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Picente
Calls for Major Initiatives
in
State of the
County
Address
Oneida
County
Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. today called for renewed efforts to
maximize
Oneida
County
’s outstanding potential, and announced several bold new initiatives to
make the county stronger.
“In the coming year, we will continue to
promote our economic development and community infrastructure, take
pro-active steps to improve public safety and quality of life, work hard to
protect our fiscal gains despite drastic cost-shifting proposed in the state
budget, and work in partnership to increase efficiency and effectiveness,”
Picente said.
Major
initiatives announced by Picente included:
A
new initiative to revitalize the
Oneida
County
Business
Park
in Whitestown. “The
Oneida
County
Business
Park
in Whitestown has the potential to be a major source for attracting new
employers to our region. It’s time for a sustained, major investment in
this park so that we can upgrade the infrastructure and give the park an
exciting, attractive setting. It takes more than money. It takes the right
vision, infrastructure, input and follow-through.” Picente said. “To
that end, I have commissioned Mohawk Valley EDGE to study the
Business
Park
and develop a comprehensive plan that will outline the best strategies for
us to follow in maximizing the Park’s potential. We need to look at
everything – from signage, identity, road and other infrastructure
improvements, marketing, and fully integrating the state center into our
long-range plans.
Picente
also noted that “National Grid is willing to partner with
Oneida
County
in this important project and will support our planning efforts with a
$125,000 grant to help defray the costs of consultants that will be needed
to help us develop the best plan for this very valuable property.”
911
Consolidation: “Today, I propose to complete the consolidation of 911
dispatchers in one call center,” Picente said. “One of the major issues
facing our region is to develop ways to change the way we deliver services
to reduce costs and increase efficiency. I
want
Oneida
County
’s 911 Center to be one central place for all police, fire and
EMS
calls. Currently,
Oneida
County
handles all the calls for the County except
Utica
and New Hartford. In the past, some technical and procedural issues have
hindered consolidation. I believe that we have moved beyond many of those
issues and that we can move to a regional 911 Center that will provide
quality service and reduce the costs for New Hartford and
Utica
. I call on the Board of Legislators, the City of
Utica
and the Town of
New Hartford
to join me to discuss and examine the feasibility of this merger.”
Services
to veterans: “I am forming a task force of county departments,
community groups, veterans groups and individual veterans and their families
to help us design a better system, spotlight gaps and develop solutions and
ensure that all veterans who come back home receive the services and support
they deserve.”
Focus on
Utica
: “County investment in
the
Stanley
has been designed to enhance
Utica
’s standing as a regional arts center. When the
Stanley
re-opens this spring, we will begin an exciting new era of activity downtown
that can help attract and retain young people to the region. Increasing the
numbers of people who come to the
Stanley
and surrounding businesses is the vital first step to helping revive
downtown,” Picente said. “In Downtown Utica, revitalization of Main
Street to mix residential and commercial uses; finding the right uses for
the Gateway District west of Genesee Street; and building on the success of
the Union Station Revitalization Project are all projects where I see County
Government as an active partner to help the city re-create its historic
downtown as a vibrant, thriving regional center.” Picente also urged City
Government to reconsider a county proposal for the closure of
Park Avenue
from
John St.
to
Blandina St
.
to address the parking needs of our county facilities and would free up
parking areas for other employers.
Focus
on
Rome
: “Our commitment to Downtown Rome must be maintained,” Picente
said. “As we are improving our County facilities in
Utica
, our
Rome
offices are scattered and grossly inefficient for the people we serve and
our employees. I have instructed
the Commissioners of Public Works and Social Services to identify an option
to consolidate the majority of our service offices in one location.
We will continue to support Mayor Brown in his efforts to improve the
housing stock in our most needy neighborhoods.
The Canal Village Neighborhood Revitalization Project is a concept we
embrace and look to be a major revitalization effort of our county.
County
Airport
growth: “The
Oneida
County
Airport
at Griffiss is another unique regional asset that offers us vast potential.
We are still in a construction and transition phase this year, with plans to
build new hangars and rehabilitate buildings to allow for even more
expansion at one of our great regional economic success stories – Empire
Aero. We are examining a proposal to privatize the Fixed Base Operation of
the
Oneida
County
Airport
at Griffiss so that we can not only make this a first-class operation, but
also a profitable one for county taxpayers.”
Positive
youth development: “Our
Youth Bureau is making anti-gang programming a top consideration in the
programs it is funding, and it will continue that focus by monitoring
programs we fund to ensure we are getting results,” Picente said, adding:
“The Youth Bureau will not just concentrate on recreation in the cities.
We will expand with new programming designed to show our city youth
what rural
Oneida
County
is like. We will soon unveil a
new program with the Black River Environmental Improvement Association.
This program will take young inner city youth to the country to see
the beauty of agriculture that is just beyond city limits.
BREIA is an outstanding example of one man’s wish to give back by
preserving areas of land in our north country for farming, cross country
skiing and snow shoeing. We will
in turn take rural youth to the cities to have them experience the
neighborhoods and their activities.”
Creating a
regional “brain gain:” “Last month I met
with the presidents of Utica College, SUNY IT,
Hamilton College, MVCC, Utica School of Commerce, and the Pratt Institute
as we formed the Oneida County College Council. The
Oneida County College Council’s goal will be to strengthen
community-campus collaborations in key areas such as economic development,
community development, education, civic involvement, and neighborhood
visioning. Retaining these students is one of our most important
regional challenges. The Office of Workforce Development, in cooperation
with our regional Workforce Investment Board, is seeking state funding to
coordinate a regional internship program that will work in collaboration
with the Give Back to
Utica
effort from former
Utica
resident Steven Oram and the Community Foundation.”
Diversity
Outreach: Picente said that increasing county workforce diversity will
be a priority in 2008 and announced the creation of a special task force to
develop and implement an outreach effort. Oneida County Workforce
Development Director David Mathis, joined by YWCA Racial Justice Director
Patrick Johnson, President of Techno-Logic-Solutions Tony Colon and Success
Strategies Business Consultant Susan Woods will lead the effort.
Fighting
lead poisoning: Picente noted that
Oneida
County
’s Health Department will be leading a pro-active Lead Poisoning
Prevention Program working in partnership with the City of
Utica
’s Departments of Urban and Economic Development and Codes Enforcement,
the Safe Housing Coalition of Central New York and St. Elizabeth’s
Healthcare.
Fighting
homelessness: “In the coming year,
Oneida
County
will make aggressive steps in our 10-year plan to reduce chronic
homelessness,” Picente said. “This is a
very real and serious problem that requires long-term partnerships to
develop solutions that can help men and women who, for whatever
circumstances, are left homeless in our communities. We
need to look at chronic homelessness as part of a broader spectrum of issues
that include substance abuse, mental health issues, education, employment
and issues such as domestic violence and post-traumatic stress. I have asked
MVCC
President Randy Van Wagoner to lead a committee of partners to address this
vital issue.”
Agribusiness
/ rural communities: “Agriculture is
one of the mainstays of our economy, and also one of the most important
foundations of the rural way of life in so many of our towns and
villages,” Picente said, noting that in 2008, the county will assist
farmers in the Purchase of Development Rights process, so that it will
always remain a farm. Further, a
rural planning project will be started in partnership with Oneida County
Cooperative Extension to become a one-stop source for communities needing
state or federal grant funding to address critical issues.
Picente also promised to move forward on
critical issues that dominated 2007:
“In the coming
year, I will be working with the interagency group addressing the
Hinckley
water management issue so that we do not face – again – the same type of
emergency we faced last September. Although I am glad to see this group in
existence, I am also very concerned by the public position of the New York
State Canal Corp. that there was no real emergency last year. As the
official who had to declare the water emergency last year, I know that this
was a necessary and prudent step because the water supply for 135,000 people
had been put into jeopardy. I will remain vigilant and determined that the
interagency group develop real changes in communication and collaboration to
address this issue so that this does not happen again,” Picente said.
Picente
also promised continued opposition to the New York Regional Interconnect
power line project. “Let me sum up my position simply. We will continue to
fight this project in every way possible, and never give up fighting it no
matter how many times they try to change it. It has always been a bad
project. It will always be a bad project, and
Oneida
County
will not abandon its commitment to fight this on behalf of every community
it threatens. I don’t want to bury the lines; I want to bury the project
– once and for all.”
The
County
Executive
also stressed that the proposed state budget carries serious fiscal
consequences for
Oneida
County
. “In the proposed Executive Budget, cost shifting by the state could add
about $2 million in costs to
Oneida
County
,” Picente said. “The state is trying to dig itself out of a budget hole
by burying counties in a pile of higher taxes. Trickle down costs hitting
county governments adds to the local tax burden and is a step in the wrong
direction.”
Picente
offered two examples:
- The proposed state budget shifts
the full cost of juvenile detention onto counties, which will cost
Oneida
County
an additional $1 million.
- The proposed state budget also cuts
the state share of the Safety Net and Family Assistance programs by 2
percent, forcing counties to pay a higher share.
In speaking about the
Oneida Indian Nation’s land-in-trust case, Picente urged those in
attendance to speak out at a special public comment session planned for
Thursday, March 6, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Board of Legislators Chambers
in the
Oneida
County
Office
Building
. Although noting that official county action will come only after hearing
form residents, Picente offered his personal perspective on the issue. “I
have made no secret of my belief that the only real end to 34 years of
inconclusive and costly litigation is to negotiate a settlement that will
develop creative, innovative and long-term partnerships to grow jobs,
provide necessary regulatory oversight, protect property owners, and develop
a revenue stream to support essential services,” Picente said. “I have
been criticized by many for not immediately vowing to fight this pending
decision. I have been told that
because I do not live in the affected towns that I do not understand the
impact or have the ability to negotiate.
To those I say that before I took office there was no meaningful
dialogue between the County and the
Oneidas
. While I do not know if this
dialogue will lead to a resolve, I believe I owe it to the people of this
entire County to try something prior to another legal challenge.
For 34 years only one group has prospered, attorneys.
… Should a legal
challenge ensue, we need to be clear on what we seek as an alternative and
need to be unified in such a challenge.
Ultimately the Board of Legislators and myself will decide our
action, I only hope it is the right one.”
Picente
cautioned against hoping for quick fixes to complex problems. “Big
problems – water management, airport redevelopment, sanitary sewer system
renovations – require a long-term planning approach that is comprehensive,
because when we act on these issues, we change the face of the region for
generations to come. I accept the role of
County
Government
to serve as the leader to solve complex problems too big for any one
community, but I also understand the need for collaboration to help unite
our region behind solutions so that we can move forward to act when action
is needed.”
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