News from the Noteworthy from the City of Oneonta

Thoughts and Advice for the Next Mayor…

I’m heading ‘round the far turn and in sight of the finish line. Me, not the work. The work isn’t close to being done.

Soon there will be contenders for the next term as mayor in the City of Oneonta.

I will leave knowing that I have done my very best. And I am hoping that the next occupant of this office will take to heart my four priorities.

To that end, I want to share my thoughts and rationale for each.

I know to my bones that Oneonta needs to embrace housing, population growth, community vitality and the economy.

Note to the next mayor: I’ve learned that people can have issues with one thing or another and become hyperfocused on that disagreement. Sometimes to the detriment of other discussions, making it hard to keep everyone on the team and the dialogue positive.

Housing. In my view, the development of affordable, quality housing provides a key opportunity to increase density in the city. Density generates vitality. Vitality creates economic opportunity. Economic opportunity is a clarion call to population growth.

And population growth is best achieved if we retain more of our young people, increase the number of graduates who stay, and attract young families. We must determine what this valuable demographic wants out of life and provide it. We need to think young.

Many want a funky, fun, and generally pleasant experience with a quaint and historic downtown. A place where the visual and performing arts inform the experience, and where niche shopping and diverse dining options are plentiful. A place where the vitality of the community is palpable, with stores open late and the staff and customers to warrant it.

Where the streets are well patrolled and safe, and the concerns of the unhoused are well addressed.

I advocated for three additional police officers, and we got them. This will allow for the reinstatement of foot patrols. Which is huge.

The SOS [Safe Options Support] program, and the Utica Center for Development’s veterans’ outreach and assistance program and their hundreds-deep caseloads are game-changers. Added to the work of all our other agencies, we are better armed than most municipalities to make a meaningful difference.

But a necessary component of that success lies in the development of housing. There is currently a logjam in our shelters of gainfully-employed people who can’t find affordable housing, and little viable shelter for those who are most desperate. We need to begin to add options.

That will come from a reduction in student rentals, and a greater number of market-rate rental choices and home sales. It will also come from new construction.

Our housing options will need to expand in every direction. Senior housing, market rate housing, and moderate, affordable housing.

To successfully recruit and retain a growing population, we must offer affordable places to live, and government services that guarantee the reliability of the infrastructure and the safety and security of every resident.

We cannot tax our way to that. We must find other means of ensuring Oneonta’s long-term solvency. In some instances, we will need to invest in ourselves, with confidence in the return on that investment. That will take vision, and a well-researched and communicated plan.

My vision is the embrace and celebration of Oneonta’s creative spirit. It makes us unique, and we are blessed with an abundance of creative neighbors.

That, in a nutshell, is the goal and the road map to our renaissance.

There are some who don’t see it. They see the tree, but not the forest. They see a binary choice between commitments to the vitality of the street or the expansion of commerce. It’s not a choice.

Both are key components of a holistic vision of Oneonta’s future, and I don’t see one happening without the other. Or, to put it another way… it’s all about the foot traffic.

And foot traffic, staffing, and customers are a steady and calculable certainty if you have housing and an increased population. So, too, are new and expanding businesses.

Which takes me back to my earlier statement. There are lots of opinions out there. People are quick to become hyperfocused on disagreements, and it’s hard to keep everyone on the same team.

But we need to and, until I hit the finish line, I’ll be giving it my all.

Mark Drnek is the mayor of the City of Oneonta.