ONEIDA — That’s a wrap on Oneida’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) meetings, for now.

Officials held their final public information meeting on Wednesday, presenting the 11 projects the Local Planning Committee (LPC) recommends to receive a chunk of the nearly $10 million awarded to the city in state funding.

These projects will be included in the Strategic Investment Plan (SPI) that, once submitted to the state at the end of the month, will conclude the LPC’s role in the DRI process. The state is expected to announce its decision as to which projects get funding and how much by sometime in the fall.

Projects include:

• Construct Higinbotham Park Performance Pavilion and Visitor’s Kiosk
• Develop a Downtown Business Assistance Fund
• Develop Area Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) Soccer Fields
• Establish a Form-Based Zoning Overlay District
• Improve Downtown Infrastructure and Streetscaping
• Redevelop Dispatch Commons
• Redevelop the Lerman Building for Commercial and Residential Uses
• Reimagine the Vacant Hotel Oneida as a Multifunctional Event Space
• Repair and Upgrade the Historic Kallet Theater
• Restore and Upgrade the Historic Devereaux Building
• Upgrade facilities at Veteran’s Memorial Park

“The LPC has done a lot of work,” stated Sarah Oral, project consultant who worked with the LPC since their first official meeting on February 17, 2022. The group — consisting of local stakeholders, business owners, organizational representatives, elected officials, and overall citizens with passion for the City of Oneida — has shown great dedication to making the once “bustling” city a better place, officials have said.

“You [volunteer] because you love it, or because it makes you feel like you’re somehow supporting what you think is important,” said Barbara Henderson, Oneida’s community development assistant working alongside the LPC to develop municipal project profiles.

She speculated that collectively, hundreds of volunteer hours were put into this initiative. Besides the six public meetings – often up to two hours long late in the evening— attended by LPC members, much time was spent behind the scenes deliberating proposals and honing in on their vision for a future Oneida.

In addition, many of those on the LPC were involved in preceding efforts to apply for the state grant fund in the first place, Henderson said. “I think it was a really good mix of people from the community [in the LPC]. Different places, different priorities, different interests, ideas. And I think they worked really really well together.”

She continued, “The best thing about this is that there are so many people who really care about this community and are willing to spend the time and effort.”

LPC co-chair Oneida Mayor Helen Acker agreed, lending praise also to the public input received since the beginning.

She still remembers what it felt like to know Oneida finally landed the DRI grant money — something the city had been vying for since applying to the program previously in 2019, to no avail.

“I was floating for months. I was just floating off the floor when we were awarded the grant money and knew that it was going to be something so exciting for Oneida. This is a big shot in the arm and to move into our future. I’m still coming down to Earth on it,” she reflected.

All the information presented at Wednesday’s meeting, including full project profiles along with renderings, is available online for the public to review at OneidaDRI.com. Public comment is still welcome for the LPC’s consideration until Sunday, July 24, and can be submitted through the website.