Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek celebrated the city’s achievements and community collaboration efforts in what he said was his final State of the City address during the Common Council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Drnek has stated that he doesn’t intend to run for another term in November.
He began by praising several individuals, including city staff for fiscal responsibility, infrastructure improvements and secured grants.
“You should be proud that Oneonta is so well-represented in so many crucial positions, and so well respected by state agencies and officials,” Drnek said. “Those relationships are crucial to ensuring that Oneonta doesn’t miss out on opportunities, and is always among the first in line for grants.”
He said that the local businesses on Water Street, as well as throughout downtown, were affected adversely by the parking garage demolition in December 2023, but that “as the dust has settled, there are business owners who see a new opportunity.”
“No one expected that our parking garage was going to so rapidly become unsafe, but it did,” Drnek said. “The removal of easy, convenient parking has created real challenges for many of our downtown businesses.”
He acknowledged the efforts of artists and volunteers to revitalize Oneonta’s downtown through art projects and events. He celebrated the addition of new police officers and the police department’s recent accreditation as well as the fire department’s steadfast service to the city, and said that technological advancements were on the way to help connect residents to the city.
Plans for economic growth included a Business Improvement District, short-term rental taxes and developer-friendly zoning. Plans for redevelopment, including on Market Street, the former St. Mary’s School and the former Oneonta Hotel, will aim to attract young professionals, support senior housing and foster growth.
He emphasized sustainability, diversity and partnerships with local faith leaders to address community needs, and called to uphold the city’s welcoming values amid national challenges.
“Our federal government has taken a very hard turn,” Drnek said. “The institutions we’ve come to count upon are not being surgically restructured and made more efficient. They are being gutted and dismantled and they will leave a vacuum, and worse. The very nature of who we are, who we will protect and who we will serve, is being challenged … We cannot abide by that. Oneonta is a welcoming city.”
He expressed deep pride in the Oneonta community’s compassion and collective efforts to address challenges like aiding the unhoused, including work by Catholic Charities to run the warming station’s support.
“Everywhere you look, if you look for it, you will see progress being made,” he said. “It’s the fruit of collaboration and the result of vision, shared vision.”
Reaction from mayoral candidates
Two people who have announced their intention to run for Oneonta mayor reacted to Drnek’s speech.
Dan Buttermann, who announced about two weeks ago that he would be pursuing Democratic and independent lines, praised the speech, saying he especially liked how Drnek highlighted the potential for long-term prosperity despite short-term challenges.
“I’m excited for some of the changes that are coming,” he said, like reviving the Oneonta Hotel, closing Water Street for summer events and improving downtown with more available parking.
John Hamill IV, who announced immediately after Buttermann went public that he would be seeking the Republican nomination in the mayor’s race, criticized the mayor’s speech, particularly for invoking federal issues he said were irrelevant to local functioning.
He suggested the need for a program to assess and improve city services, particularly in taxation and financial transparency, like the federal-level spending cuts and deregulation happening through the Department of Government Efficiency initiative of the Trump administration.
“I really wasn’t impressed with his speech at all,” he said. “The city’s not functioning all that well with Mayor Drnek’s lack of leadership … We should be focusing on more about what’s going on with the city currently.”