City panel works to ban marijuana from no-smoking areas

Nov. 9—The Oneonta Common Council Legislative and Finance and Human Resources committees met Monday Nov. 8 and discussed the city's smoking policy and a way for the city to earn funds through fees paid by college students.

With the state Legislature legalizing recreational marijuana this year, the city's Legislative Committee agreed to revise the city's no-smoking policy to include a ban on cannabis smoking and vaping everywhere that tobacco use is already prohibited.

Oneonta does not allow smoking, vaping or the use of any tobacco products at city parks or in city buildings or vehicles. Nicotine gum and patches are allowed.

"I'm super anti-tobacco," said Council Member Kaytee Lapari Shue, D-Fourth Ward. "I encourage any who smokes to quit. I support adding cannabis to this policy."

Her fellow council members, Luke Murphy, D-First Ward; David Rissberger, D-Third Ward; and committee Chairman John Rafter, D-Seventh Ward, agreed to add cannabis to the smoking ban, and Murphy said he would draft the legislation.

Council members also discussed banning both cannabis and tobacco smoking on Main Street. They decided to poll business owners on Main Street to see if they were in favor or opposed to a smoking ban.

During the Finance Committee meeting, council members heard a report from Larry Malone, an economics professor at Hartwick College and former council member. He talked about his 2015 paper on a way small cities with colleges could increase their revenue by implementing a yearly $100 fee to students attending college. The report looked at Oneonta, Cortland, Elmira, Geneva, Oswego and Plattsburgh, all cities with a population of 30,000 or less and with at least one college.

Malone explained the students are counted in the U.S. Census as residents of the city, but they don't help pay for the public safety services they may use during the nine months they live here.

He reported that in 2015, 53% of Oneonta's population was college students, and the public safety portion of Oneonta's budget was 44%, and argued that the public safety services are more costly than they would be if the students weren't living in Oneonta.

"They're treated as primary residents and are entitled to register to vote, but they don't pay for the services they may need," he said. "They're free riders on public safety."

Malone's solution was to get the State University of New York to impose a $100 fee on each student that would then go to the city or town for public safety. He said cities could also try to get private colleges to agree to impose the same fee. His report showed Oneonta would receive more than $700,000 if the fee was imposed at SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College.

Malone said he presented his report to the New York Conference of Mayors, who liked the idea. He also presented his idea to then-Sen. James Seward, who drafted a bill to help municipalities that house SUNY colleges, but the bill did not make it out of committee. Mayor Gary Herzig said Seward was able to get $200,000 in member-item funding for Oneonta and Cortland for three years. Herzig said he would present the proposal at the NYCOM in December.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221. Follow her @DS_VickyK on Twitter.