Otsego County Board of Representatives Discusses Awards, Airports, America 250

By BILL BELLEN
OTSEGO COUNTY

Before the gavel could even be struck to signify the coming to order of the July Otsego County Board of Representatives meeting, there was already business on the floor.

Otsego County Rep. Andrew Marietta (District No. 8, Otsego) and New York State Employee Relations Specialist Tim Moretti came to the front of the room on Wednesday, July 2 to recognize the recipients of the biannual Outstanding Employee Awards for county employees. Moretti’s position allowed him to play a pivotal role in this process, helping to analyze whether department nominations for the award included a commitment to various noble qualities such as outstanding service, high levels of productivity and effective professional relationships.

First to be recognized was Christine Corrigan, an assistant public defender with the county since January 2022. Corrigan was recognized for her dedication to her clients, being a respected member of the legal community, and as a role model for those around her. Also honored was Cheryl Strong, who has worked for the county since 1992, and has been in her current position of business office manager for the Otsego County Department of Health since 2012. Strong’s role as “the heart of the department” was acknowledged, alongside her ability to keep everything running smoothly, and doing so with a positive attitude.

During the proceedings, Marietta commented, “The other thing that’s been great about the nominations, especially more recently, is we’ve had a mix of newer employees and longstanding employees. So it’s been great to be able to recognize today technically a newer employee, as well as a longstanding employee.”

Corrigan and Strong will each receive six months of parking in designated parking spots on county-owned property, certificates signed by the board chair and their respective department heads, and the addition of their names to a plaque recognizing other Outstanding Employee Award winners.

With this celebratory preliminary business completed, Board Chair Edwin Frazier Jr. called the meeting to order. In front of a full house, the meeting moved to the public comment period, during which Edward Dawyot was the only community member to address the board. Dawyot discussed failures of solar fields in California due to low energy output and connected it back to his discontent with Governor Kathy Hochul’s plans to build a new nuclear power plant in New York.

He stated that, due to the “tremendous amount of losses” incurred from energy transit, it would be much more beneficial to bring the Indian Point nuclear facility back online to transport power to New York City rather than building an entirely new facility further upstate.

Following these comments to the board, Justin Osterhoudt began the first of two special presentations. Osterhoudt addressed the board from the rear podium as a representative of the Oneonta Airport Commission, the body responsible for overseeing the Albert S. Nader Regional Airport. He spoke of his experience with flying and aircraft, both locally and worldwide, as a credit to his understanding of the specifications needed for aircraft of all shapes and sizes. Osterhoudt was invited onto the airport commission two years ago to begin conversations about how to revitalize the facility. There was discussion about the “feelings of apathy” put forth by the Oneonta government toward the airport, and how the commission felt the site’s true potential was not being realized.

“It’s a county asset,” Osterhoudt said. “An airport is an asset for any community. It’s really a big economic driver, and it stands to reason that the county should be involved in the conversation of what we’re doing at the airport, how we’re improving the airport, and how we’re kind of generating revenue into the entire community.”

With these sentiments in mind, Osterhoudt explained that changes had been made to the residency requirements of the commission in order to allow for two county representatives to be added to their discussions. In addition, a fixed base operator has been brought in to manage day-to-day affairs at the airport in order to maximize efficiency for both airport functions and visitor accessibility to the wider Otsego County area.

Numerous studies in a provided pamphlet were cited in support of the ongoing capital improvement items on the docket and currently underway at the airport to clear on-site runway obstructions and the arrangement of easements to clear those off-site. The airport is also receiving a new fuel farm upgrade—which will modernize existing infrastructure to improve capacity, efficiency, safety, and environmental compliance—and the current weather station is being moved to a more optimal location, Osterhoudt said.

Speaking next, Matt Kent, owner of Leatherstocking Timber and Stone, said he feels Oneonta wants to hand off responsibility of the airport.

“This isn’t a liability. This isn’t a problem that is dumped on us. This is [something] right in front of us that’s there, that we’re not taking advantage of.”

Kent compared the unexpected successes of the baseball parks in the county to possible future success of the airport. He detailed statistics showing that the Federal Aviation Agency typically pays upward of 90 percent of projects needed on airport grounds, while the state matches 5 percent of remaining expenses. Kent is personally taking the reins of the FBO at the airport in order to help people find cars and get fuel in planes, to keep visitors and tourists flowing into the local community and local economy.

Rep. Margaret Kennedy (District No. 5, Hartwick, Milford, New Lisbon) complimented the improvements thus far and asked about what comes next. Kent responded, stating that $10-11 million of improvements were already approved for the airport. A major project recognized as a necessity is the construction of a parallel taxiway, which was approved years ago but never received the properly allocated funds, Kent said. Various other concerns regarding runway length and safety in harsh weather conditions will also be addressed.

The board will choose representatives for the airport commission at its August meeting.

Next up, Tamie Reed, director of the Otsego County Office for the Aging, showed off the ClearPlan software that she and her staff have been using in order to identify clear goals and keep track of progress made on department initiatives. She showed an example of an in-progress item and the action items listed for moving progress along. Reed also shared that the program will eventually become public, in order to show transparency to the community and better allow for the resolution of any issues encountered that may be affecting departmental progress.

Following these special presentations, the board moved to reports from standing committee chairs. Of particular note were the following:

Rep. Keith McCarty (District No. 9, Richfield, Springfield) spoke for the Public Works Committee, noting that the tiny homes project is almost complete. He also provided information about various smaller county purchases.

Rep. Michelle Catan (District No. 4, Town of Oneonta) spoke on behalf of the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. She stated that numerous grants were extended in support of the county Board of Elections. A resolution also passed the committee to establish the Otsego County America 250 Commission, to begin preparations for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.

Rep. Adrienne Martini (District No. 12, City of Oneonta Wards Three and Four) spoke for the Health and Human Services Committee. She acknowledged the committee’s support for hiring more county social workers and put forth a resolution to permit further hiring. Martini also delivered a grim report regarding future county financing, following the federal spending cuts recently passed into law:

“According to NYSAC [New York State Association of Counties], if the SNAP—which is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—if those cuts go through, which it looks like so far they are, the additional cost to the county will be $1.4 million.”

Rep. David Bliss (District No. 7, Cherry Valley, Middlefield, Roseboom) spoke for the Solid Waste and Environmental Concerns Committee and said there was an ongoing inquiry into the money FEMA was supposed to supply to Pittsfield for flood recovery. There are still no certain answers on where the funds are, Bliss said.

The board then moved to enter into executive session, which lasted nearly three hours before returning to open session. Brief reports were given from special committees, and County Administrator Steve Wilson detailed that 44.5 percent of the total annual budget has been consumed so far this fiscal year, leaving $91 million for the county to spend.

A slew of resolutions was brought to the board, with Resolutions 264 and 266 being pulled for closer review, respectively. Board Chair Frazier pulled 264 to acknowledge its importance as a measure to set expectations for the development of Otsego County’s 2026 budget:

“This is an attempt to fix some of the loopholes and problems from the past … I think a lot of times we go through a consent agenda, there’s a lot of stuff we just kind of breeze through. I just didn’t feel that breezing through this was appropriate. I think budget is our biggest responsibility as representatives.”

The meeting rounded out with a brief acknowledgement of Resolution 266, which officially establishes a film policy for Otsego County, an endeavor that has been in progress for quite some time, officials said. The next Otsego County Board of Representatives meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 6.

Otsego County Board of Representative schedules, agendas, minutes and local laws can be found online at https://www.otsegocountyny.gov/legislature/board_of_representatives_/documents.php. Board and committee meetings can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/otsegocountynewyork.