Mayor Drnek says it’s Oneonta’s “light-switch moment”

Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek delivered his first ‘State of the City’ address February 15 to the city’s Administrator, department heads, Common Council, commission members, and guests, but directed his comments more toward residents in his bid to loop them more fully into his vision of citywide revitalization. That plan, he said, centers on attracting a young and vibrant population – 1,000 “new, employed residents” to the city by making Oneonta a destination for relocation.

“As most folks are aware, my love of this community has been decades long,” he said. “Over those years, I have employed dozens upon dozens of local young people and worked with hundreds more. I wish many of them had stayed here … and it frustrates me that so many of them have moved away.”

“When they’ve left us – many times not to come back – Oneonta lost its vitality and promise,” he said. “Our workforce has been diminished and the potential of our City for home-grown innovation, creativity, and community growth has been set back near zero. We must bring them back home.”

Telling his audience that he will “need new opinions, new ideas, and new strategies,” he said, “I am going to be soliciting you to join ad hoc committees. To brainstorm new, untried, and creative solutions to our issues.”

Mayor Drnek said he already has met with fellow mayors from Cooperstown and Milford and “other key players” to create a strategy for the joint promotion of the Cooperstown-to-Oneonta corridor for new businesses and residents and has scheduled meetings with SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College to develop programs of support and social connection for Oneonta’s elder population. He said SUNY Oneonta has offered its facilities for “an initial meeting of more than two dozen local agencies and community leaders in our first exploration of a railroad-themed Children’s Museum in downtown Oneonta.”

Underscoring his downtown redevelopment agenda, the Mayor again outlined his goal of a “state-of-the-art entertainment” district aimed at the 25-39 demographic featuring, among other attractions, axe throwing. “Yep,” he said as an aside. “Axe throwing. It’s a thing.”

He said he already has begun work with Development Coordinator Sandy Mathes about an “expressed interest in Market Street from one of New York’s premier developers” and cited the Lofts on Dietz and Hartwick Grain Innovation Center as major steps forward in the downtown revitalization plan.

Closing his comments, the Mayor thanked the City Administrator and others for “some of the many accomplishments of this past year.”

“Did you know there is an app that sends dog lovers to Oneonta for a premier dog park experience?” he said. “I’ve talked to people there that have gone well out of their way to visit Oneonta and its dog park. How great is that? Same thing with the Pickleball courts. And how about the opening of a rapid-result, community-accommodating COVID testing site? That was collaboration of the City, the County, SUNY Oneonta, and Quadrant Biosciences.”

“Collaboration,” he said. “That’s the word I want you to take home tonight. Oneonta – from its City government, to its elected officials, to its business owners, to its workforce, its students, its neighborhoods – we are going to shine.”

“This is our time,” the Mayor said. “This is our ‘light switch moment.’”