Following the Public Safety and Legal Affairs Committee report, Rep. Leslie Berliant asked if a representative of the Sheriff’s Office had attended the latest PSLA meeting, to which the answer was no, marking four months with no direct communication to the committee from Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr. or his office.…
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James Powers
The August meeting of the Otsego County Board of Representatives began with Representative Andrew Marietta’s recognition of the semiannual recipients of the county’s Outstanding Employee Award.…
The board then transitioned to a presentation by Justin Osterhoudt, chairman of the Oneonta Municipal Airport Commission, and Matt Kent, the airport’s manager. Board Chairman Edwin Frazier Jr. reminded the audience that negotiations were held with the Airport Commission previously, with the county declining to take control of their operations and instead offering potential aid if two county officials were placed on the commission.…
After passing the rest of the consent agenda, the board put forth Res. 282, an acknowledgement of respect for the passing of eight-year Board of Representatives member Gary Koutnik. Koutnik served as the representative for District No. 11 of the City of Oneonta, Wards 1 and 2, from 2012 to 2019.…
Village of Morris Mayor Michael Newell: “This investment will help us revitalize our downtown, elevate the visitor experience and grow tourism in a way that highlights all that Morris has to offer.”…
Director of Community Affairs and Government Relations for SUNY Oneonta Caroline Williams shared the only non-ICE related remarks of the morning, thanking the board for working with the university on initiating job shadowing of the county government...…
The case for a new jail has included that the old one is built with an outdated design that is less rehabilitative for incarcerated individuals and under new state rules requires heavier staffing, it is falling into disrepair and does not have enough space for the jail population.…
Edwin Frazier Jr., a Republican representing Unadilla on the Otsego County Board of Representatives, was unanimously re-elected as county board chair at the body’s first meeting and swearing in for the new term on Wednesday, January 7.…
Board seats will be split seven to seven. Accounting for the county’s weighted voting system, where some representatives hold more voting power than others according to district population, Republicans will maintain a slim 55–45 vote majority.…
We have come to expect low voter turnout for off-year elections, and history shows that the party not in control of the government tends to benefit from this. We are, however, somewhat taken aback by what appears to be a lack of effort on the part of some of those running for office this year.…
