Author: Saratoga TODAY

SARATOGA SPRINGS – The Baller Dream Foundation has appointed Katrina Lucas to be the new executive director for New York. Based in Saratoga Springs, Lucas will lead efforts to advance the nonprofit organization throughout the Capital Region and beyond. 

Lucas is the principal of sofiEvents, a boutique firm specializing in event marketing, sponsorship management and communications. Prior to launching her business in 2008, she was the Director of Events and Signature Activities at the National Hospice Foundation in Alexandria, VA. Her extensive nonprofit background also includes work with Gilda’s Club Greater Washington, the Visiting Nurse Service Association, Seton Health Foundation, and the American Cancer Society. 

“I am so excited to have Trina join our team as Executive Director for New York,” said Frank DeBlasi, Baller Dream Founder and CEO. “This is our legacy market, where we began as Ballsfest almost a decade ago. While Baller Dream Foundation grows across the country, it’s vital that we continue the work we started here to support young cancer warriors and their families.” 

Founded in Saratoga Springs in 2021, Baller Dream Foundation strives to lift the spirits of brave warriors, aged 25 and younger affected by cancer. The first step to this is referring to them not as patients, but “Ballers” – a modern term conveying that someone is doing well, feeling well, and in control. To that end, Baller Dream Foundation works closely with The Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Albany Medical Center, and other children’s hospitals across the country, providing in-hospital activities and offering support to families. Following treatment BDF presents major life experiences to help Baller dreams come true, ultimately building long relationships to assist them and their families through remission, on the path to a stronger life. 

To learn more about BDF, visit ballerdream.org, or contact Katrina Lucas at 518-538-1190 or trina@ballerdream.org. 

BALLSTON SPA – The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors held its monthly meeting Jan. 18 in Ballston Spa.

The county re-authorized Contact Tracing services agreements with three people whose previous contracts were expiring.   

“There continues to be cases of COVID-19 in Saratoga County, and it is imperative to maintain the services of quality contractors to perform essential contact tracing services,” according to the board resolution. 

The County Administrator is authorized to execute up to 75 minor contracts with individuals identified by Public Health Services as contact tracers on an as-needed basis, at a compensation rate of $25 per hour. It was not immediately known how many of those up-to-75 contracts are currently in effect. 

The previously defined parameters regarding contact tracing is changing with the omicron variant surge, with a shift to what state health officials hope is a more effective use of resources. 

“We’ve been talking with local and county health departments about how we need to leave more flexibility for what happens when someone tests positive, or has been exposed to someone who tested positive, and we’re moving to more self-management when a person has either tested positive or been exposed to someone who tested positive, and less active outreach by departments,” said N.Y. State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett, in a presser with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Jan. 11. “The big change for New Yorkers is that if you test positive, you should no longer expect a call from your health department. You should instead follow the isolation and quarantine guidance.” 

Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Theodore Kusnierz, Jr. said Jan. 18 that the county is shifting its resources as well, such as staffing its booster and vaccine clinics in Ballston Spa. 

“Resources we were spending on contact tracing, we can use with employees for vaccinations,” Kusnierz said. 

Scheduled times and dates for the county operated vaccine and booster clinics mat be found at: www.saratogacountyny.gov/covid/covid-19-vaccines-and-boosters.

Following an Executive Session that lasted more than one hour, the board reconvened, added a new agenda item, and unanimously approved a settlement with pharmaceutical manufacturer Allergan, in which Allergen has offered to settle the claims of the Saratoga County by paying just over $335,000 in a one-time direct payment to be used for restitution. The board’s approval authorizes a settlement with Allergen, named in an action to recover damages in combatting and treating opioid abuse. 

The Board approved a financial increase in the previously existing contract agreement with Saratoga Hospital for the use of the hospital’s laboratory and morgue facilities, due to increasing numbers of cases handled by the County Coroners at Saratoga Hospital in 2021. 

The earlier agreement was a three-year contract from 2020-2022, inclusively, with a maximum annual cost of $40,000. The amended agreement increases the contract limit from $40,000 to $65,000 for the years 2021 and 2022. 

The increase in cases had to do with an increasing number of bodies kept in the morgue resulting from a lengthier search for existing next-of-kin, and not the result of one specific issue such as COVID, said   county coroner Susan Hayes-Masa.

Public Hearings regarding Saratoga County Airport, Potential Additional Supervisors Slated for Feb. 9

The Board set a Public Hearing to take place Feb. 9 regarding the proposed development of a new aircraft hangar at Saratoga County Airport. 

North American Flight Services (NASF), which has been the Fixed Base Operator at the county airport for 22 years, proposed that it would privately fund the design and construction of the 22,500 square foot hangar – estimated at $6 million to $7 million – and would pay taxes and retain ownership of it following its construction. 

NASF currently holds two leases at the airport with a term through April 2028 on which it currently pays approximately $7,000 per month. With the potential addition of a new hangar, the company is requesting the term of the lease be modified to extend to 2061, with a sliding incremental increase in monthly payments that would conclude at just over $9,600 per month in the final five years of the proposed lease extension, from 2056-2061.

A Public Hearing on the proposed modification and extensions of the terms of the leases was initially slated to take place in December, but was postponed. The hearing will now be held at 4:40 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Meeting Room of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors at 40 McMaster St., Ballston Spa. 

A Public Hearing at 4:35 p.m. on Feb. 9 at the Chambers of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors to introducing a proposed Local Law that seeks to increase the population threshold at which an additional county supervisor would be added. 

The standing law, first applied in 1968, provides that each town or city in Saratoga County will elect an additional County Supervisor for every 25,000 residents. 

As a result of the 2020 census, growth of population in the town of Halfmoon appears to show the number of residents at about 25,600, or just above that 25,000 threshold. The options would be to either add a second supervisor, or adopt a local law to increase the threshold, which would keep the number of members on the Board of Supervisors status quo. 

The proposed Local Law up for public discussion seeks to amend the population threshold to 27,500 as the new figure that would trigger the addition of a second supervisor. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS -The historic “Wilson Chute” will be reconstructed at Saratoga Race Course in time for the 2022 summer meet and allowing for one-mile races to be contested on the main track, the New York Racing Association announced this week.

The Wilson Chute – named after banker and former Saratoga Racing Association President Richard T. Wilson – was dismantled after the 1972 season to accommodate additional parking. It was brought back briefly in 1992 when 25 races started in the chute.

The reconstruction project will carefully follow the route of the original chute along the Clubhouse Turn, just to the east of the 1863 Club, and will be accompanied by upgrades to the Tailgate at the Turn picnic area located at the Clubhouse Turn, according to NYRA.

The chute was part of the 1902 Master Plan which included enlarging the track, moving it westward, and rotating it 25 degrees as well as inserting a steeplechase course into the infield. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last Friday that a COVID testing site will open Jan. 20 on Union Ave. in Saratoga Springs at SUNY/Empire State College. 

The Saratoga Springs location is one of nine new testing sites that will open on SUNY and community college campuses across New York State and follows the 20 sites on SUNY campuses the Governor has announced throughout the month of January.

“Through our winter surge plan, we are building on our ongoing efforts to make testing more widely available, and that includes utilizing our SUNY campus facilities that are equipped to distribute more tests to New Yorkers,” Gov. Hochul said, in a statement. “Expanded access to testing will ensure those who are positive with the virus can isolate to limit spread and keep others in their communities well. We’re turning the corner on this winter surge but we’re not through this yet, so let’s continue to use the tools that will help stop the spread: Wear a mask, wash your hands, get your vaccine, your second dose, and your booster. Get tested and stay home if you are sick – we are not powerless.”

The Saratoga Springs venue is located at Empire State College, 1 Union Ave.  Hours of Operation: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

According to Quadrant Biosciences, the PCR COVID-19 test is an oral, saliva-based test.

Appointments can be scheduled here: www.app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=24841628&calendarID=6420951. 

WASHINGTON, DC – New York State is slated to receive $378.4 million this year to repair hundreds of bridges across the state in need of repair, Congressman Paul Tonko (D) announced this week. The funding, which the Congressman deemed as “critical” was delivered under the Tonko-backed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will fix 1,700 bridges in poor condition across the state. 

The more than $378 million delivered to New York in 2022 is the first investment in the 5 Year Bridge Formula Program Funding that will deliver a total of $1.9 billion to NY by 2026.

“Our crumbling bridge infrastructure costs drivers hundreds in repairs each year and poses an immediate public safety threat for Americans travelling these roads every day,” Tonko said, in a prepared statement.

Currently, there are currently 1,702 bridges in New York State in poor condition, according to the Department of Transportation.  Since 2011, commute times have increased by 7.4% in New York, and the average driver now pays $625 per year in extra costs related to driving on roads and bridges in need of repair. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed into law last November, aims to repair and rebuild roads and bridges nationwide, with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users. 

The historic bridge repair funding is made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  The total amount that will be available to states, D.C. and Puerto Rico in Fiscal Year 2022 is $5.3 billion along with $165 million for tribes. 

Tonko represents the 20th Congressional District which includes a portion of Saratoga County and points south. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R), who represents the 21st Congressional District – which includes a portion of Saratoga County and points north, voted against the measure. 

Nationwide, the Bridge Formula Program is expected to help repair approximately 15,000 highway bridges. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes an incentive for states to direct the new Bridge Formula Program funds to off-system bridges owned by a county, city, town or other local agency. While states generally must match federal funding with up to 20 percent state or local funding, guidance issued this week notes that federal funds can be used for 100 percent of the cost of repairing or rehabilitating such locally owned off-system bridges, according to the DOT. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS – The City of Saratoga Springs announced this week it will receive sealed bids until Feb. 4 for the Saratoga Greenbelt Downtown Connector Trail.  The bids will be publicly opened and read at the deadline at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4. 

Contractor will provide all labor, materials, machinery, tools, equipment and other means of construction necessary and incidental to the completion of the work regarding the project.   

The project will provide a 1.6-mile trail that begins at the intersection of Lake Avenue/High Rock Avenue and ends at the existing trail terminus on Excelsior Avenue. Details regarding the RFP are available for review via a 544-page document at the city website, Saratoga-springs.org. 

Saratoga Works! That was our message to voters in the fall of 2020 as we urged the defeat of the latest attempt to change Saratoga Springs’ commission form of government to a city manager form. Voters agreed and defeated the charter change proposal by over 1,000 votes.

With a new administration in city hall, we thought it a good time to reflect on how well the commission form of government in Saratoga Springs has been working since that decisive vote. 

Charter changers claimed that the commission form is inefficient, that women would not run for office, and that the “5-headed monster” would produce gridlock and the city would suffer.

However, in the last two years, the city of Saratoga Springs: 

• saw seventeen people step up to run for office, including seven women;
• secured land from NYRA for the third Fire Station for 2022 completion;
• finished the Geyser Road Trail for public enjoyment;
• passed the Unified Development Ordinance to streamline the city’s building and zoning process;
• resolved legal issues to complete the City Center Parking Structure, increasing downtown parking and EV charging stations;
• had city government fully functioning in the Rec Center less than a week after fire damaged City Hall;
• completed the renovation of City Hall combining historic preservation with ADA compliance and energy efficiency.

The majority of new Council members were active participants in the soundly defeated effort to change our charter. Our hope is they will remember the message from voters and continue to make Saratoga Work.

 – Connie Woytowich and Jane Weihe, Co-Chairs of Saratoga Works

Saratoga Works is a civic group of individuals from multiple political parties and diverse backgrounds who care about our city and its future (www.saratogaworks.org)