Write a commentOswego Mayor Robert Corradino gave his first State of the City address on Monday evening at City Hall. The Mayor delivered his address prior to the regularly scheduled meeting of the Common Council.
The Mayor, who took office on January 1, began by saying, "The City of Oswego has faced many challenges, but has seen great progress in recent years. I can say that Oswego is going in the right direction, and the state of the City is strong!"
Mayor Corradino then gave credit to his predecessor, former Mayor Billy Barlow and the past members of the Council, thanking them for serving the City so ably.
He then spoke of the completion of the final project of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, the Splash Indoor Water Park. The Mayor said that the City was awarded the $10 million incentive package in 2016, and he said, "Of the many cities throughout New York that have received DRI grants, Oswego is the first, and so far only, city to complete all of its proposed projects."
"Other projects that were completed in the past year were the Cahill Waterfront Pier and new City parks at Sheldon Beach and Rotary Park Playground on East 1st Street," Corradino said. "We also saw new businesses come to town like the Splash Car Wash on Route 104 and Texas Roadhouse and the Hobby Lobby store that is currently under construction."
He also touted the formation of an advisory committee involving the City and the Port of Oswego, the purchase of a new drone system, and said that the City passed its seventh consecutive budget with no tax increase.
The Mayor broke down the remainder of his speech by addressing four distinct areas, with infrastructure being the first. He called infrastructure "...the backbone of the City."
"The City's Water Treatment facility and both Sewage Treatment facilities will be undergoing major upgrades," he said, "and we have entered into a $25.6 million energy audit with Siemens which will include renovations at the City-owned High Dam generating facility on the Oswego River." He continued, "This will enable future Oswegonians to generate revenue from the production and sale of electricity."
The City is also in the process of purchasing the former Shapiro Motors property on West 1st Street. "Our intention is to build a new public safety center in that location," the Mayor said. "Our Police Department has outgrown the building it currently occupies."
He also said that the new center would include Community Rooms where residents can gather for meetings and other events.
Also on West 1st Street, the City has obtained a $2.5 million grant to redevelop the Route 48 entry corridor to the city. He said, "Part of the grant is that the entire roadway between Ellen and West Utica Streets will be replaced, and this is in addition to $1 million in regularly scheduled street paving."
Moving on to Economic Development, the Mayor said that the City has hired a grant writer for the Office of Community Development. "Much of the work that has been performed in Oswego in recent years is due to the searching out of grant money," he said. "There is grant money available, and we need to go after it."
Corradino then detailed the near-completion of a complete revaluation of the city's tax base. "A re-assessment of the City's nearly seven thousand properties is just about complete," he said. "The last time this was done was almost twenty five years ago."
The Mayor also said that the assessed value of all the properties in the City is approximately $1.35 billion, but that $450 million of them were tax exempt for various reasons.
He said that the company contracted for the project will be sending a mailer to property owners by March 1 to help clarify the revaluation, and that a public meeting would also be conducted.
"Public Safety is another vital area I want to address," the Mayor said. "Our Police and Fire Departments are very important components of our community."
The Mayor touted the City's state-of-the-art rapid-deployment drone system that will aid both agencies in life-saving situations. "Drones have become an essential tool for both Police and Fire," he said.
The recent announcement was made that a mental health counselor will be working with the Police Department to aid them in situations where a counselor would be beneficial, such as contacting the growing homeless population.
Corradino said, "Homelessness is a problem for most cities, but we in Oswego will not ignore it any longer." He said that the City will continue to work with County, State and Federal agencies as well as private groups to aid the homeless population.
The final area the Mayor touched on was tourism. "Tourism is becoming a larger part of the Oswego economy, and we need to promote that," he said.
One of the steps taken is the re-establishment of the City of Oswego Facebook page, operated by the Community Development office. "This page will be used to promote our services, and our community," Corradino said. "We fund a significant number of family-oriented events throughout the year, and the City of Oswego page is where you'll be able to find out about them."
He went on to list many of the upcoming events, highlighted by an Eclipse Block Party on West 1st Street on Sunday, April 7 and an Eclipse Viewing event at Breitbeck Park on Monday, April 8. "The summer concerts at the Veterans Stage and Market Street Square, as well as the Sunset Concerts at Breitbeck will all return in 2024," the Mayor said.
He also mentioned that the City is planning to erect a building on the newly-revitalized Cahill Pier that will house a proposed restaurant to allow for sunset dining. He said that they're looking for grant funding to help offset some development costs.
The Mayor went on to thank the City's dedicated workforce. "Without them, all of the progress we've seen wouldn't be happening," he said. "We still have more work to accomplish, though. With the opportunities presented by the proposed Micron plant only 35 miles away, we're in a great position to benefit from what it brings to the area."
Mayor Corradino concluded, "There is still much left to do, but as I said in the beginning we can get it done by working together as one city and one community. The state of the City of Oswego is strong, and I look forward to what the coming year will bring."
