DRI Local Planning Committee Reviews Decisions Moving Forward

by Kassadee Bradshaw | December 20, 2019 12:51 pm

FULTON – The Local Planning Committee met yesterday, Wednesday, Dec. 19, to discuss the work groups members had been assigned to and to review the timeline and decisions so far regarding the Downtown Revitalization Initiative[1]. 

Sarah Oral, part of the Cameron Engineering consultant team, led the discussion and reviewed the finalized goals and strategies the LPC decided on between last month’s meeting[2] and a survey.

“These are important because we are getting around time when you are going to start looking at the different projects,” Oral said. “And one of the things you need to keep in the forefront of your mind, ‘Does this project I’m looking at meet the goals that the LPC has come up with? Does this project meet one or more of the strategies?’”

Goal: Make Fulton a place where people choose to live, work and play. 

Strategies: 

• Create housing choices that will encourage creative entrepreneurs, young professionals, and entry-level workers to invest and live in Fulton.
• Fill and redevelop Fulton’s vacant commercial space. 
• Expand arts, education, recreation, sports and historical preservation offerings.
• Create gathering places to support more interaction between residents.
• Enhance the downtown’s aesthetics and infrastructure to attract visitors. 
• Make Route 481 more walkable and bike-able. 

Goal: Stimulate job growth and retention. 

Strategies:

• Support legacy manufacturing and established economic sectors, such as the healthcare industry. 
• Support workforce development and high-tech job training. 
• Support recruitment of high quality professionals. 
• Support local entrepreneurship.
• Increase business investment. 

Goal: Upgrade downtown infrastructure to integrate 21st century technology.

Strategies:

• Provide broadband and high speed wifi to support existing and new businesses. 
• Increase bandwidth availability to local businesses.
• Incorporate technology solutions that support city pedestrians, handicap users and bicyclists. 

Goal: Enhance the waterfront to increase visitors and boaters.

Strategies:

• Attract more outdoor community events in the downtown and along the waterfront. 
• Increase development between the Oneida and Broadway bridges. 
• Create connections between the Route 481 corridor and the downtown and waterfront areas by incorporating wayfinding signage and aesthetic improvements. 
• Complete the trail network along the waterfront. 
• Enhance the visibility of the waterfront. 
• Provide greater accessibility and increase lighting to create a safe and welcoming environment. 

Oral then gave an update on the proposed projects. Some projects had been rescinded by the organization or business it was submitted by. 

At this point the proposed projects consist of 22 private, 4 non-profit and 9 municipal. The total combined project costs for the private projects are $11,833,650. The requested DRI funding for all private projects is $3,012,895. 

“These are not final numbers,” Oral said. “Some of these projects have not turned in updated project profiles to me, and the information is based on that which was provided in the original DRI application.”

The total combined project costs for the non-profit projects are $8,215,375. The requested DRI funding for all non-profit projects is $1,979,300. These numbers can change depending on which of the two projects Oswego Health is decided on. The numbers take the lower cost project in consideration.

The total combined project costs for the municipal projects are $23,840,420. The requested DRI funding for all municipal projects is $9,260,000. 

“There are nine here. I know there is going to be a tenth added,” Oral said. “Projects are getting refined right now.”

All together, the total cost for all submitted projects is $43,889,445, and the total amount of DRI funding requested is $14,252,195. The LPC has $9.7 million to work with ($300,000 automatically is taken out for consultations.) 

The subcommittee work groups were announced during the meeting as well. 

Private projects group 1:

• Katie Toomey – Executive Director of Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce
• Kim Doyle – Small Business Owner of Hair We Are
• Mike Treadwell – Co-Chair, REDC appointee – Executive Director Operation Oswego County, Inc.
• Linda Eagan – Administrative Director of Fulton Block Builders
• Mark Southwick – Plant Manager of Huhtamaki

Private projects group 2:

• Brian Pulvino – Superintendent of Fulton Central School District
• David Mankiewicz – SVP Research, Policy and Planning, CenterState CEO
• David Turner – Director of Oswego County Community Development Tourism and Planning
• Leah Haggerty – Broker and Owner of Century 21 Leah’s Signature
• Tina Stephens – VP and Branch Manager of Community Bank in Fulton
• Nancy Weber – Oswego County Farm Bureau

Non-profit projects group:

• Brian Durant – President of Cayuga Community College
• Caroline Chatterton – Executive Director of Fulton Library
• Jeff Coakley –  Executive VP and COO of Oswego H
• Kristen Collins – Senior Project Architect with C&S Companies
• Marie Mankiewicz – City Resident and Volunteer Fulton Footpaths

Municipal projects group:

• Brittney Jerred – City Resident and Volunteer Fulton Footpaths
• Deana Michaels – Fulton Mayor Elect
• Don Patrick Jr. – Co-Chair, Mayoral Designee – President of Fulton Common Council
• Jim Farfaglia – City Resident, Writer and Historian
• Nancy Fox – Executive Director of CNY Arts Center, Inc.

These subcommittees will meet outside the LPC meetings to discuss the projects designated to their work group. Each member will review all projects and then make a decision on which project slate to bring to the LPC to vote on. 

LPC committee members are not allowed to review a project they have ties to for reasons of bias. They are also not allowed to reach out to projects they are reviewing for further information, but should rather go through Oral to ask instead. 

Much of the meeting consisted of discussion as to which selection criteria and the precise wording of it. The finalized version of that criteria will be made available at another meeting. 

This criteria will be what the members will use as a reference when deciding on which projects to approve. This is seperate from the state’s criteria (the state has the final say in which projects will be approved and for how much funding.) 

The next public outreach meeting will be held Thursday, Jan. 9 from 6 to 8 p.m. (snow date will be Jan. 16, same time) in the community room of the municipal building, 141 S. First St., Fulton NY 13069. The community is invited to share their input and vote on their favorite projects. 

A full schedule for the LPC meetings can be found here[3].

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/fulton/dri-local-planning-committee-reviews-decisions-moving-forward/

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