In a Common Council meeting, Mayor Billy Barlow’s proposal to increase the rental permit fee was approved; after a 5-1- 1 voting result.

Mayor Billy Barlow says the proposal will make the “landlords accountable and pressure them into maintaining their property and treating their tenants fairly.”

According to the proposal, the new fee is $150 dollars for a three year period, which is five times more expense than the current $30 fee. This new fee will become effective as of October 1st.

The last time the fee was increased was back in August 22nd, 2005.

The Mayor says they will be adding a new code enforcer next year; saying that with all of the new expenses and upgrades in the code enforcement department; he believes that it will improve the department and the inspection process.

Some property owners in Oswego have spoken out against the new proposal, saying it would have made more sense if the penalties for landlords that were in violation of the city code; were increased.

Mayor Barlow says there will be more amendments added to the city charter regarding code enforcement. He says this proposal is only the beginning of his campaign to crack down against negligent landlords.

By Amada Caba

OSWEGO, N.Y.–  Family and friends weekend gave a new luxury apartment community the chance to find future residents. Students, their families, and friends enjoyed activities, prizes and food at the Lakeside Commons first open house.

The open house included tours of the clubhouse which will be the 24 hour central hub of the community. The clubhouse includes a fireplace lounge and a fitness center on the first floor. On the second floor students can use the game room with a large screen TV, arcade games, table tennis, and shuffleboard. Directly across from the game room is the genius lab which is a study center with computers, free printing, and private study and conference rooms.

Although the 84 units are not completed, a model unit was available to look at. All apartments will have a fully furnished living room and modern kitchens. Unlike other housing options, students who live in the Lakeside Commons will have their own private bathroom. The apartments feature two, four or six rooms and range between $810-$855 per room depending on size and add-ons. For example, students would have to pay an additional ten dollars a month if they want a bathroom with a tub instead of a stand in shower.

“We should be done with construction by next June or July,” said leasing manager Caulin Price. “I’m very excited, it’s good to get things under way here.”

Their guaranteed move in date is August 25, 2018.
Anyone looking for tours, more information, or interested in leasing can contact their office  at  (315)-947-0095 ​or email lakeside@ndgliving.com.

by Stefanie Sciolaro, WTOP10-TV

The Student Association held their weekly Senate meeting Tuesday evening on October 18, the date also marked the 52nd legislation session. Once roll call was taken, quorum fulfilled, and all agendas and minutes were approved, the meeting commenced. The agenda included some guest speakers to the Senate this week, along with a few words from President Emily Nassir, and some updates on various items for SUNY Oswego. 

Two guests consisted of Student Affairs Vice President Kathleen Evans and Michael Flaherty from Auxiliary Services, who discussed the topic of student travel needs. They explained the present transportation methods available to students, and pitched their new ideas on how to improve these options in the future. Kathleen Evans began the presentation by explaining the recent changes to transportation options that have already been enacted for the 2016-17 academic year. All changes, updates, and additional information to public transportation for this year can be found within the Student Travel Guide Pamphlets available at the Marano Campus Center Help Desk or for the most up to date schedules visit http://www.centro.org/colleges/suny-oswego.

After discussing recent changes, Michael Flaherty took over to pitch new ideas on how to better fulfill transportation needs on campus while saving money. He explained that some of the transportation options are barely used and are costing substantial amounts. In order to save money, concentration on only means that students tend to use the most should be enacted. This saved money could be used to enhance van transportation and fund a direct bus route to NYC for students for the end of both Fall and Spring semesters. He says that by utilizing the van shuttles for breaks and only running the Sunday Late Service during peak travel times in the year, it would help offset the overall costs the school pays for travel. Two running times, instead of one, were proposed for the Sunday Late Services during peak travel times: Leaving NYC at 2:00pm, arriving in Oswego by 8:45pm, and leaving NYC at 6:00pm, arriving in Oswego  by 12:15.

At this point feedback, comments, and questions were opened up to be voiced by the Senate. The issue of the current amount of training sessions available for students to be certified to drive the vans was raised. The concern was that there are not enough opportunities for students to acquire this certification. It is required that all students who drive the vans, which are predominantly student driven, have their van certification. If you have this certification, an email is sent out when van drivers are needed and students are paid for their driving services. As of right now, training sessions are only held if the class is full, if you are interested in acquiring your van driving certification contact the Student Affairs Vice President Kathleen Evans. 

The Senate also brought up the question of where exactly the College Express Service stops within NY, NYC, NJ, and Long Island are and the efficiency of the service as a whole. One Senator voiced that she has ridden the service before and stops were no where near her home town. Making these stops in more areas would convenience students and possibly up the amount of students who ride with the service. In regards to safety and efficiency, another Senator said “ Students wouldn’t mind paying that price if they’re getting good service… I never really feel safe on the bus”. The possible partnering of transportation services with the D- Bus was also brought up as an alternative option of transportation. The D-Buses assists student, predominantly during the weekends, in local transportation. These buses are not utilized as much during the week days, therefore, it would be a great option as far as an additional regular form of transportation is concerned. The guest speakers took all of this feedback into account and specified that they would look into the idea of partnering with the D-bus, explore more direct routes for the College Express Service, and address all comments and concerns as far as transportation needs, safety, or efficiency. If you have any feedback, comments, or concerns in regards to traveling options offered by SUNY Oswego or are interested in taking a van training certification class, please contact Kathleen Evans at kathleen.evans@oswego.edu or Michael Flaherty at michael.flaherty@oswego.edu.

The Director and Assistant Director of SAPB, then, came up to discuss and advertise their need for extra hands from 4pm to 9:30ish during the upcoming Spooktacular Casino Costume Party. The Senate brought up the question of if one were to help work the event, if it could fulfill the GST community service requirement. The Assistant Director stated that it may be a possibility but she was unsure and would look into it for students. At the event there will be prizes handed out, music, food, a gift card given to the best costume, and much more. If anyone is interest in helping set up for the event, or interested in going but have further questions please contact SAPB at sapb@oswego.edu. 

Later on, President Emily Nassir spoke in regards to Executive Reports. She confirmed dates and focuses for upcoming meetings: faculty assembly, Presidents Council, etc., and spoke in regards to electing the Constitution this year. Results will be available Friday. She stated that November 11th will be the Veterans Open House and November 17 will be the 1,000 Words Event. On the topic of OzFest, there will be a new way set up this year in order to gain insight directly from the students about what they’d like their experience to be. Instead of only having the online survey, that includes what artists students wish to have come, the theme of Senate on Tuesday will be to physical gain insight into what students want: what artists, food, overall experience, etc.

 After the President spoke, Matthew Peters, the Director of Finance, briefly stated that all is well and normal as far as finances is concerned. WTOP10 has received all of the bought materials for the studio’s upgrades. The main focus as of right now is finalizing the audit for the year.

To close all important information for Tuesdays meetings, the President Chief of Staff announced that the final Homecoming Meeting was held and the schedule of events has been almost completely, if not so already, finalized. The events sheet scheduling was discussed and will be released soon. The theme days were also discussed: Monday, Tuesday, and Friday have been confirmed but Wednesday and Thursday had still been up in the air. Themes for those days were voted on during the meeting and will be enacted accordingly. The list of Monday-Fridays Themed Day’s will be distributed throughout campus shortly.

 On that note, the meeting was coming to a close as Vice President Dalton Flint confirmed that from now on the Student Association meetings of the Senate will commence at its regular time, 6:00pm, and regular place, Lanigan 105, as there has been some previous issues in scheduling meetings. With that he took a final roll call and the meeting came to a close for this week.