SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city’s Capital Program Committee has listed its proposed projects plan for the next six years.

The proposal includes the committee's ranking of projects in order of importance, as well as expense and revenue budgets for the 2024-2029 recommended Capital Program. 

Specific to 2024, the program requests projects total just over $11.76 million – with Loughberry Lake Dam (infrastructure) topping the list. A Fire Department ambulance, multiple park and recreation venue improvements and rehabilitations, and a variety of infrastructure projects also appear on the list.   

The adjoining chart depicts the ranking order of the projects and funding cost requests for 2024 and beyond.   

The projects ($9.64 million excluding water and sewer projects) and local taxes (bonds) to fund them is pending City Council action. 

During its Aug. 15 meeting, the City Council set a public hearing that will allow feedback regarding the Capital Program plan. The next council meeting – meetings typically are held the first and third Tuesday of the month – will take place 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 7, due to the Labor Day holiday.   

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A Saratoga Springs Cannabis Growers Showcase has been approved by the NYS Department of Cannabis Management. 

The event – which begins noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 3 - will be staged twice-a-week and held on the ground floor in the Saratoga Springs City Center parking garage. 

An official announcement regarding the showcase was publicly presented by City Center Executive Director Ryan McMahon during the Saratoga Springs City Council meeting on Aug. 15. 

The event organizer, Adult Use Cannabis Cultivator and one of the participants of the Saratoga Springs Cannabis Growers Showcase - Scot Trifilo, has been a Saratoga Springs resident and businessman for 24 years. He has also been involved in the national legal cannabis industry since 2014.

BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors staged their monthly meeting Aug. 15 at the county complex in Ballston Spa. The Board unanimously approved: 

• Authorization of a lease renewal agreement with Saratoga Prime Properties, LLC for office space For the Saratoga County Department Of Mental Health And Addiction Services. 

The office space is located at 135 South Broadway in Saratoga Springs, in close proximity to the current Code Blue emergency shelter which operates on a temporary basis on Adelphi Street. 

The current lease for the premises expires in October. The renewal, which would kick in in October, covers five years with the option of one additional five-year term at an annual rental rate of $391,682.66, for years one and two, and subject to a 3% rent increase every two years thereafter.

• The Board voted to accept the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services – 2023 SHSP (2023 State Homeland Security Program) and SLETPP (State Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention) - grant funds in the amount of $247,535. The funds are available to pay for installation of audio-visual equipment in the meeting/training room; cyano kits, firefighter accountability, 2D/3D forensic mapping scanner with related training, support equipment for the Lench Armored vehicle, and operational overtime for the protection of soft targets and crowded places, according to the resolution. 

• The 2023 Saratoga County Budget included a Trails Grant Program to give matching grants to local municipalities to fund trail development and construction projects. These include the funding of trail feasibility studies, engineering work, and construction in local municipalities. 

The Board approved fully funding 12 applications that were received by the Trails and Open Space Committee, at a total cost of $120,000.

Each municipality awarded the funding is required to provide matching funds or services in-kind.

Among those awarded: 

• City of Saratoga Springs: $10,000 to be applied towards the Saratoga Springs Railroad Run Trail Improvements to include the installation of energy efficient lighting to ~1/2-mile segment of the trail, between the Saratoga Springs YMCA and NYS Rt 50 that is heavily wooded and dark. 

• Town of Ballston: $10,000 to be applied towards the Ballston Creek Preserve to include a trailhead and small parking lot/area for people to access the existing trail on a Saratoga PLAN-owned parcel off of East Line Road. 

• Town of Greenfield: $10,000 towards the Brookhaven Park Trail. 

• Town of Malta: $10,000 towards the Malta Nature Preserve Trail Restoration.

• Town of Milton: $10,000 towards the Woods Hollow Nature Preserve Trailhead Improvements.

• Town of Moreau: $10,000 towards the Scenic Hudson River/Big Bend Trail.

• Town of Northumberland: $10,000 towards the Hudson Crossing Park to include rehabilitation of the park’s existing trail network.

BALLSTON SPA— The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for deliberately tampering with a portion of the Saratoga Corinth and Hudson Railroad in Corinth.

The FBI’s Albany Field Office was contacted after a railroad employee conducting a routine safety inspection noticed a portion of the rail line in Corinth had been tampered with.

The joint investigation between FBI Albany and the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office has identified evidence that the tampering is indicative of an attempt to derail a train and occurred in early June of 2023.

A derailment on this line could have resulted in serious injuries, or even fatalities. The Saratoga Corinth and Hudson Railroad offers scenic tours for passengers of all ages, to include field trips for young children.

“While we’re thankful the worst-case scenario was avoided, the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not stand by while someone tries to cause harm to our communities and destroy our small businesses,” said Janeen DiGuiseppi, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albany Field Office.

Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or submitting a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

SARATOGA SPRINGS – A Saratoga Springs Cannabis Growers Showcase has been approved by the NYS Department of Cannabis Management.

The event – which begins Sept. 3 and will be staged twice-a-week, will be held in the Saratoga Springs City Center parking garage on the ground floor, according to city documents. 

An official announcement regarding the showcase is anticipated to be presented during the Saratoga Springs City Council meeting Tuesday, Aug. 15.

The event organizer, Adult Use Cannabis Cultivator and one of the participants of the Saratoga Springs Cannabis Growers Showcase, Scot Trifilo, has been a Saratoga Springs resident and businessman for 24 years. He has also been involved in the national legal cannabis industry since 2014.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —  “What is the overall message of the bus?” Dr. Bob Hieronimus asked the crowd of a few dozen who had gathered at the Saratoga Automobile Museum Aug. 9 for a meet-and-greet. 

“We are one people. On one planet. And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden,” he said. 

Robert R. Hieronimus, Ph.D. - AKA “Dr. Bob” - artist, author, and radio host, hails from Baltimore where he has painted more than 40 symbolic murals and dozens of painted Artcars. 

In the late 1960s he traveled with several rock bands to share information about mysticism, and designed posters and album covers. His doctoral research on American symbolism has been used by the White House, State Department, and Department of the Interior, as well as being turned into popular books, Founding Fathers, Secret Societies and United Symbolism of America.

The “Light” Bus, renowned for its intricate symbolic artwork, holds a special place for music enthusiasts and history buffs as an emblem of the 1960s era, drawing a connection between music, culture, and automobiles. 

Dr. Bob was joined by Bob Grimm, as well as the bus itself, for the talk at the auto museum. Grimm was a member of the band “Light,” which the bus is named after, and made the pilgrimage to Woodstock in the Summer of 1969 where the story of the bus takes place.

BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County Public Safety Committee unanimously approved a measure this month that recommends a cooperative agreement be inked with Washington, Warren, Fulton and Montgomery counties to share tactical team personnel, equipment and resources. 

The five county sheriff’s offices have experienced a need for sharing resources or general police back-up within their jurisdictions during which a joint response would be the most effective way to deal with certain criminal cases, scenes and investigations, according to the resolution. 

The agreement between the five counties would create a cooperative contract and codify what has previously conducted joint services on a “handshake” basis. The agreement would see the sharing of “Sheriff’s Office personnel, equipment and resources.”

The proposed intermunicipal agreement is anticipated to be among the agenda items at the Board of Supervisors monthly meeting on Aug. 15. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Yaddo unveiled its new lending library in the Yaddo Gardens on Aug. 9, among a group of children present and a classical quintet performing “Here Comes The Sun.” 

The free library offers books for children and young adults. 

“All of us who love and support the arts know that the cultivation of the next generation of readers, theater goers, art and music lovers, movie buffs, depends on us and what we do to captivate our young,” said Yaddo President Elaina Richardson. “This library is a wonderful addition to our Gardens and extends our support to young readers and Saratoga students.”

The project received the support of Stewart’s Shops.  “The encouragement of reading and creativity is key to the health of young minds,” Stewart’s Foundation President Susan Dake said in a statement. 

The Yaddo Reads Lending Library will be available for the rest of the season during Garden Open Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. as well as Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (closed Fridays) through Oct. 15.

Built from sustainable materials (recycled milk jugs), the Yaddo Reads Lending Library is element- and pest-resistant and will feature new books for children to read at their own pace, borrow, and return. Yaddo will replenish the book supply such that the program is inclusive and equitable to all who use this as a creative resource.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — An unexpected gathering by members of the Proud Boys in Saratoga Springs Aug. 5 resulted in condemnations from city officials and calls initiating a report to learn what, if any, advance notice was provided to the public safety department, and whether any laws had been broken.    

“On Saturday afternoon a group known for their misogynistic, Islamophobic, transphobic, and anti-immigration views, and propensity for violence - including on Jan. 6, 2021 when its members stormed the United States Capital - briefly marched in Saratoga Springs,” the mayor said, in a statement released Aug. 7. 

A handful of social media posts, apparently made by random passersby, depicted approximately three dozen masked people draped in black or yellow T-shirts, standing in front of parked cars on the west side of Broadway in Saratoga Springs while a tape recording of the “Star-Spangled Banner” played. A yellow pickup truck festooned with American flags and bearing a sign that read Law & Order atop its cab, stood on the west side of the Caroline Street and Broadway intersection. The postings were minimal in scope and did not provide extensive context of the event. 

“This is not a normal group of individuals seeking to influence public debate,” Mayor Kim said, “(they are) a hate group known for acts of violence against people based on their vile, despicable, white supremacist views.”

The report - requested by the mayor of the Commissioner of Public Safety, specifically queried whether information was provided to the police department prior, during, and/or after the event, if any police actions were taken by the department, whether laws were violated by the march, and recommendations to prevent a repeat incident in the future. 

Public Safety Commissioner Jim Montagnino responded with a four-page report indicating no advance information was provided to the department prior to the gathering, and that police were alerted to the march via a call from a citizen. 

An officer subsequently “responded to the scene, interviewed one or more of the members of the group, and recorded the license plate(s) of at least one vehicle,” according to the report. Police dispatch was also directed to notify other area law enforcement agencies of the group’s presence and the direction of their travel. 

In Ballston Spa, Village Trustee Liz Kormos reported via a social media post that she was informed by a resident that members of the Proud Boys had marched in that village, also on Saturday, Aug. 5. 

Surveillance videos and other images captured of the event in Saratoga Springs are being reviewed to identify members who participated in the march. 

“We have a license plate, we’re following leads and are looking into identifying some of the participants,” Commissioner Montagnino said Aug. 9. 

While unaware of any offense committed under state or federal law, Montagnino offered that the march qualified as a parade, and as such, a permit would had to have been issued in advance of the gathering. With no known permit granted, Montagnino recommended organizers and participants of the gathering be charged with violations of the City Charter. 

“It’s basically treated like a violation, a petty offense, under the penal law,” Montagnino said. “My recommendation is that we proceed – and since it’s a Code violation it would be prosecuted by the city attorney, as opposed to the district attorney – which would be a county official.” 

According to a police Incident report filed in connection with the gathering, a man identified as the group leader handed the officer a business card for “Uncle Sam’s Proud Boys” and said the group was based in Troy. 

On its home page, the Uncle Sam’s Proud Boys website states: “We are proud Western Chauvinists who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world,” and lists as its core values:  “Minimal Government, Maximal Freedom, Anti-Political Correctness, Anti-Drug War, Closed Borders, Anti-Racism, Anti-Racial Guilt, Pro Free Speech, Pro Gun Rights, Glorifying the Entrepeneur (sic), Venerating the Housewife, Reinstating a Spirit of Western Chauvinism.”

A counter-rally, titled Not On Our Watch - Unity against Fascism, will take place 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13 at the corner of Broadway and Church St, outside the Saratoga Springs Post Office branch. The rally purpose is: “all people are welcome, ideas and groups that foster hate and violence are not,” organizers say. The event is sponsored by Saratoga Peace Alliance, Veterans For Peace – Adirondack Chapter 147, Saratoga-Warren-Washington Progressive Action.