Tourism promoter: Focus different for 2021 By GREG KLEIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Otsego County’s tourism efforts are being refocused on outdoor activities, fall weddings and vaccinated out-of-state residents, according to a presentation given to the Otsego County Board of Representatives at its May meeting. Harrington addressed the Representatives at their meeting, which was held via Zoom, because of the coronavirus pandemic, on Wednesday, May 5. She said the group is looking to increase late summer and fall tourism in…
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Otsego County Board of Representatives - Page 3
Otsego preps for hiring new administrator By GREG KLEIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Otsego County’s legislators began an in-depth look at crafting the county administrator position at a special all board workshop Monday, May 10. The 14 board members listened and asked questions during a two-hour meeting as County Attorney Ellen Coccoma reiterated to them the details of the local law they passed in 2019 to establish the position and several experts on local governments that are using a county…
Shared Garage Back On Otsego’s Agenda By GREG KLEIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Otsego County’s plan for a shared transportation garage has been revived. County officials met with representatives from Otsego Northern Catskills BOCES in the past month to gage interest in another push to build a centralized, shared services facility on county Route 35 in the town of Milford, on land adjacent to the ONC BOCES campus. “I would not say it is full speed ahead, but maybe it…
Campaigns Off To Fast Start In ’21 Revised Calendar Requires 6-Month Campaign Season By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Election Day is still six months away, but in the past few days it’s been off to the races, the local races. With Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig’s announcing his retirement last week, three candidates immediately emerged to succeed him, a Democrat and two Republicans. Leading up to Tuesday, March 2, the first day nominating petitions can be circulated, a similar…
LETTER from ONEONTA COMMON COUNCIL & Otsego County Board of Representatives So Where Do You Stand? Democracy? Insurrection? To the Editor: The violence in D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, which led to the deaths of five people, have clarified the one question that needs to be asked of our country, state and regional representatives: Are you for the democratic process or are you for insurrection? There is no longer any nuance, thanks to the actions of a group of pro-President…
LETTER from CHIP NORTHRUP Ignore Gun Laws? See You In Court To County Representatives: As elected officials, you of all people do not have the luxury of deciding which laws you will uphold and which you will ignore, much less willfully and publicly flaunt as a partisan political stunt. If you adopt this scofflaw “gun sanctuary” ordinance, you will be sued for failure to uphold New York State laws – laws that you are free to challenge in court, but…
With 10th Death, County ‘Overwhelmed,’ Bond Says County Staffing Increased As Deaths, COVID Infections Keep Growing By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Help is on the way after county Public Health Director Heidi Bond lamented that her department is “overwhelmed.” “We’re barely keeping up with the cases coming in,” she said. “With contact tracing, that means you might not get a call if you’ve been identified as a close personal contact in a timely manner.” On Monday, Dec. 14,…
Editorial If You Want Public Office, You Ought To Say Why Publicly The county board’s Administration Committee set a poor precedent in deciding to interview candidates for state Sen.-elect Peter Oberacker’s District 6 seat in “executive session” – that is, in secret, out of the public view. The county attorney, Ellen Coccoma, last week advised the Admin Committee when it interviewed the Republican candidate, Jennifer Mickle, that whether to do so in public or not was optional, up to the reps.…
LETTER from ANDREW STAMMEL After Vacancy Rift, Bi-Partisan Trust Needs Rebuilding To the Editor: The run of bi-partisanship on the county Board of Representatives has been interrupted by the Republican caucus’ recent efforts to steamroll through a replacement for Representative Oberacker. During my two and a half terms on the county board, cooperation between parties has ebbed and flowed. Since the 2017 election it has been split 7-7 between Democrats and Republican-affiliated members. Thankfully, a bi-partisan governing coalition and leadership…
Appointing Oberacker Successor Complicated By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – Peter Oberacker, elected state senator on Nov. 3, will be leaving the Otsego County Board Dec. 31 at the latest and is blocked by the county board’s Rules of Order from voting on his successor. Absent bipartisanship, that creates a deadlock. There are 6,228 “weighted votes” distributed among the 14 county reps, and without Oberacker’s 534 votes, the Republicans don’t have the 3,115-vote majority to fill his seat…