Dozens of community members attended a forum Wednesday, Nov. 19 at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center to meet with Rehabilitation Support Services Inc. officials directly involved in the proposed affordable housing development in Oneonta.
The development would be at 164 River St. and called Solstice Commons with 61 units, 31 of which would be for individuals “recovering from a serious mental illness, all living independently with wellness plans,” according to a handout from RSS.
Christine Nealon, the RSS director of strategic partnerships, said that at the last city Planning Commission meeting on Sept. 17, there were many people who were concerned and felt that their questions were not being answered. She said she gave them her word that RSS would hold an event for them to attend and speak individually or in small groups with the experts behind the proposal.
Consistently, Nealon said, people have been operating under inaccurate information. Some individuals have felt that it will be a drug or alcohol facility, a residential treatment facility, or that RSS will be bringing in people from outside Oneonta and then not follow through on supportive care which would burden the city, she added. These ideas are all untrue, Nealon said.
RSS has been in the community for 40 years, she said, and it has not left yet. She said it has demonstrated repeatedly its commitment to the community, with 110 staff throughout Otsego County.
She added that the way RSS ran the Wednesday forum allowed for people to ask questions in their own words and get the answers in words that are familiar to what they are asking.
“When I stand at a podium, I am giving a generic overview based on people’s comments and questions over a number of months,” Nealon said. “That is why this works. People to people, face to face, eye contact — we come together and we build something incredible.”
Many concerns revolve around the safety of the facility, and Nealon said RSS looks to protect its asset and its tenants. She said the building will have cameras, lighting and signage about where people can and can’t go, in addition to 24/7 management.
Acknowledging concerns regarding transparency between RSS and community, Nealon said she has provided a number of Zoom calls, phone calls and in-person meetings.
Don Wyckoff, the director of community relations at the Catskill Center for Independence, a disabilities support organization in Otsego County, said he wanted to be sure the facility would be accessible to everybody. While he said he supports the development, Wyckoff, who is from Oneonta, said he was seeking clarity about aspects of the proposal like interior access and transportation assistance.
Nealon said in response to some of his concerns that accessible units would be on the first floor, and there would be elevator and stairwell access in the building. In the event that somebody needs an accessible transportation option, Nealon said RSS would partner with local bus company or potentially use a private car share. It would find a way to transport somebody despite any barriers, she said.
Shelby Vakiener, the civil engineer from LaBella Associates, presented a visual of the property throughout the forum, providing clarity as to the location of the building and its zoning. She said the building would be located as far away from the residential properties as possible. She said the complex’s access point would be off of West Broadway. It was previously off of River Street, but individuals expressed some traffic-related concerns.
The entire building was labeled as 68,800 square feet.
Jacey Chase, a Sixth Ward resident who spearheaded a website and sign distribution to advocate for the RSS project and counter anti-RSS action, said he felt that he was asking difficult questions at the forum, as he wanted to get as much information as possible.
One question had was about the vetting and placement process and how confident RSS was that people would have the level of support to succeed. He said he trusts that an organization that has been in the community for so long would not place people in housing that was going to fail.
He added that it was helpful to hear from different people working on the project.
“Everyone has different areas of expertise,” Chase said. “The person who is running the project versus the person who works with people in supportive services versus someone who is looking at the financials, they all have different areas of expertise.”
Common Council member Scott Harrington, R-Sixth Ward, said he did have some concerns about the facility. He said infrastructure has always been a big concern because “the city’s too big to be small and too small to be big.” Harrington said he also had questions about emergency services and how it could tax fire, police and emergency medical services, in addition to the support mechanisms that will be available to help residents.
With five open positions in the police department, Harrington said it is important to consider those impacts when adding more population. Additionally, he said if there is going to be some kind of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, the city needs to “figure out a way to be on top.”
Meghan Sheehy and Ryan Ceresola live about four blocks from where the project would be off of River Street. Sheehy said she has a “locally invested interest” and was interested to hear directly from the people involved in the proposal. She said she learned that the official language, “severe mental illness,” which can sound very scary, is just a category. It applies to a range of different people.
“It was really good to come to a place and hear what the people working there have to say rather than just what you read up on the internet, on the social media,” Ceresola said.
After approaching several people at the forum, The Daily Star could not find people to comment who were fully against the project.