To allow the demolition of the shuttered municipal parking garage on Market Street, the Oneonta Common Council voted Tuesday, Aug. 15, against paying New York State Electric and Gas to temporarily relocate the electric distribution infrastructure.
The state Department of State Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant would have funded $95,737, or up to $110,000.
Council members Len Carson, R-Fifth Ward, Scott Harrington, R-Sixth Ward, and Kaytee Lipari Shue, D-Fourth Ward, voted against the motion in both rounds of voting. Council member Emily Falco, D-Eighth Ward, was not present.
As a result of the council’s vote against moving NYSEG equipment, the garage demolition has been put on hold, according to City Administrator Greg Mattice.
After the June 15 special council meeting, Carson initially opposed moving forward with the agreement with NYSEG because he believed there was a discrepancy between the motion and the minutes.
Representatives from consulting firm Wendel Companies presented a $30 million conceptual plan to the council on June 15 that included replacing the parking garage and creating a transit hub.
Carson said Wednesday that they thought the council voted to demolish the parking garage, but he believes they actually voted on a SEQR, or a State Environmental Quality Review, which is pronounced “seeker,” and bid to do the demolition work without authorizing it.
A video recording of the June 15 meeting shows that the council unanimously approved a resolution to determine that the project did not need further environmental review since the property will remain a parking lot.
Mattice said “demolition is the next step” when discussing the motion to authorize demolition.
In order to proceed with this project, we will have to put it out to bid, issue a contract, make a motion to award the contract, and set up a budget.
A few minutes later, City Clerk Kerri Harrington read the motion.
The Common Council should authorize the demolition of the municipal parking garage and direct city staff to finalize the design and bid documents as soon as possible.
Moreover, Mattice clarified that the motion was not about authorizing a replacement garage or going with a parking lot, but bidding for garage demolition and the “ancillary work” necessary for a secure site.
Harrington voted no to the motion. John Rafter, D-Seventh Ward, had resigned and a new council member had not yet been appointed.
Additionally, Carson said the city should seek a second opinion from a different engineering firm on the condition of the garage and the cost of various options.
In a letter, former mayor Gary Herzig urged the council to get a second opinion, and consulting firm Wendel provided three reports stating that the garage was “good to go” before submitting a one-page letter stating that it had to be demolished.
In addition, he said he was unaware that Wendel had issued a full engineering report before Tuesday.
I’m not in favor of demolish the garage until we know for sure, by a second opinion, that it actually does need to be demolished. “If we go down the road of building a parking garage for tens of millions of dollars, we’re asking taxpayers to bear that burden.”
The June 15 vote to demolish the parking garage wasn’t Carson’s recollection that swayed Harrington and Lipari Shue.
As well as the total cost of relocating the NYSEG electric distribution infrastructure, their concerns were the city’s concurrent pursuit of demolishing the nearby derelict building at 27 Market St.
In response to Lipari Shue’s question, the city intends to demolish both buildings simultaneously.
According to Mattice, 27 Market St. would be demolished in two to three months, and the garage would be demolished during the winter.
Lipari Shue says the timeline is the biggest concern. “Since [the demolition of 27 Market St.] needs to be done before NYSEG can start, I just don’t see the need for the project to proceed at this time.”
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