At The County: Board Moves to Auction City Building on Woodlawn Ave., New Hires for Public Health
BALLSTON SPA — The Board of Supervisors this week moved forward with details regarding the selling of the building on Woodlawn Avenue in Saratoga Springs, as well as approving the hiring of additional employees for the Public Health Department.
The Board approved a resolution to hire a company to put up for auction the building it owns at 31 Woodlawn Ave. An existing lease of one floor of the building to Shelters of Saratoga for use as an overflow homeless shelter expires March 31. The auction is anticipated to take place online between April 6 and April 28.
The county also approved funds for new hires for its public health services department.
The measure includes the hiring of two Public Health Epidemiologists at the base salary of $73,127, and one Supervising Public Health Epidemiologist at the base salary of $83,444 – to investigate patterns and causes of disease and injury in humans, and to reduce the risk and occurrence of negative health outcomes through research.
It also approved the hire of one Senior Public Health Educator to develop public health education campaigns, at the base salary of $59,522.
The projected starting date is Jan. 1, 2022 and the county offered as its reasoning, the following: as the county moves forward through to the eventual end of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, Public Health Services is in need of strong epidemiology capabilities for data analysis, displaying data, case investigation and contact tracing. Funds for the new positions will be covered by the county’s fund balance.
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, R-Saratoga, updated on the Board on the status of the COVID relief bill under review by lawmakers in the House.
“The current COVID relief negotiations are ongoing right now. President Biden has put forth a $1.9 trillion package,” Stefanik said. “It does include state and local aid, which I support, but it also includes a laundry list of very partisan requests and priorities of Speaker Pelosi such as increasing the minimum wage, such as economic stimulus payments to illegal immigrants. I hope that there will be a bi-partisan package that includes state and local aid (but) that’s not the direction this administration is going.”
Stefanik said projections are the bill would result in millions of dollars coming to Saratoga County and that “it will also include direct funding for every town, regardless of size.”
The House is anticipated to vote on the bill Feb. 26.