Mayor: Donors needed to save Foothills

The Daily Star reported that Mayor Dick Miller asked contributors Wednesday to step forward within 10 days to raise $1.25 million needed to finish the theater of the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center.

Meanwhile, a $500,000 grant payment due Foothills is being withheld by the state Dormitory Authority, which is auditing the center's finances, officials said.

The future of Foothills was the focus of a special meeting called by Miller. About 50 politicians, civic leaders and business owners attended the meeting in the atrium and theater of the Market Street complex.

Miller told the group that the fiscal problems faced by Foothills jeopardize not only the center's future but also the reputation of the community.

Oneonta has benefited from more than $20 million in state and federal funding awarded to support three major projects _ Foothills, the on-going redevelopment of the former Bresee's building and the National Soccer Hall of Fame, which has closed.

"Our credibility as a community is at stake," Miller said. "We have to make Foothills self-sufficient."

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