From the start, the conversation at a community forum Wednesday, Aug. 14 in Oneonta centered on the city’s response to homelessness.
Speakers showed a mix of contempt and compassion for the city’s unhoused population, and eventually other topics bubbled up — law enforcement, downtown parking, small business support, vacant and blighted homes.
The forum, hosted by Korey Rowe of Otsego Media at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center, drew about 75 attendees with many more tuning into a live stream hosted by Otsego Media.
Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek did not attend, but submitted a letter stated that he was out of the state but supportive of the event.
Rowe said his goal was to allow people to speak freely about whatever issues they wanted to bring up, organize their comments by topics and log them in a spreadsheet along with potential solutions.
He stressed that the aim was to identify specific issues, desired outcomes and possible — not perfect — solutions through a “non-emotional, bipartisan” approach.
The first seven speakers all touched on homelessness. Marcia Hoag, Oneonta food pantry Your Safe Haven director, said that the county spends too much money on motel rooms to house DSS clients, and Nicole Yaciw said as a formerly homeless person, she experienced the poor conditions of the motel rooms firsthand.
Jennifer Morell said that she grew up in Otego and moved to Oneonta two years ago after living in Virginia for 20 years.
“I was so happy to see the vibrancy that had come back to Oneonta,” she said. “However, the homeless issue slapped me in the face. I couldn’t believe what I saw.”
She said that any response should address not just housing, but also job training and food access and mental health services.
Maryland resident Nancy Allen said that she was disappointed to see the trash left by homeless people and feels scared when encountering panhandlers.
There was talk of Otsego County spending $2 million annually to house DSS clients, but county Board of Representatives member Jill Basile, whose district includes city of Oneonta City Wards 7 and 8, said that according to the 2023 county budget, $250,000 was allocated for the tiny houses and $1 million of “pass-through” money — spent by the county upfront but reimbursed by the state — on housing DSS clients in motels.
The Rev. LaDana Clark said that everybody has to be included in that process, and be looked at and considered human.
“They need to put all the services in one place — mental health services, family counseling services, drug addiction services,” she said. “That could be all under one roof.”
Rowe floated a few ideas for a central location for homelessness services: the Armory — which got pushback from its current recreational users — St. Mary’s School, Stella Luna, Southside and A.O. Fox Hospital.
Speakers expressed concerns about the lack of downtown parking and its perceived effect on Main Street businesses. One suggestions that made its way to the spreadsheet was to “take a chunk of Muller Plaza” and turn it into parking spots.
Other topics included pursuing grants for small businesses, addressing vacant and blighted homes as well as the proliferation of short-term rentals, and understaffing, racism and bullying in Oneonta public schools.