Mayor Faces Opposition, Shares Vision for ‘New’ Market Street
By MONICA CALZOLARIONEONTA
The March 4 Common Council meeting was a reminder of the power citizens have over city government in action.
Mayor Mark Drnek opened the meeting specifically addressing a letter that 11 City of Oneonta residents and business owners sent to Rehabilitation Support Services Executive Director William DeVita asking him to withdraw the RSS proposal to develop 27 Market Street. That letter can be read in its entirety at https://www.allotsego.com/letter-to-rehabilitation-support-services-re-27-market-street/.
Drnek ended the meeting with a presentation of his vision to create a new neighborhood on Market Street. He asked council members and the public “to step outside the comfort zone of shared opinion and open your mind to alternate possibilities.”
The letter sent to RSS accuses the mayor and RSS of a lack of transparency. It states “Emails obtained through a FOIL [Freedom of Information Law] request between RSS and Mayor Drnek reveal that you, [Bill DeVita] and others, have been directly involved in behind-the-scenes discussions. Over the past two to three years, you have privately met with Mayor Drnek multiple times to lay the groundwork for the proposed RSS project at 27 Market Street.”
