Financial Support Reinstated for Muller Plaza Activities

By MONICA CALZOLARI
ONEONTA

Interest in having a voice in local government seems to be on the rise in Oneonta. Ten city residents took the opportunity to be heard at the Common Council meeting on March 18. Four more residents sent the council correspondence that was read aloud by City Clerk Kerri Harrington.

The meeting lasted four hours. The packed agenda included a lengthy discussion about the need to support downtown businesses and increase foot traffic on Water Street. City Administrator Greg Mattice gave a presentation about parking and the lingering public perception that the lack of convenient parking is negatively affecting downtown.

“Since 2020, downtown businesses have taken a beating. Some Water Street businesses are down over 50 percent in revenue,” Len Carson, R-Fifth Ward, said.

Carson said businesses in his Fifth Ward are not experiencing the same problems.

“Nick’s Diner does well. Sloan’s [New York Grill] does well. Subaru does well,” he said.

Questions About the Round-About

“Is there a way to postpone the round-about project?” Carson asked.

Mattice said he will ask the New York State Department of Transportation.

Mattice said the DOT will be presenting its plan to council soon. The intersection of Lettis Highway and Main Street will become a round-about. Construction is currently scheduled to start this summer, just as the tourist season begins.

Support for Downtown Businesses

City of Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek is in favor of reinstating a $60,000.00 budget to support downtown Oneonta which was cut last December during the one council meeting he was not able to attend due to a wedding out-of-state. He added a three-page summary of key points for the council to consider on March 18’s agenda.

The Finance/HR Committee meeting discussed the same topic on March 13. Wayne Carrington, owner of the B-Side and Autumn Café, and Jim Seymour, co-owner of Black Oak Tavern and Brew-U, attended that meeting. So did Kaler Carpenter, youth services coordinator for Friends of Recovery Dedicated to Others.

A document reviewed by the Finance/HR Committee itemized how the $60,000.00 budget would be allocated: $15,500.00 for entertainment with $1,000.00 earmarked for programming by Community Arts Network of Oneonta; $16,500.00 for 14 weeks of programming by FOR-DO; $3,000.00 for Water Street; $20,000.00 for a marketing campaign, and $5,000.00 for winter holiday festivities.

Al Gallodoro Stage Coming in June

Another construction project that will disrupt traffic on Main Street this spring is the addition of a permanent covered stage dedicated to Al Gallodoro, the renowned jazz saxophonist who moved to Oneonta in 1981.

According to his website, Gallodoro became the first alto sax/clarinet in the Orpheum Theater house orchestra in New Orleans in 1927 at age 15. He performed vaudeville acts with Bob Hope, Edgar Bergen and Milton Berle.

“When will the stage be up and running?” Scott Harrington, R-Sixth Ward, asked.

“The second week of June,” Drnek said.

“We invested a ton of money in that stand,” Kaytee Lipari Shue, D-Fourth Ward, said. “You spent $110,000.00 of the parks and recreation’s budget….Altogether, we spent $350,000.00 to build a stage.”

Some of the money to pay for this project came from a grant from the American Rescue Plan Act. Chair of the Finance/HR Committee Cecelia Walsh-Russo, D-Second Ward, asked if recent federal budget cuts would affect the financing for the stage’s construction.

“We are already in receipt of the ARPA money,” Director of Finance Virginia Lee said.

Geoff Doyle, executive director of Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center, spoke at the March 18 meeting. He said he is willing to take on the role of booking the bandstand on Fridays for bigger bands and duets on other days.

“The bandstand funding is officially secured and should be used and not sitting idly,” he said.

Doyle proposed booking performances “at times ideal for folks heading to downtown for drinks and dinner after work.” He plans to coordinate schedules with the Foothills, B-Side and Black Oak Tavern to leverage foot traffic to all four venues.

Drnek said, “There is a shared sentiment that [Oneonta] needs to be marketed better or marketed period.”

Kaler Carpenter from FOR-DO explained that the $16,500.00 budget he used for Muller Plaza activities for the past two summers was originally earmarked for children’s programs. He said he chose the large chess games, water games and sidewalk chalk to appeal to the families with children visiting Main Street.

“I would not want to see that money disappear for children’s programming,” he said.

“Last year, I kept specific tabs on visitors to the plaza,” Carpenter continued.

According to his records, there was a 42 percent increase in traffic to the plaza from 6,183 visitors in 2023 to 8,768 visitors. Carpenter tracked the number of kids, teens, young adults and families—60 percent were adults, he said.

Michael Forster Rothbart, D-Seventh Ward, said, “We need a better coordination between the businesses and activities on Muller Plaza.”

Harrington asked the city administrator, “Can we come up with a plan to keep that stage going?”

Don Mathisen, D-Eighth Ward, said, “I don’t think we should pay Kaler to sit in Muller Plaza.”

“I respectfully disagree,” Walsh-Russo said. “We need to activate that space.”

“There were people hanging out and enjoying themselves on hot days,” Elayne Mosher Campoli, D-First Ward, said. “That Youth Employment Program which FOR-DO facilitates is very beneficial.”

When the motion to approve the $60,000.00 was put to a vote, Mosher Campoli, Walsh-Russo, Shannon McHugh and Forster Rothbart voted in favor. Lipari Shue, Carson, Harrington and Mathisen voted no. Since the vote was tied 4-4, the mayor had the tie-breaking vote and voted yes to downtown support.

“There is a lot of work that can be done, and should be done, for a plan for 2026. We have a mission to have this be ongoing,” Drnek said.

“I have some concern over the blank check approach for the $20,000.00 marketing budget and the $16,500.00 check,” Forster Rothbart added.

The mayor suggested that an RFP process be used to identify a vendor for an integrated marketing plan.

“Mohawk Valley Edge comes highly recommended to me,” Walsh Russo offered.

Parking

Mattice shared his empirical data and assessment of parking downtown. In response, Lipari Shue cautioned, “We have a parking perception problem. We have round-about construction happening. I do not think [paid parking] is a good move right this minute. I think we need to wait until 2026.”