Cortland Standard .net

By TYRONE L. HEPPARD
Staff Reporter
theppard@cortlandstandardnews.net
Around 60 residents in the Cortland community pitched ideas about how to promote the community during a “Positively Cortland” open house event at the Port Watson Mini Conference Center Wednesday night.
Spearheaded by Mayor Brian Tobin, Positively Cortland is a city-led initiative encouraging community members to come up with different ways to market Cortland to visitors by highlighting aspects of the community they take pride in.
“This is another step in the ongoing process of talking about the Cortland community and things that we can do to improve the perception and ... the experience people have,” Tobin said.
Some residents said they liked the city’s entrepreneurial spirit and sense of collaboration between the older and younger generations in Cortland. Others said doing more to let the SUNY Cortland students and faculty who live here know they are an important part of the community, is an area where the city can improve.
In the days before the event, residents were encouraged to submit slogans and designs which could potentially be used to promote the city. Those submissions were on display and residents took time Wednesday to let the city know which they liked best.
On Friday, Tobin said the goal of the event was not so much to pick a “winner” as to draw from suggestions to create something representing the Cortland community that makes everyone proud.
Thirty-two-year resident Ron Irish, who visited the conference center with his wife, Patty, and father-in-law, Thomas Fritz Sr., said he came out because he wanted to be part of helping the city find its character.
“It (Cortland) needs to have an identity,” Irish said. “Being a small town kind of away from ... a lot of urban areas, it’s not very easy. It’s a great idea to get people’s ideas and kind of put Cortland on the map.”
Kathy Fairchild and Diane Almedia, members of the Cortland Community Group, which oversees the Cortland Community Center were among those in attendance Wednesday afternoon.
Having attended past Positively Cortland meetings, Almedia said she wanted to continue being involved with the discussion and support what the city was doing.
“I think it’s an excellent idea from the mayor to think about promoting Cortland,” Almedia said. “Cortland has a lot to offer that many don’t know about.”
Fairchild added one thing she hopes to see come out of the initiative is more connectivity among residents and especially SUNY Cortland’s student community.
“Hopefully all this effort and everything that they’re working for will bring the residents and the college closer together,” Fairchild said.
During the last hour of the open house, Tobin and residents talked about the community’s strengths and weaknesses in addition to what type of place they envisioned Cortland being in the future.
Included in those discussions were three SUNY Cortland students whose perspective and input was received well by residents, Tobin said.
“They gave some pretty good feedback that added to the dialogue,” he said. “Having them there was helpful.”
Another Positively Cortland meeting is tentatively scheduled for May 6 , but Tobin said the event would likely be sometime during the first week of May so residents and students can talk again before the end of the semester.
“It really helped people recognize the fact that not only is Cortland a great to live, it’s a great place to live because of the people here,” Tobin said. “It was an enjoyable discussion.”