The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
MOVING FORWARD
Virtual Mayors Roundtable meeting brings local leaders together for discussion
MOHAWK VALLEY REGION, N.Y. » Local mayors of the greater Mohawk Valley region gathered via Zoom on August 18 for a public meeting to discuss COVID-19 updates and how municipalities are moving forward.
The meeting, hosted by the Chamber Alliance of the Mohawk Valley, connected Mark Blask, Little Falls mayor, Gary Herzig, Oneonta mayor, Jacqueline Izzo, Rome mayor, and Robert Palmieri, Utica mayor, together to share their insights and answers questions.
Helen Acker, Oneida mayor, was also invited but was unable to attend.
The mayors recounted their municipality’s efforts to perform during the initial shutdowns, and all valued ongoing communication that they say has been vital for lasting progress throughout the pandemic.
Blask reflected on his own experience in Little Falls, “What we did was really the best that we could. There was no playbook. I mean, any public official who tells you that they didn’t lose sleep or weren’t worried about this isn’t probably being forthright.”
The relationship that he, Palmieri, and Izzo had together throughout this crisis created a glue that helped keep everyone informed and moving forward, he said. The mayors would meet on Monday afternoons and exchange news updates, ideas, and innovations as the pandemic unraveled.
“We suddenly had to pivot, and literally watch TV every day and figure out which executive orders would be coming out next,” Izzo recounted of those initial few drastic months.
Navigating widespread closures and health guidelines as well as shifting to a largely online-model of local government was a feat each mayor faced, but never without help from trusted advisors, committees, volunteers, and the public, each commented.
Though city halls are largely closed, for the time being, Izzo said that in Rome, “We made a decision early on that we would not lose a beat as far as our public meetings are concerned. We never shut down our planning board or our zoning board, and we had many projects come through.”
Construction has garnered continuous activity and promise for many municipalities as of late.
The city of Rome is midway through its downtown revitalization initiative funded through the state, having just awarded last week two new businesses with business-development funds for improvements, Izzo said. One business is a coffee shop that plans to feature a podcast studio, and the other is an advertising agency that is rehabilitating a building on one of Rome’s historic parks.
Other continuous developments in Rome noted by the mayor include:
• The Orgill Distribution
Chamber Alliance of the Mohawk Valley
Center at Griffiss International Airport, whose walls are going up shortly
• Air City Lofts, which is looking to lease out commercial and residential space by November and is getting ready to begin phase two producing 72 more units and 26,000 square feet of additional commercial space
• A project revolving around a 40,000 square foot office building for two defense contractors is preparing to break ground August 19
• Building 100 at the airport is being renovated by Oneida County and will house the Open Innovation Center, which will be a collaboration between the Griffiss Institute and Rome Lab. It’s a 12 million dollar project and is expected to open next month.
• Dewitt Clinton Apartments, run through Depaul Properties Inc., recently accepted tenants this summer. The building offers 60 plus apartments and 22 townhouses in south Rome.
• Cold Point Corp. is developing a 50,000 square foot warehouse as part of the downtown revitalization project. Walls, siding, and roofing are currently underway.
• The DEC has finished a 14 million dollar cleanup of the former Rome Cable site, which has now been demolished and remediated. A 1 million dollar restore grant is getting ready for release for a site-work project.
• A potential senior housing project at a former Rome school is being discussed
Revenue loss will be the city’s biggest challenge, Izzo said. This issue is not lost in other municipalities either. The mayors toyed with the real possibility that a 20% cut in municipality-aid funding from the state will slash their budgets. This decrease hasn’t yet been confirmed, but other cities have already seen the 20% decrease, she said.
Izzo said that this funding gap along with decreased sales tax revenue could leave Rome looking at a 4 million dollar hole. “That’s going to be a devastating blow.”
To get ahead, Izzo said the city has introduced measures such as a work share program, putting 80 city employees on a system working 3 days a week for the city, and then two days on unemployment while retaining their benefits in full, including health insurance.
“It looks like we’re going to have to put our budget out there before we know what the federal government wants to do,” Izzo remarked. Rome, and other government entities, are preparing for the worst.
Palmieri said Utica is an
ticipating cuts to public safety, which makes up roughly 60% of the city’s budget. “And that’s the last thing we want to do,” he said.
Izzo then focused on the state development surrounding gyms and bowling alley reopenings, which helps steer further elements of the economy back on track.
The Rome mayor revealed that district schools have decided to go remote the first six weeks of instruction, “because they’re having a hard time getting everything implemented.”
“It’s a very challenging time for superintendents, and I give them all the credit in the world, because they are reacting almost as fast as municipalities to the ever-changing environment.”
Palmieri marveled at regional leaders’ ability to act together and effectively throughout this pandemic. “It’s remarkable that at no time did the politics ever interfere or ever come into it.”
He says the city of Utica did what they could to get ahead at the pandemic’s beginning back in late March. The city froze hiring and overtime, released an early-retirement incentive, and furloughed some employees. “As we have gone on, we have brought everyone back,” he shared.
Providing residents with the services they depend on, despite setbacks, was a main objective for Utica, Palmieri said, and they were able to deliver.
Though sales tax revenue in Utica was once at a severe loss, it’s been rebounding as of late, the mayor revealed.
Several city projects are also underway. The Fitness Mill broke ground last week, and Palmieri shared that he’s currently working with three developers on large new development sites within the city. Utica’s Harbor Point project and the downtown hospital development are also ongoing.
Additionally, Utica is the recipient of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding from the state, which Rome is currently utilizing, and meetings are ongoing to prepare for the funds’ execution in the future.
As the effects of COVID-19 continue, each leader anticipates wading into further uncharted waters.