ONONDAGA COUNTY 

RECOVERY PLAN

State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds 2021 Report
IN THIS REPORT

General Overview

Letter From County Executive J. Ryan McMahon, II

Executive Summary

Uses of Funds

Promoting Equitable Outcomes

Community Engagement

Labor Practices

Use of Evidence

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category

Project Inventory

Example Project

Additional Projects

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August 31, 2021

To Our Federal Government Partners:

The last eighteen months have been challenging. Our community started 2020 experiencing undeniable growth 

and momentum in nearly every sector of our economy. The rest of the country was finally recognizing what we 

had known all along – Central New York is a great place to live, work and raise a family. 

Then, just like every other community across the world, we were struck by COVID-19. It paralyzed our 

economy as we were forced to shut down so we could starve, and ultimately defeat, this virus. Our community 

answered the call with over 70% of those eligible to be vaccinated having already received their first dose. We 

undoubtedly still have work to do, but we are resilient and determined to regain our lives and do so in a safe, 

healthy and responsible manner. 

Critical to that effort are the American Rescue Plan funds approved by Congress and signed into law by the 

President. We will use these funds to build off the foundation we established prior to the pandemic and ensure 

that every member of community, no matter their race, gender, ethnicity or neighborhood they call home, has an 

equal and fair chance to recover and grow. These funds will be invested in our infrastructure, our economy and 

our future, but more important than of those things, these funds will be invested in our people. We know that 

our greatest asset, our greatest tool for experiencing a full, thriving and inclusive economy recovery is by 

investing the people who call Onondaga County home. 

The Central New York community has risen to the occasion time and time again through the last eighteen month 

and we have banded together in a way that only Central New Yorkers know how. We will continue to prove 

every day that we can live our lives, go to work, shop and even travel in a way that is safe, healthy and 

beneficial to our economy. The funds, and the subsequent plan laid out in the plan submitted, will ensure that 

our community enjoys growth and success for years to come.

Thank you for your trust, faith and commitment in the people of Onondaga County.

Sincerely,

J. Ryan McMahon, II

Onondaga County Executive
General Overview

Executive Summary

Onondaga County faced challenges like no other time in our history due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Prior to the pandemic, Onondaga County enjoyed a thriving economy with multiple new economic 

development projects, record sales tax and historic job creation. A renewed focus was placed on 

reclaiming and revitalizing our urban lakefront and progress continued to be made that brought 

both large and small economic development projects to our towns and villages. Onondaga County 

also made a commitment to invest in our aging infrastructure, above and below ground. However, 

when COVID-19 struck the health and safety of our community became the only priority.

Like all other counties across the country, COVID-19 caused devastating effects to our community. 

Not only did our economy suffer, but we also saw the physical and mental health of our community 

challenged and even as we work towards our economic recovery, we continue to see those challenges 

play out nearly every day. Drastic measures were taken early on to preserve County government 

including deep cuts to our budget and programming. We then reallocated remaining resources to 

not only keep County government functioning and providing the services our community needed 

more than ever, but also contend with new challenges caused by the pandemic. Like no other time in 

modern history, our residents grappled with food insecurity, loss of jobs, lack of available childcare 

and mental health issues. Thankfully, through quick decisions and the flexibility of our team, we 

were able to mitigate losses, assist our most vulnerable and provide desperately needed services to 

our affected residents.

With the announcement of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding, our team began to focus 

on how we would address our long-term financial and social service needs. Our team looked to 

our departments for meaningful projects that would address our economic losses, invest in our 

infrastructure and support our human service needs. We remain confident that by investing in our 

people, our neighborhoods and our future that we can ensure that all of our community, no matter 

their race, sex, neighborhood, or socio-economic status, can have a fair shot at an inclusive recovery. 

To that end, we put together a comprehensive plan that incorporated our core platforms to address 

the areas of Poverty, Infrastructure and Economic Development.
General Overview

Poverty

Onondaga County’s mission has always been to make poverty a temporary moment in time for 

someone. We know that to be successful, the county needs to implement a community-wide approach 

to address the complex, multi generational issues that exist and cause individuals and families to 

live in poverty. During this pandemic, we saw our residents affected in ways we could have never 

imaged. This plan works to address not only those issues revealed by the pandemic, but the root 

issues that have caused too many of our neighbors to live in poverty.

As Covid-19 invaded our community, food insecurity, education, daycare, and transportation 

immediately became issues that required quick and decisive action. Our not-for profits often lacked 

the necessary funding to deal with the one-hundred-year pandemic, but nonetheless we saw their 

respective teams work tirelessly to ensure our most vulnerable residents had the support and 

services they needed.

When in-person education was suspended, it forced our community to acknowledge the digital 

divide. Too many of our residents either had no access or insufficient access to broadband in 

their homes. Many families lacked basic, reliable internet; something that too many of us take for 

granted. Combined with social isolation, our community also saw many children and families began 

to experience serious mental health issues.

To address these concerns, we have worked with our partner at the Central New York Regional 

Planning Board to develop a bold plan that invests $15 million into our broadband initiative. Our goal 

is to not just address the digital divide in our neighborhoods, but ensure that all of our residents, 

in every part of our community, have equal and reliable access to this basic need. We have already 

completed the needs assessment and will continue to work in partnership with the Central New York 

Regional Planning board to formulate our next steps.

To address the growing mental health crisis with our children, Onondaga County is making a 

substantial investment of $5.5 million to make sure that mental health services will be available in 

every school, of every school district, across the county. This 3 tier approach will address prevention, 

early intervention and intensive intervention for students and their families. This program will begin 

at the start of the 2021-2022 school year and will be done in partnership with Promise Zone, Liberty 

Resources and Helio Health.

The impact of the pandemic and the economic downturn also resulted in a major impact on our 

homeowners. Whether it be job loss, missed time due to COVID or other extenuating circumstances 

meant money that would have been used to maintain a home was diverted for other more pressing 

needs. Within this plan, the County will invest in our community housing need with $5 million in 

additional funds to the Onondaga County Neighborhood Initiative. This loan program, offers 

homeowners a 1% loan that can be used to assist Onondaga County homeowners in targeted 
General Overview

Infrastructure

Fixing our infrastructure, both above and below ground, is critical to ensuring future economic 

growth in our community. Throughout the pandemic we worked diligently to maintain our aging 

infrastructure. Unfortunately, outdated equipment and an overextended staff limited our ability to 

keep up on projects. Therefore, we will use part of the ARP funding to update our aging infrastructure, 

update our outdated equipment and enable our county departments to work more efficiently while 

modernizing our buildings and making our roadways and bridges safer.

The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a significant increase in visitors to our Onondaga County Parks 

system. In order to keep up with the level of service needed and to increase efficiencies, we approved 

replacing outdated parks equipment. This will not only assist our staff to make their jobs more 

efficient, it will improve our parks for all the new visitors that are driving our rebounding tourism 

sector.

We have also identified a robust infrastructure improvement program that invests in our roads and 

bridges. Through these funds, the Onondaga County Department of Transportation will pave over 

200 miles of roads across Onondaga County and replace outdated or inefficient equipment. To date 

we have already completed pavement of over 50 miles of roadways.

Onondaga County will also make a substantial investment in the capital infrastructure of our local 

municipalities. The County will spend $2 million for the construction, renovation or repair of town 

and village municipal projects. During the pandemic, municipalities realized the need to enhance 

and improve community indoor space, the increased need for more outdoor activity space, as well 

as general infrastructure and maintenance needs.

Through our Main Street Revitalization and Beautification Grant Program, we will award our local 

municipalities up to $500,000 to improve their main street areas for local revitalization efforts with 

the goal of growing their respective retail business districts.

We will also make investments in restoring the historic Carnegie building located in downtown 

Syracuse. This project will relocate several departments to this building in an effort to serve as a 

one-stop shop for developers and others seeking to do business in Onondaga County. This plan will 

also include consolidating county departments and free up space in the Civic Center office building 

to allow for other county departments to operate more efficiently.

communities to make repairs that keep their homes healthy and safe, while preserving the equity 

they have built to their residences.

We will also work to assist our homeless population by embarking on a $2 million investment, in 

partnership with Catholic Charities, to provide a newly renovated men’s homeless shelter in the 

City of Syracuse. In addition to the 100 beds for homeless men, this new shelter will also provide 

expanded services including mental health services and a health clinic on site.
We will also continue the work started pre-pandemic and build on the momentum we are experiencing 

around our urban lakefront. To make this a reality, we will work to complete the East shore of our 

award winning Loop the Lake trail. The Loop the lake trail has been one of the greatest success 

stories in our revival of Onondaga Lake. After almost 100 years, and as the result of an amazing 

public-private partnership with Honeywell, the public now has nearly 100% access to the shore of 

Onondaga Lake.

The County will also make investments in our infrastructure technology (IT) infrastructure. 

Cybersecurity is a top priority for businesses due to recent security breaches across the world. 

Onondaga County will be making a significant investment to ensure our data is safe and secure.

General Overview

Economic Development

Finally, we will work to bring back a vibrant economy that provides opportunity to everyone and 

especially engages the part of community that were particularly hard hit by the pandemic. As 

mentioned previously, prior to the virus invading of our community, Onondaga County was thriving. 

Now, as we work to revitalize our economy, we will once again concentrate on those projects that 

were forced to sideline due to the pandemic. We are in the process of developing shovel ready 

development sites while also actively seeking a variety of events, conferences and conventions that 

will bring tourism dollars back to our community. We will build transformational tourist attractions 

and increase investment in the marketing of our county including our award winning parks, worldclass event spaces, high-quality sports tourism facilities and our clean and safe waterways as reasons 

to visit or return to Onondaga County.

As part of our commitment to support the growth and development of the Central New York 

economy, Onondaga County will also invest in opportunities to further revitalize the our hospitality 

and tourism industries. To do so, we will be conducting a market feasibility study on the viability of a 

transformational tourism and economic development project to be located near our urban lakefront 

area. This pending study will be the first step of the development process that will provide critical 

guidance for design, construction and operations of this project.

Onondaga County also intends to build upon our strong athletic history with the development of 

a multi-sports athletic facility to support our growing sports tourism market. This game changing 

project will entail the development of lacrosse and soccer fields with high-class amenities. The County 

will invest approximately $25 million and create hundreds of construction jobs. Once fully developed, 

approximately 200 jobs are projected to be created. The project, at full build out, will result in the 

sale of over thirty-two thousand hotel rooms and create more than $35 million in economic output 

annually for our County.
General Overview

Prior to the pandemic, tourism was a critical part of our local economy. The pandemic caused a 

drastic and severe decrease in tourism and the lack of conferences and local events had a devastating 

impact on our sales tax collection. We will use ARP funds to engage our local partners to increase 

tourism and expand our reach to bring a variety of conventions and events in Onondaga County.

Onondaga County will also embark on a $5 million investment of the Onondaga County Convention 

Center. The plans call for the creation of new meeting spaces and to enhance the technology 

throughout the venue. These upgrades will allow for increased opportunities to attract conferences 

and meetings at this facility.

Recently, we launched the CNY Film Incentive Fund. This economic development initiative in 

collaboration with CNY Arts, aim is to stimulate the local economy, expand workforce opportunities, 

increase the capacity of our filmmaking expertise, and introduce film professionals to the many 

benefits of filming in Central New York. These funds will provide incentives for hiring of our 

undeserved communities, minorities and our veterans.

In order to remain competitive, Onondaga County has been working with the Onondaga County 

Industrial Development Agency on a revolving loan fund that will include site development incentives. 

These funds will be used to promote economic development in Onondaga County for commercial 

site preparation, research and development projects, and development of an agriculture park to 

promote our agriculture businesses. These funds will provide our county the ability to move quickly 

with those companies interested in doing business here.

As we look to the future, we know we have a once in a generation opportunity to do meaningful and 

transformational projects that will invest in our human capital as well as our physical capital including 

our aging infrastructure. We also have a once in a generation opportunity to secure monumental 

economic development opportunities that are inclusive of everyone. Our commitment could not be 

more clear – our plan is only successful if it engages all of our community, no matter their race, sex, 

zip code or socio-economic background that will allow for our County to see unprecedented growth 

for the years to come.
Uses of Funds

Onondaga County has put together a plan that focuses on addressing negative economic impacts, 

services to disproportionately impacted communities, broadband infrastructure and revenue 

replacement. Projects we have included here will support a strong equitable recovery from the 

pandemic, provide opportunities for all residents and address ways to recover from the dramatic 

Negative Economic Impacts

The Onondaga County Production Incentives for Movies and Entertainment Development (PRIMED) 

program is designed to incentivize professional filmmaking activity in Onondaga County for the purpose 

of economic development. This program will provide a monetary rebate on qualified expenses for 

productions that generate professional theatrical movies, television pilots, and high-end commercial 

filming activity in Onondaga County. Productions are anticipated to average between $600,000 to 

$3,000,000 in our locality through a typical 30-day production cycle for principal photography for 

each production. Most of the productions will bring highly sought out-of-state revenue to the region, 

generating new economic activity for our businesses and constituents. This vital source of economic 

activity will help keep our local artists, craftspeople, and industry professionals working when they 

are still severely underemployed or unemployed due to the pandemic.

PRIMED also provides additional financial incentives for hiring local residents from underserved 

communities, particularly minorities, as well as workforce development opportunities for college 

students and our region’s 30,000+ military veterans. At a time when many businesses are struggling 

to remain open, the revenue from film productions will give relief to local hotels, restaurants, craft 

services, home hardware centers, car rental companies, retail stores, and many other industryrelated service companies.

The projected impact for PRIMED comes from a similar state-funded grant that supported seven 

feature-length films through 2020. These films generated over 100,000 labor hours for Central 

New York residents and each production created, on average, 65 full-time-equivalent jobs for the 

productions locally. We anticipate the budgets of the productions will continue to get larger as 

on-location filming continues to grow in popularity due to New York’s competitive film tax credit 

program. This funding will help to generate the needed sources for new revenue for local businesses 

while also employing our local creatives, technicians, administrators, and other professionals in 

supporting industries.

The marketing/PR plan for PRIMED will be based primarily on an awareness campaign both locally 

and nationally.

Central New York Film Incentive Fund
Stakeholder Outreach: We will leverage current connections with organizations like local universities, 

Clear Path for Veterans, CNY Film Professionals, Entertainment Partners, IATSE Local 54 and IATSE 

Local 9 to engage their members. We will host discussions and presentations about how this program 

can help the members of these organizations gain valuable work experience in Onondaga County. 

This will be particularly important to inform local labor and talent pools about potential work in this 

growing industry.

Finally, we will work with Visit Syracuse with their marketing strategies with information and attend 

cultivation meetings with film makers and producers to help boost their outreach capabilities to 

engage their own film audiences directly. Past films that have come to the area have stated that they 

were looking at multiple locations but decided on the Central New York region due to the competitive 

tax credits and availability of additional funding to offset the additional costs of filming on location in 

the region. By highlighting these examples and showing the financial benefit of filming in Onondaga 

County, our goal will be to maximize the pool of potential productions that could come to the area in 

order to fund those with the greatest economic impact for the county.

Services to Disproportionately Impacted Communities

The projects we have put forth will address impacts in the areas of mental health and homelessness. As 

we saw, the pandemic exacerbated mental health issues because of extended isolation and an increase 

in abuse issues in the home. In addition, we saw the increased needs of our homeless population in 

not only the need for housing, but in mental and health services. Through the use of the ARP funds, 

Onondaga County will invest in projects to provide mental and health services and to address our 

homeless men’s needs.

Mental Health in Schools

Onondaga County’s School Based Initiatives Expansion of Mental Health will support children and 

youth across the county, in every school, and along all levels of need. This Multi-Tiered System of 

Support model will include the expansion of several child and family serving roles that were previously 

implemented in Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse. Onondaga County children/youth are 

currently experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety and depression as isolation and social/emotional 

trauma has been particularly acute during the pandemic. To meet the needs of the broader population 

Uses of Funds

Strategies and tactics for this campaign will be as follows:

Social Media Outreach: We will use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, 

YouTube, and Vimeo to target specific audiences in localities where entertainment industry leaders 

reside. Locations like Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta will be focused on to capture those 

who work in the industry as well as those interested in filmmaking. The purpose of the outreach 

campaign will be to steer people to the PRIMED Website currently being hosted by CNY Arts where 

they can learn more about the area and engage with content hosted online.
Catholic Charities Homeless Men’s Shelter

Through the ARP funds, Onondaga County will be undertaking a project that will relocate and improve 

programming of an existing Men’s Homeless Shelter. The modernized and updated shelter will better 

serve our community’s homeless men. It will be co-located with Catholic Charities rapid housing 

relocation program, have on-sight housing navigators, a culinary training program and a street level 

café that will employ some of the shelter residents. This holistic approach will assist clients with mental 

health counseling, housing relocation, and reconnecting with family and community supports. It is 

critical that we as a community work to improve conditions for all our homeless residents. Working 

with our community partners, we know we can achieve that goal.

Currently, our local Catholic Charities Men’s Shelter provides emergency housing for the poorest 

of the poor in Onondaga County. Most men present with no income and have to apply for Public 

Assistance and/or Social Security Income while staying at the shelter. This shelter currently serves a 

high percentage of men with complex mental health issues. The men who frequent this facility have 

tremendous difficulty successfully living in any permanent housing.

Over the last 12 months (current shelter, the statistics show that men served at this shelter come 

from high concentrations of poverty in our community, that Black and African American are homeless 

disproportionately from the overall percentage they represent in the County, that homeless men 

have complex physical and mental health issues and the vast majority of homeless men do not have 

any income.

We also note that the majority of men they served in the last 12 months came from 13202, 13203, 

13204, 13205 and 13208 zip codes. These zip codes have high concentrations of poverty.

Uses of Funds

of Onondaga County youth and families, this Expansion is implementing additional staffing. These 

include 45 Promise Zone (PZ) Student Engagement Specialists, five additional Promise Zone Supervisors, 

8 ACCESS Liaisons, and start-up funds for 64 School Based Mental Health Clinics. To date, 43 of the 

45 PZ specialists have been hired, all 5 of the PZ Supervisors and all 8 Access Liaisons have been 

hired, and 50 of the Clinics are in the early implementation process. The hiring achievements are of 

note as recruitment and hiring have been strained during this period of the pandemic, as recruiting, 

interviewing, and all collaborative planning meetings with partnering Districts and Organizations were 

virtual.

• The funds are supporting the implementation of staffing and school-based supports to address 

the public health impact of the pandemic as evidenced by local mental health indicators, such as 

increased number of youth exhibiting needs for mental health crisis intervention Comprehensive 

Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP).

• Beginning in April 2020, the proportion of children’s mental health–related Emergency Department 

visits among all pediatric ED visits increased and remained elevated through October. Compared 

with 2019, the proportion of mental health–related visits for children aged 5–11 and 12–17 years 

increased approximately 24% and 31%, respectively .
Uses of Funds
Services to Disproportionately Impacted Communities

Eliminating the digital divide in urban and rural communities continues to be a challenge in our 

community and that clearly came into focus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Onondaga County will 

make equal access to broadband a priority for all residents of our county.

According to a survey conducted by ECC Technologies, 3,504 households and 377 business addresses 

within the Onondaga County do not have access to broadband internet. Internet is no longer viewed 

as a luxury but rather as a necessity. Many consider internet services as a form of utility. Internet is 

needed by businesses to support their processes, budgets, payments, point of sale, etc. Households 

have become reliant on internet for education, research and quality of life needs such as music, 

television and much more.

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has exponentially increased the need for broadband services for 

most businesses and education institutions either through supporting or requiring remote work and 

schooling. Covid-19 forced many aspects of our daily lives online; virtual learning, working from home, 

online shopping, telemedicine, and simply staying connected to friends, family and colleagues. It has 

also shown how prevalent the digital divide is in parts of Central New York. Not having broadband 

puts individuals and businesses at a huge disadvantage in succeeding either in school or in business.

Affordable broadband services have proved invaluable for the economic development of startup 

companies and they are absolutely essential to help keep businesses productive and competitive.

Onondaga County plans utilize American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding by contracting with internet 

service providers to build out fiber optics wiring to all the unserved and underserved areas within 

Onondaga County.

Based on the information derived ECC Technologies’ broadband survey, we estimate the capital cost 

to fill the gaps in broadband coverage will be up to $15 Million.

Uses of Funds

Onondaga County Broadband Project

The county broadband project involves the following:

• Develop and release an RFP to several internet service providers and networking companies

• RFP will detail requirements of fiber project, expectations of service delivery, speeds, pricing, 

equipment, etc.

• RFP will require costs, timeline, project plan, etc.

• Tentative project schedule is awards would be made in early 2022 and construction would be 

completed by the end of 2023

• Upon project completion all county residents and businesses would have broadband availability
Revenue Replacement

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the dramatic steps taken by New York State to 

address the subsequent public health crisis also resulted in severe and negative impacts to our local 

economy and overall financial health. As the county closed out the 2020 fiscal year, the impact of the 

COVID-19 pandemic was most evident in sales tax collections, state aid, and other general revenues 

like user fees. As a result, the aforementioned revenue which is used to support much of the county’s 

operations, suffered a decreased of $36 million or 4.7% compared to 2019. When using the guidance 

from the interim final rule for calculating lost revenue, the county determined it lost $68 million in 

2020 due to the pandemic. The detailed calculation for loss of revenue is included in the county’s 

interim report.

Based on these losses, we have put together detailed revenue replacement plans that will invest 

in our county infrastructure, inclusive economic development and tourism projects and most 

importantly our people. The infrastructure projects will provide for the stabilization of our government 

services, and our economic and tourism projects will focus on resuming the record growth we were 

experiencing pre-pandemic as well as the overall revitalization of our economy. In preparing this 

plan, our team sought projects and opportunities that will address the needs of all of our community 

residents.

Uses of Funds

Infrastructure

The County will make a historic investment in our infrastructure both above and below ground. Part 

of this investment includes an additional five million dollar infusion to the overall 2021 Road Work 

Plan for a total investment of nearly thirty-five million dollars. This will allow us to invest in over 210 

miles of County Highways. To date, we have already accomplished over 50 miles of roadway and plan 

to continue throughout the fall of 2021. When complete, this project will enhance our neighborhoods, 

allow for easier travel for residents and visitors and provide safer roadways for our community.

Road and Bridge work

Onondaga County will continue to work with our Department of Transportation staff to replace 

outdated and inefficient infrastructure equipment. During the pandemic, county staff were asked 

to do even more with less and it highlighted the critical need to invest in resources that allow them 

to operate in their jobs effectively and efficiently. Through the use of these funds, we will equip our 

employees with the most updated and modern maintenance equipment that will ensure they are 

prepared for future needs.

Infrastructure Maintenance Equipment
Uses of Funds

In an effort to recapture our pre-pandemic economic development momentum and successes, we 

will also address the need for increased economic develop projects and tourism. Our strategy also 

recognizes and reflects the overall change we have seen to the economy and what drives consumer 

decisions and spending. Prior to the COVID, Onondaga County was soaring with record job creation 

which resulted in the healthy collection of sales and room occupancy taxes. We were competing for 

large economic develop projects and working diligently with local community partners throughout 

our community to ensure our economic success was inclusive. This included, but was not limited to, 

efforts to provide transportation solutions, training and job opportunities for our residents.

Economic Development and Tourism

Onondaga County is home to nineteen towns, fifteen villages and the City of Syracuse. Each of these 

municipalities have their own respective business districts, often referred to as their “Main Street” 

area. The economic downturn caused by the pandemic left many small businesses across the county 

struggling financially. The inability to invest in the normal upkeep and maintenance of properties has 

resulted in the need for financial assistance to stimulate revitalization and beautification of these 

important districts. Through this funding, Onondaga County will dedicate $5,000,000 to this program. 

This comprehensive business district revitalization grant program will allow for XX improvements, 

business creation/retention, and main street beautification that will lead to healthier and more 

economically vibrant communities.

Main Street Revitalization and Beautification Projects

Through this funding, the county intends to invest in Capital Improvements of infrastructure under the 

jurisdiction of local municipalities. This efforts calls for up to two million dollars for the construction, 

renovation or repair of town and village municipal projects. During the pandemic, municipalities 

experienced a rapid increase in demand for not only improved indoor spaces but enhanced outdoor 

facilities, activities and the need to invest in general infrastructure maintenance needs. This funding 

will be available to all towns, villages and hamlets to enhance the quality of life for all our residents.

Capital Improvement Grant Funds

The Covid-19 pandemic, resulted in a significant increase of visitors to our Onondaga County Parks 

system. Many residents who do not have access to outdoor space, now take advantage of our awardwinning county parks and facilities. The increase in residents and visitors, however, has resulted in the 

need for additional maintenance work and upkeep at our parks and facilities. Therefore, we will use 

funds to invest in these parks and facility equipment to ensure that our residents and visitors continue 

to experience the high-quality services and amenities they have come to expect. These improvements 

will also allow our employees to be more effective and efficient in their everyday work, will providing 

our residents with an enhanced environment for outdoor recreation and socialization. This investment 

Parks/Facility Equipment
Onondaga County will also embark on a $5 million renovation of the Onondaga County Convention 

Center. Convention business has always been a strong component of our local economy and our 

community accelerates its recovery, it will be important to capitalize on this already proven success. 

Our plans include creating new meeting spaces, significant improvements and updates to the 

technology infrastructure and additional enhancements to make it more marketable to interested 

parties. We are confident that these improvements will result in increased opportunities to secure 

additional conferences, events and meetings.

Convention Center Improvements

Uses of Funds

Onondaga County Parks is conducting a market feasibility study to gauge support for a transformational 

urban tourism and economic development project to be built on the Shore of Onondaga Lake, 

located in the City of Syracuse. The study will evaluate potential market support, usage forecasts and 

project financial performance. It will also provide critical guidance for design and operations. The 

consultant team conducting this study will seek input from various community members/groups. 

Once completed, this project could serve as a tourism and economic development driver, but will 

also provide job opportunities for those in our city center.

Lakefront Development Study

The envisioned Onondaga County Sports Complex would address opportunities and needs related to 

the growing sports tourism market in Onondaga County. This effort would boost the local economy 

through increased local spending and enhanced opportunities for local, underserved amateur sports 

and recreation users in our community. According to the Sports Events & Tourism Association’s 

2019 “Sports Tourism: State of the Industry Report”, it was found that sports-related travelers, 

event organizers and venues spent $45.1 billion in 2019, which then generated $103.3 billion in 

business sales (indirect & induced) impacts. These numbers were achieved by nearly 180-million 

people traveling to an amateur sports event in the U.S. in 2019. The proposed complex would consist 

of approximately ten full-sized multisport, rectangle shaped, synthetic turf fields including one 

championship field and one filed with a year-round bubble structure. Additional characteristics and 

amenities include state-of-the-art lighting for all fields, multiple restroom and concession facilities, a 

field operations building and other amenities to accommodate players and their families.

Multi-Sports Complex
Uses of Funds

Through these funds, work has already begun on the rehabilitation of our historic Carnegie Building 

located in our vibrant and growing downtown. The former Carnegie Library has sat mostly vacant 

over the last two decades despite occasional discussions to bring this facility back to its useful life. 

Now, Onondaga County will take action and complete the necessary to renovations, breathing life 

back into the building. Staying true to its intended purpose of remaining a building accessible to 

the public, the county intends to relocate various departments to make this a one-stop-shop for 

developers and others seeking to do business in Onondaga County. Departments set to relocate 

to this location include the offices of Onondaga County Economic Development, Onondaga County 

Community Development and the Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency. Consolidation will 

also free up space in the Civic Center office building allowing other county departments to expand 

and better accommodate the people we serve.

Carnegie Building Renovations

To remain competitive, stimulate economic development and encourage job creation and retention, 

Onondaga County will work with the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) to 

advance the Agency’s goals and mission by establishing a revolving loan fund. Economic development 

opportunities advanced by OCIDA would fuel and accelerate the economic progress, general 

prosperity, and workforce development for the benefit of the Onondaga County community. The 

loan from Onondaga County to OCIDA will be used, as needed, to advance, expand and support asset 

development and remediation; acquire and market project sites to a broader scope of businesses; 

attract high tech industries; and create high paying, quality jobs for our diverse citizenry. OCIDA will 

reimburse Onondaga County from the Agency fees it collects from the projects receiving financial 

assistance.

Site Development
Promoting Equitable Outcomes

Promoting equitable outcomes is a critical component to ensuring equal opportunities to all 

residents within a community. The projects below will outline how we will address measuring equity 

throughout these projects.

The Catholic Charities Men’s Shelter Project

The following are the outcomes that are tracked in addition to the demographic information (see 

above). These track health disparities and social determinants of health (i.e., income source, stable 

housing, and primary health care)

• 80% of men must apply for Public Assistance - There is a high rate of one night stays. The vast 

majority of men come in with no income but end up on public benefits (PA, SNAP, and Medicaid).

• 100% of men exiting shelter will have destination outcomes – This track stable housing after 

being in shelter.

• Decrease recidivism rates by 50% - This track stable housing after being in shelter

• 50% of men will be referred to the Onondaga County Health Department for TB testing, health 

screenings and flu/pneumonia shots. – Health status is monitored in shelter to reduce the spread 

of communicable diseases)

Mental Health Services in Schools

1. Goals: The Expansion of School Based Mental Health Supports brings mental health staff and 

supports to rural and small school districts that do not as often receive outside resources as 

larger districts and schools closer to city-centers. Additionally, we are recruiting and hiring Black 

professionals and professionals of color to address under-representation of staffing in school 

communities.

2. Awareness: The first step of the Expansion planning included dialogues with each partnering 

school district. As primary partners in this project, each school district is supporting the 

communication of the services to their families, students, staff, and stakeholders. Each school 

district will tailor their communication to meet the unique needs of their school community. 

Additionally, new Promise Zone Student Engagement Specialists will work from school buildings, 

attending school-community events to help promote opportunities for their support, to be visible 

and accessible to the communities they serve.

3. Access and Distribution: All students are equally able to access the supports provided through 

the Promise Zone and ACCESS Liaisons programs. - As we have found through our significant 

investment in school-based clinics for the last twenty years, Co-location of outpatient children’s 

mental health care within the school setting is an approach that advances access to quality care 
Promoting Equitable Outcomes

and improves academic outcomes. This partnership provides a unique opportunity to identify 

those children and families who might not otherwise seek treatment and strengthens the 

capacity for earlier recognition and treatment options. Co-location fosters an atmosphere 

that recognizes the interconnectedness between education and mental health and paves the 

way to improved outcomes. There are no administrative requirements that would result in 

disparities in access of services or eligibility. While this funding supports the start-up costs 

of the School Based Clinics, the medical insurance construct may make the clinical services 

cost-prohibitive for some individuals

4. Outcomes: The outcomes of the Expansion of School Based Mental Health Supports focus 

on reaching universal levels of service and access to social and mental health supports and 

interventions for school aged children and youth and their families.

Central New York Film Incentive Fund

Through this program, our partner PRIMED will provide additional financial incentives for hiring local 

residents from underserved communities, particularly minorities, as well as workforce development 

opportunities for college students and our region’s 30,000+ military veterans. At a time when many 

businesses are struggling to remain open, the revenue from film productions will give relief to local 

hotels, restaurants, craft services, home hardware centers, car rental companies, retail stores, and 

many other industry-related service companies In addition, the Innovation Group of CNY Arts (IGCNYA) 

will receive applications from PRIMED of eligible productions, to be reviewed by an independent 

panel of industry experts, who will assess the suitability of each production on the basis of feasibility, 

creative merit, and anticipated economic impact. Applications are competitive. If approved, 

panelists may also award an additional incentive bonus depending on the degree of diversity and/

or representation among cast and crew. Funding determinations are awarded as an “up to” amount, 

an estimate based on the submission of a preliminary production budget; disbursements may vary 

according to the amount of qualified local expenditure actually incurred within Onondaga County. 

When a production completes principal photography, they will be required to submit a package of 

expense reporting deliverables used to verify the authenticity of each expense and eligibility for 

rebate support.
Community Engagement

Over the last several months, Onondaga County has engaged community leaders and local stakeholders 

in detailed discussions on how we plan to invest our American Rescue Plan funds in an inclusive way that 

invests in our people, our infrastructure and our future. An intentional focus was placed on ensuring that we 

engaged and heard from people in every part of our county, including our urban core, our suburbs and our 

rural neighbors.

The County Executive’s first public outreach took place on March 31, 2021 at the Onondaga County State of 

the County. This is where he initially identified his priorities for funding.

Attached is the link to his remarks. https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=249071843580039&ref=wat

ch_permalink

In the following weeks, follow up conversations and input was sought from the community. This outreach was 

conducted through surveys, group meetings and individual contacts.

Then in June of 2021, the County Executive met with the members of FOCUS Greater Syracuse, a citizencentered research and engagement organization to share ideas and to seek input on our plans for the use of 

these funds. This meeting included a diverse group of community leaders and residents who were able to ask 

questions and provide feedback on the proposed projects.

In preparing to roll out our broadband internet initiative, our team partnered with the Central New York 

Regional Planning and Development Board and ECC Technologies, LLC to undertake a community survey to 

identify the parts of county that either lack access or are currently underserved. Results were returned July 31, 

2021 and will be used to prepare our plan going forward to that ensure that there is broadband access for all 

residents and businesses across Onondaga County. We also engaged with the Town Supervisors Association 

to review the broadband maps and sought input on where the biggest service issues are in their towns.

The County also recently sent out a request for proposal seeking a feasibility/market study for a proposed 

transformational tourism project in Onondaga County. Through this process, we will be seeking input of 

local community partners including our colleges and universities, tourism partners, hotels and entertainment 

venues.

Onondaga County also worked collaboratively with our village mayor’s and town supervisor’s to develop a 

capital improvement program for their respective main streets, hamlets and/or business districts. Our team 

held group and individual meetings as well as calls with our local town supervisors and village mayors to 

discuss priority projects that will address many longstanding infrastructure issues and potential construction 

projects.

Most recently, the County Executive meet with Leadership Greater Syracuse, an independent non-profit 

group of community leaders, where he presented details of his plan and subsequently sought their input and 

answered questions.

Our engagement efforts will continue over the coming months, with a continued emphasis ensuring all of our 

residents, no matter their age, race, gender or zip code, has an opportunity to offer their ideas as we work to 

revitalize our economy and ensure success for years to come.
Labor Practices

Onondaga County infrastructure projects include a 30% Equal Employment Opportunity labor 

participation goal as well as a 30% Minority and Women Business Enterprise utilization goal. The 

Onondaga County Office of Diversity and Inclusion employs three full-time staff to monitor and 

uphold EEO, MWBE, and DBE goals. These employees regularly meet with local business groups to 

help create opportunities for our local workforce and businesses. All work on County infrastructure 

projects is subject to prevailing wage under Article 8 of the New York State Labor Law. Federally 

funded projects adhere to goals as specified within the contract.
Use of Evidence

Central New York Film Incentive Fund

Housing First - Housing First is a homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing 

permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and 

serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of 

life. This approach is guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place 

to live before attending to anything less critical, such as getting a job, budgeting properly, or 

attending to substance use issues. Additionally, Housing First is based on the theory that client 

choice is valuable in housing selection and supportive service participation, and that exercising 

that choice is likely to make a client more successful in remaining housed and improving their life.

Motivational Interviewing - Motivational interviewing is a counseling approach designed to help 

people find the motivation to make a positive behavior change. This client-centered approach is 

particularly effective for people who have mixed feelings about changing their behavior.

Trauma Informed Care - Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is an approach in the human service field 

that assumes that an individual is more likely than not to have a history of trauma. TraumaInformed Care recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role trauma 

may play in an individual’s life- including service staff.

Harm Reduction - Harm reduction incorporates a spectrum of strategies that includes safer use, 

managed use, abstinence, meeting people who use drugs “where they’re at,” and addressing 

conditions of use along with the use itself. 1) Accepts, for better or worse, that licit and illicit drug 

use is part of our world and chooses to work to minimize its harmful effects rather than simply 

ignore or condemn them 2) Understands drug use as a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that 

encompasses a continuum of behaviors from severe use to total abstinence, and acknowledges 

that some ways of using drugs are clearly safer than others 3) Establishes quality of individual 

and community life and well-being — not necessarily cessation of all drug use — as the criteria for 

successful interventions and policies 4) Calls for the non-judgmental, non-coercive provision of 

services and resources to people who use drugs and the communities in which they live in order 

to assist them in reducing attendant harm 5) Ensures that people who use drugs and those with 

a history of drug use routinely have a real voice in the creation of programs and policies designed 

to serve them 6) Affirms people who use drugs (PWUD) themselves as the primary agents of 

reducing the harms of their drug use and seeks to empower PWUD to share information and 

support each other in strategies which meet their actual conditions of use 7) Recognizes that 

the realities of poverty, class, racism, social isolation, past trauma, sex-based discrimination, and 

Onondaga County will use evidenced based interventions in regard to our Services to disproportionally 

impacted communities. These projects that will include evidenced based interventions will be through 

our Catholic Charities Men’s Shelter and Mental Health Clinics in Schools.
Use of Evidence

Mental Health Clinics in Schools

The supports that are included in the Expansion of School Based Mental Health Supports were 

determined through the evidence based Multi-Tiered System of Support framework. MTSS is an 

evidence-based framework for effectively integrating multiple systems and services to simultaneously 

address students’ academic achievement, behavior, and social-emotional well-being. The MTSS 

framework, recognizes that the successful implementation of intensive individualized interventions 

at the highest Tier 3 is enhanced by the successful implementation of Tier 1 (universal) and Tier 2 

(targeted) supports and interventions. The funds will support the startups of School-Based Mental 

Health clinics, a Tier 3 support, as well as staffing Tier 1 and 2 supports through the Promise Zone 

Student Engagement Specialists and the ACESS Liaisons. A significant portion of the mental health 

interventions used by the clinicians are delivered following an evidence-based protocol to fidelity. 

(e.g., Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), while Promise Zone specialists are also trained 

in a variety of Evidence Based interventions including Collaborative Problem Solving, Trauma 

Informed Practices, and other school-based interventions.

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category

other social inequalities affect both people’s vulnerability to and capacity for effectively dealing 

with drug-related harm 8) Does not attempt to minimize or ignore the real and tragic harm and 

danger that can be associated with illicit drug use.
Project Inventory

Example Project

Project Overview

Project: School Based Initiatives: Mental Health in Schools

Funding amount: $5.5 million

Category: Services for Disproportionately Impacted Communities: 3.4 Education Assistance

The School Based Initiatives Expansion of Mental Health is supporting children and youth across the 

county, in every school, and along all levels of need. This Multi-Tiered System of Support model will 

include the expansion of several child and family serving roles that were previously implemented 

in Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse. Onondaga County children/youth are currently 

experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety and depression as isolation and social/emotional trauma 

has been particularly acute during the pandemic. To meet the needs of the broader population of 

Onondaga County youth and families, this Expansion is implementing additional staffing. These include 

45 Promise Zone (PZ) Student Engagement Specialists, five additional Promise Zone Supervisors, 8 

ACCESS Liaisons, and startup funds for 64 School Based Mental Health Clinics. To date, 43 of the 

45 PZ specialists have been hired, all 5 of the PZ Supervisors and all 8 Access Liaisons have been 

hired, and 50 of the Clinics are in the early implementation process. The hiring achievements are of 

note as recruitment and hiring have been strained during this period of the pandemic, as recruiting, 

interviewing, and all collaborative planning meetings with partnering Districts and Organizations 

were virtual.

Use of Evidence

The supports included in the Expansion of School Based Mental Health Supports were determined 

through the evidence based Multi-Tiered System of Support framework. MTSS is an evidence-based 

framework for effectively integrating multiple systems and services to simultaneously address 

students’ academic achievement, behavior, and social-emotional well-being. The MTSS framework, 

recognizes that the successful implementation of intensive individualized interventions at the highest 

Tier 3 is enhanced by the successful implementation of Tier 1 (universal) and Tier 2 (targeted) supports 

and interventions. The funds will support the star- ups of School-Based Mental Health clinics, a Tier 

3 support, as well as staffing Tier 1 and 2 supports through the Promise Zone Student Engagement 

Specialists and the ACESS Liaisons. A significant portion of the mental health interventions used by 

the clinicians are delivered following an evidence-based protocol to fidelity. (e.g., Trauma Focused 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), while Promise Zone specialists are also trained in a variety of Evidence 

Based interventions including Collaborative Problem Solving, Trauma Informed Practices, and other 

school-based interventions.
Additional Projects

Project 

Number Project Funding Amount

Expenditure 

Category 

through ARP

Source of Funds Project Overview Goals Evidence Based 

Programming Use of Evidence

700900002 BroadbandDigital Divide$15,000,000.00 5.16 

Broadband 

Last Mile 

Projects

5. Infrastructure The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us that access to reliable broadband internet is a vital resource for community in the 21st Century. 

From education to healthcare jobs and agriculture our future relies on access to the internet. This project will address the digital divide in 

our community by bringing broadband to all areas not currently served by broadband providers. In putting together this plan, Onondaga 

County partnered with the Central New York Regional Planning Board and ECC Technologies, LLC to conduct a survey of community in July 

2021. A formal RFP to solicit a vendor for services will be sent out in early fall. There will be an RFP for services to be released in fall 2021.

• To provide equal access to broadband to all 

residents in Onondaga County 

• Affordable and high quality Internet for all 

residents

no none

700900005 Parks/Facility 

Funding

$105,756.97 6.1 

Provision of 

Government 

Services

6. Revenue 

Replacement

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there has a significant increase in visitors to our Onondaga County Parks system. In order to keep up 

with the level of service needed and to increase efficiency for our employees, the county will use funding to replace outdated parks 

equipment. Purchases to be completed by end of 2021.

• To ensure Onondaga County employees have the 

tools to effectively and efficiently do their jobs

no none

700900006 Lakefront 

Development 

Study

$128,000.00 6.1 

Provision of 

Government 

Services

6. Revenue 

Replacement

Onondaga County Parks is conducting a market feasibility study to gauge support for an urban tourism and economic development 

project to be built in Onondaga County. The study will evaluate potential market support, usage forecasts, project financial performance. 

It will also provide critical guidance for design and operations. The consultant team conducting this study will seek input from various 

community members/groups. This study will be complete by early fall 2021.

• To increase tourism and driver economic growth 

lost due to pandemic

• Provide employment opportunities for all 

residents

no none

700900009 Infrastructure 

Maintenance 

Equipment

$2,000,000.00 6.1 

Provision of 

Government 

Services

6. Revenue 

Replacement

Onondaga County Department of Transportation will use these funds for the replacement of outdated equipment in their department. 

These funds were used for road equipment including pavers,excavators, payloaders and chippers. Acquisition of this equipment will 

allow this department to work more effectively and efficiently. This project will be completed by Spring of 2022.

• Provide employees updated equipment to assist 

with efficiency in their positions

• To provide safer roadways and bridges for our 

residents

no none

700900011 Capital 

Improvement 

Grant Fund

$2,000,000.00 6.1 

Provision of 

Government 

Services

6. Revenue 

Replacement

The County will spend $2M for construction, renovation or repair of town and village municipal projects. During the pandemic, 

municipalities realized the need to increase and improve indoor space, increased need for more outdoor activity space and general 

infrastructure maintenance needs. Applications have been submitted. Anticipated award dates in early fall and projects to begin as 

soon as practical.

• Review Applications and awards to municipalities 

September 2021

• Preference to projects that address issues 

identified in the pandemic

no none

700900014 Carnegie 

Building 

Renovations

$4,000,000.00 6.1 

Provision of 

Government 

Services

6. Revenue 

Replacement

This $4M County project will involve the rehabilitation of the historic Carnegie building that has been mostly vacant since the Syracuse 

City School District ceased operating it as a special education program location in 2011 and returned it to Onondaga County. The county 

intends to completely renovate the building to prepare it for department occupation and service consolidation. This will allow for 

additional space for other county departments to expand their departments. Departments that will relocate to this location include 

county economic development, community development, and the Syracuse/Onondaga Planning Agency. Timeline for the completion of 

this project is projected to be June 2021.

• Make facility a one-stop shop for economic 

developers

• Consolidation of county departments and colocating space for ASM Global

no none

700900015 Road and 

Bridge Work

$5,000,000.00 6.1 

Provision of 

Government 

Services

6. Revenue 

Replacement

The County will make a historic infrastructure investment that will include an additional $5M to the overall 2021 Highway Work Plan 

($35M) that will result in paving over 210 miles of County roads. To date, we have paved over 50 miles of roadway. The anticipated 

completion date of this project is fall of 2021.

• To ensure the county Infrastructure is in a good 

state of repair.

• Complete project by Fall 2021

no none

700900016 Main Street 

Revitalization 

& 

Beautification 

Projects

$5,000,000.00 6.1 

Provision of 

Government 

Services

6. Revenue 

Replacement

The Main Street Program allows Onondaga County local elected official to work with their community business community and planners 

to submit proposals plans to improve their main street business districts including facades. This funding to our villages, towns and 

hamlets to make transformation changes to their storefronts and streetscapes. By investing in public infrastructure the goal is to make 

it more appealing for residential growth to spur economic development. We have encouraged the towns and villages to work with their 

local businesses and submit projects by early fall. Business district revitalization that involves aesthetic improvements, business creation/

retention, and beautification will lead to healthier and more economically vibrant communities. Partnerships between Onondaga County 

Community Development, municipality leadership and small businesses will help to attract opportunity and encourage investment. 

Healthy business districts also increase the quality of life for the residents of the municipality. Work on these projects will begin in late 

fall of 2021 or early spring of 2022.

• To make changes to municipalities that will make 

neighborhoods more appealing to residents

• Spur economic growth by recruiting more 

businesses to those neighborhoods

no none

700900017 Convention 

Center 

Improvements

$5,000,000.00 6.1 

Provision of 

Government 

Services

6. Revenue 

Replacement

Onondaga County intends to embark on a feasibility study for a $5M renovation of the Onondaga County Convention Center. The 

proposed improvement is to create a 2nd story infill of the Convention Center that will create an additional 3400 sqft of additional 

meeting room space at the ground level elevation. The atrium is located on the north side of the Convention Center, with floor space 

outside of the ballroom and currently provides a gathering area for events. This project will create 5 new meeting spaces and will include 

the latest AV presentation infrastructure. The updated space will provide room finishes consistent with convention market competitors. 

The anticipated completion date of these renovations is late summer of 2022.

• Will provide more space to enable the facility to 

pursue more conferences and events

• To provide for more economic growth for the 

County with increased business

no none

700900018 CNY Arts Film 

Incentives 

Funds

$5,000,000.00 2.12 other 

impacted 

industries

2. Negative 

Economic Impacts

This CNY Arts Film Incentive fund is an economic development initiative that will award production incentives to qualified film project 

with the aim to stimulate the local economy, expand workforce opportunities, increase the capacity of our filmmaking expertise, and 

introduce film professionals to the many benefits of filming in Central New York. In addition to stimulating economic revitalization, the 

program will specifically reward the expansion of the cultural sector while building out the local filmmaking capacity that will attract 

filmmakers after incentives have been spent. This program will provide incentive bonuses for career development and inclusion among 

approved projects from underrepresented or minority communities and veterans. This project will be ongoing.

• Attract more films and commercial to Onondaga 

County to stimulate the local economy with hotel 

and restaurant spending

• Career development and incentives for minority 

and veteran hires

no none

700900019 Site 

Development 

& Workforce 

Incentives

$20,000,000.00 6.1 

Provision of 

Government 

Services

6. Revenue 

Replacement

To remain competitive, stimulate economic development and encourage job creation and retention, Onondaga County will work with 

the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) to advance the Agency’s goals and mission by establishing a revolving loan 

fund. Economic development opportunities advanced by OCIDA would fuel and accelerate the economic welfare, general prosperity, and 

workforce development for the benefit of the Onondaga County community   The loan from Onondaga County to OCIDA is to be used, as 

needed, to advance, expand and support asset development and remediation, to acquire and market project sites to a broader scope of 

businesses, attract high tech industries and create the high paying jobs for our diverse citizenry.  OCIDA will reimburse Onondaga County 

from the Agency fees it collects from the projects receiving financial assistance through tax abatement.

• Create shovel ready sites to allow Onondaga 

County to be more competitive for big projects

• Stimulate economic development to create more 

employment opportunities for residents.

no none

700900020 Multisports 

Complex

$25,000,000.00 6.1 

Provision of 

Government 

Services

6. Revenue 

Replacement

Onondaga County will develop multi-sports athletic facilities to support our growing sports tourism market. The proposed complex 

would consist of approximately 10 full-sized multisport, rectangle shaped, synthetic turf fields including one championship field and one 

filed with a year-round bubble structure. Additional characteristics and amenities include lighting for all fields, multiple restroom and 

concession facilities, a field operations building and other amenities to accommodate players and their families. The County will invest 

approximately $25M and will create hundreds of full-time and part-time jobs during construction and in operation of the facility. This 

opportunity will provide all residents to seek work at this location. At full build out, it is anticipated this project will result in more than 

$35M in economic impact annually for our county. The market study was completed and the formal RFP for design and construction is 

anticipated later this year in 2021.

• Complement our growing sports tourism market 

and keep families local 

• Provide support for our local businesses by 

increasing spending in their hotels, restaurants and 

other local attractions

no none

700900021 Men’s 

Homeless 

ShelterCatholic 

Charities

$2,000,000.00 3.11 Housing 

Support : 

Services for 

Unhoused 

Persons

3. Services to 

Disproportionately 

Impacted 

Communities

The Catholic Charities Men’s Shelter which is being re-located to 1801 Erie Blvd East, Syracuse will provide homeless men a safe night’s 

shelter from the elements and the violence of the streets. This new and improved facility will provide both mental and health services at 

this location. Each man will also be provided an individual storage locker and have access to laundry facilities, bathrooms, and showers. 

The shelter will be in full operation 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. During winter months and the temperature is 32 or below degrees, 

the shelter will operate over capacity. Estimated completion date is September 2022.

• To provide increased housing for our homeless 

population 

• Will also offer additional mental and health 

services at this new facility

yes The Catholic Charities Men’s Shelter will use several evidence based 

interventions for their housing program. They will include Housing First, 

a homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing permanent 

housing to people experiencing homelessness. Motivational interviewing, 

which is a counseling approach designed to help people find motivation 

to make positive behavior change. Trauma Informed Care, which 

assumes the individual is more likely to have a history of trauma. Finally 

Harm Reduction, which incorporates a spectrum of strategies that 

include safer use, managed use and abstinence.
Performance Report

Catholic Charities Men’s Homeless Shelter

Mental Health Clinics in schools

The Expansion of School Based Mental Health supports as a new project in Onondaga County schools 

will monitor progress and success of implementation by tracking the following:

• # of schools with new Promise Zone Student Engagement Specialists

• # of schools with new Access Liaisons

• # of new School Based Clinics

• # Families served through the ACCESS liaisons

• # Youth seen in School Mental Health clinics

• # Youth served by Promise Zone Student Engagement Specialists

• # Interventions implemented with youth by PZ Student Engagement Specialists

• # Referrals made to more targeted interventions and support outside of the school and schoolbased initiatives.

• Improvements in behavioral incidents in schools with Promise Zone Student Engagement 

Specialists

Unfortunately, homeless shelters have to exist to serve those individuals that eviction was not 

preventable. While in shelter, staff work to stability the individual, including establish a reliable 

source of income so rent can be paid. Over the last year, 136 men moved into permanent housing.
Additional Information About the Supports Across the Tiers

What Clinicians Do:

Clinicians provide in-school behavioral health assessment, diagnosis, and ongoing symptom 

reduction treatment. They serve as a team member in identifying techniques to support the child in 

different settings (classroom, home, and cafeteria). This strategy allows for ongoing care of district 

children while minimizing missed instruction time.

Tier 3: School Based Mental Health Treatment

What Clinicians Do:

Establish relationships with schools and take referrals to support children and families when child 

welfare concerns are present, but the issues do not rise to the level of calling the CPS hotline. Work 

to assess, support, and plan with children and families experiencing social and emotional challenges. 

Families can self-refer with concerns. Provide technical assistance/consultation to school staff when 

challenged with where to go next with cases.

Tier 2: ACCESS Liaisons

What Student Engagement Specialists Do:

Expand/extend current student supports under the direction of Social worker, psychologist, or 

counselor. Intervene with children in school setting that are experiencing social/emotional challenges 

through one to one and group settings. Teach children skills to manage emotions, use expressive 

language, and deepen relationships. Allows kids ability to stay in class and be ready to learn.

Tier 1: Promise Zone Student Engagement Specialists