

13 such obligations of the Commission.

14 SEC. 7. TITLE TO PROPERTY.

15 Title to property of the Commission shall be in the

16 name of the Commission, but it shall not be subject to

17 any Federal, State, or municipal taxes.

18 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 There are authorized to be appropriated not to exceed

20 $200,000 for the preparation of the plan authorized by

21 this Act.

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