Author: Thomas Dimopoulos

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A public meeting regarding the next incarnation of the skatepark in Saratoga Springs will take place 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at City Hall. 

In January, the city put out a call for bids regarding Skate Park Consulting and Design services, to include conceptual design for the installation of a new skatepark to replace the existing one at the East Side Recreation Park on Lake Avenue.

That property is managed by the City of Saratoga Springs and owned by the Saratoga Springs City School District. The site is shaped like a semi-circle that is approximately 180 feet long and 60 feet in radius. It currently is and will remain completely fenced in.

The proposed new project will be required to meet common standards for the latest skatepark design principles primarily for skateboarders, scooters, and BMX riders to develop their skills, and feature a mix of street and transitional-style terrain, with elements designed for all age groups and ability levels, according to city documents. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The first of two public hearings regarding the city’s 2021 budget will be staged at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. The proposed budget, at just under $41.9 million, is approximately $6.8 million less than the originally adopted budget for this year. 

“The 2021 Comprehensive Budget is driven by reduced revenue due to the effect of the pandemic on the national, state, and city economy,” said city Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan, who introduced the proposed budget to the City Council earlier this month. 

Due to the pandemic, 2020 current revenue projections are about $12 million less than the $48.7 million represented by the 2020 adopted budget, and 2021 revenue is estimated at $6.8 million less than the adopted 2020 budget, resulting in available revenue of approximately $41.9 million for 2021, Madigan said.

To partially off-set a pandemic-induced financial shortfall, discussions about employee lay-offs – which would cut costs, and property tax increases – which would increase revenue, are on the table. 

Year-to-date sales tax collection through August 2020 is 22.43% lower than the same period in 2019, NY has held back 20% of state revenue sharing for municipalities, and NYRA Admissions Tax, which provided the city just under $430,000 in 2019, was this year non-existent with no public admissions to the summer meet. 

“The city budget is one of our most important policy documents. It will also be key to the city’s financial recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is an extraordinary event for our city, a year-round destination accustomed to numerous activities, special events, with substantial citizen and visitor participation,” Madigan said. 

“City taxpayers have enjoyed a stable tax rate for an unprecedented 8 years of my tenure as Commissioner of Finance,” Madigan said. “For the first time during my tenure, we have suggested a noteworthy tax levy increase over 2020 in the amount of 6%.”  That 6% increase in property tax rates would generate $949,000 in revenue for 2021. It would increase the property tax payment on a home assessed at $200K by $6 per month, or $72 per year; a home assessed at $400,000 by $12 per month or $144 per year, and so on. 

The city’s single largest expenditure is personnel service. This, together with benefits, represents about 84% of the total General Operating Budget and includes wages, social security, retirement, and healthcare benefits. 

Budgeted expense reductions include a 10% cut in all wage appropriations for full-time employees, serving to mitigate the number of required layoffs, and lessen the impact to police, fire, and DPW labor and other wage lines. Absent federal fiscal stimulus, layoffs will be required. In addition to the 10% across the board pay cut that has been budgeted, additional staff reductions are included for DPW labor lines at 25%; and for DPS at 15% for police and fire personnel lines.

“The 2021 Comprehensive Budget is a plan designed to be amended if further revenue becomes available – such as much needed assistance to local municipalities from the Federal Government,” Madigan said. “While there are few layoffs that require a January 1 target, additional layoffs are not off the table. The Departments of Public Works and Public Safety, which are the departments with the largest personnel lines, will each require a plan to work through year-end 2021.” The proposed budget, she said, is designed to be fluid and flexible as the new post-pandemic economy develops, “specifically designed to prepare us for our challenges, while being amendable as new revenue and expense information is available and opportunities unfold. “    

Tuesday’s council meeting marks the first public hearing of the budget. While the first floor of the newly renovated City Hall had reopened to the public for a handful of meetings recently, the city announced that beginning this week, City Council meetings will be closed to the public for in-person engagement. The announcement was posted on the city’s social media page, where it appears public comments have also recently been altogether disabled or restricted. According to the post, meetings absent of a physical public will continue “until the Music Hall at City Hall is functional as a public meeting space.”

A livestream (and subsequent recording) of the meeting will be posted on the city’s website, the public will be able to participate in public hearings and public comment during the meeting via Zoom, according to the city. 

The line-by-line 190-page budget proposal and accompanying documentation is available for viewing on the city’s website. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A Special City Council meeting was held at City Hall on the afternoon of Oct. 1 to address public safety concerns in light of recent protests and marches held in Saratoga Springs. 

“The safety of the community and all involved is the number one priority of the Department of Public Safety,” Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton said, to begin the meeting. Dalton specifically cited a protest held the previous Friday night led by the group All of Us. The regional grassroots organization describes their goals as fighting for liberty through unity and active resistance and ending all forms of oppression and exploitation.   

“Over the last six days we have received hundreds of complaints from residents, businesses and people who are visiting our city, over the protest that happened in our city Friday night. The Saratoga Springs Police Department recognizes the right to peacefully protest, however, one person’s constitutional right does not supersede another’s,” Dalton said during the meeting, attended by all council members, excepting DPW Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco, who was absent. 

Accompanied by video clips of the protest, Dalton provided a timeline of the march, which commenced in Congress Park and proceeded through the downtown business corridor. For safety reasons, police blocked off streets around the Broadway and Lake Avenue intersection, she said, and a video clip depicted marchers moving along Phila Street.    

“Frequently the group stopped in front of area businesses to intimidate and harass diners and pedestrians,” Dalton said, showing a five-minute clip that depicted one of the group leaders in close proximity to outdoor restaurant tables and loudly addressing diners with words at times peppered with profanity.  “You all can have dinner, while black people are dying,” the clip showed. “You all feel comfortable, having dinner, while we’re being murdered? Come outside walk with us.”

“Suffice to say none of the customers came back to dine at those restaurants that evening,” Dalton said. “That also happened at several other businesses, where they stopped and harassed and intimidated people who were eating.”

Protests for social and racial justice have ramped up regionally much as they have nationwide since the May 25 murder of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after being pinned to the ground by a police officer’s knee. In early June, more than 1,000 attended a rally in Congress Park. In late July, Black Lives Matter/All of Us marchers protesting racial injustice crossed paths with another group supporting law enforcement in a Back The Blue rally. 

Citing “intelligence collected by outside agencies” that police say reported one of the protestors was possibly armed with a handgun, the city added the assistance of the State Police, state Park Police, and the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department. Later that same evening, as members of the group rallied on Broadway and impeded traffic in front of Congress Park, the sheriff’s department utilizing their MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle, dispersed the crowd using pepper projectiles. The city Chief of Police authorized the action “once the situation started turning violent,” according to a statement issued by SSPD. 

The most recent protest led by “All of Us” was staged two days after a Kentucky grand jury decided against charging police officers with homicide in the death of Breonna Taylor. The 26-year-old emergency room technician was shot multiple times in her apartment by officers executing a search warrant earlier this year in what the N.Y. Times described as a “botched raid.” 

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At this week’s special council meeting, Assistant City Police Chief John Catone read a prepared statement which said SSPD respects the right to peacefully protest at public property – “such as parks, government buildings, as long as they are not blocking access to the buildings or interfering with the other purposes the property was designated for.” 

Citing the video clips played during the council meeting, Catone explained that marchers had obstructed vehicle and pedestrian traffic to the point that the safety of all had been compromised. 

“Moving forward, should demonstrations and protests which have not been coordinated with our department occur obstruct vehicular pedestrian traffic and compromise the peace and safety of all community members, the police department will ask demonstrators, protesters to remove themselves from the roadway and stop obstructing vehicular and pedestrian traffic,” Catone said. “The demonstrators/protesters will be given the opportunity to move and if they fail to do so, the appropriate police action will take place, and they may be subject to arrest.”

He added the police department continues to make itself available to meet with rally organizers for safe protest planning purposes, but said members of All Of Us had thus far not agreed to meet with the department. 

“It is time to make some changes here because we cannot have this happening time and time again in the city of Saratoga Springs – period,” Mayor Meg Kelly said. “We are not going to block streets; there’s going to be a time where somebody’s going to get run over by a car. There’s going to be a fight in the street and it’s going to be a bad scene,” she said. “I think this is a very important turning point.” 

Lexis Figuereo, identified as a leader of the group “All of Us,” spoke to the council during the meeting’s public comment period. 

“This is the first meeting I’m hearing anything about protests. Until people started complaining about restaurants last Friday – now you guys want to talk. Now we’re having a special council meeting. There was no Special Council Meeting when you guys shot at us,” said Figuereo, referring to the late July rally that resulted in law enforcement using pepper balls. “Why has it taken this long for this to happen, because we’ve been doing this since May. It seems to me what’s more important is property and money than people and people’s lives.” 

All Of Us is advocating for what it calls its “13 Demands Against Police Brutality, State-Sanctioned Violence, and Abuse of Power.” These include structural changes be made to policing and incarceration, including the abolition of all no-knock warrants, anti-racism training for all persons working for law enforcement, and the abolition of chokeholds, among others.

In June, N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an Executive Order requiring local governments with a police force to perform a comprehensive review and develop a plan to improve current police force deployments, strategies, policies, procedures, and practices. The purpose of the order is to address the particular needs of each community, to promote community engagement and foster trust, and to address any racial bias and disproportionate policing of communities of color.

Earlier this summer, city Mayor Meg Kelly Mayor convened a Task Force to address the governor’s Executive Order. The next meeting is Oct. 14. When completed, the Task Force will present their recommendations to the City Council and the public. The council is required to adopt a plan by local law or resolution on or before April 1, 2021 and to implement the recommendations.

ALBANY —  The state has launched a mobile contact tracing app in partnership with Apple and Google software that will alert smartphone users if they were in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19. 

COVID Alert NY is a voluntary, anonymous, exposure-notification smartphone app created for the purposes of contact tracing. Contact tracing is key to slowing the spread of COVID-19 and helps protect individuals, their families, and entire communities, according to the CDC. It lets people know they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and that they should monitor their health for signs and symptoms of the virus.

“Contact tracing is awesome and our (Saratoga County) contact tracers have been working very hard – but it also relies on your memory,” says Tara Gaston, one of two Saratoga Springs Supervisors representing the city at the county level. “If you have COVID and you’re diagnosed, they ask you: Where have you been? Do you remember when you went to that gas station, and did you brush up against that person? Do you remember when you saw your neighbor out in the front?’ It relies on you remembering every place you’ve been, who you’ve been in contact with.” 

The expectation is the app will “remember” contacts in greater detail than the human memory, and it will do so without compromising privacy or personal information. 

“What I do right now is I have a Proximity List,” explains city resident Charlie Samuels, an awards-winning director and photographer and early supporter of the potential benefits of the system. “I’m a documentarian, so I write down everybody I come close contact with.  I have my own list. But who else keeps a list? And sometimes I forget. This would be an easy, non-thinking way to do that.” 

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In April, Apple and Google – normally competitors in business – announced plans to collaborate on building COVID-19 software into iPhone and Android operating systems.  On Oct. 1, in partnership with Google and Apple, the New York State Department of Health launched the COVID Alert NY app which enables the software to be used, for those who choose to do so. 

The app leverages a private and secure Bluetooth-based technology that alerts you if a sick person spends 10 minutes or more within 6 feet of you, and lets you alert others if you have tested positive without revealing anyone’s identity, according to the state Department of Health.   

“The important thing is it doesn’t tell you where you came in contract with them, or when – except that it would have been sometime in the previous 14 days,” Gaston said. “It can be beneficial, and I love the idea especially because there’s also so much privacy built into it. I’m a big pro-ponent of privacy and I don’t want people’s information being shared.” 

The more people who download COVID Alert NY, the more effective it will be. The free mobile app is available to anyone 18 or older who lives, works, or attends college in New York or New Jersey, and is available for download from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. COVID Alert NY is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Korean, Russian and Haitian Creole. 

BALLSTON SPA — Election Night coverage. A portion of a Terrorism Prevention Program grant this year will afford Saratoga County law enforcement funding to providing for the potential security of polling places and other election related matters. 

In total, the $69,500 grant is via the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, for a 2020 State Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (SLETPP) Grant. SLETPP is a sub-grantee of the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP). The funds pay for enhanced counter terrorism and response programs that include things like training programs, night vision equipment, and unmanned aerial systems equipment. 

A portion of the grant – $14,000 – will specifically target operation overtime for security of polling places and “election related matters” for the county Sheriff’s Department that begins with this election season and goes through Aug. 31, 2023.   

“That’s brand new and the $14,000 is for three years,” Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo said regarding the election-related component.  “I don’t know why it’s in there – the state came up with that so I have no idea – but it was a pre-requisite for the grant, so if we need to utilize extra personnel, we can do that and utilize the monies that were put in the grant.”

At its most recent meeting, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors introduced a resolution authorizing an agreement with the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to accept the $69,500 state law enforcement terrorism prevention program grant. Willard Peck of Northumberland, John Lant of Wilton, John Lawler of Waterford, Darren O’Connor of Malta, Jean Raymond of Edinburg, Matthew Veitch of Saratoga Springs and Arthur Wright of Hadley were the supervisors who introduced the resolution. The agreement is subject to the approval of the County Attorney. 

In the past, the Sheriff’s Department has been involved in things such as picking up and delivering absentee ballots from rural areas to the county Board of Elections on occasion.   

“We’ll work with our Board of Election here to see what they need on Election Night. This is new so were in the planning stages at this time,” Zurlo said. “We’ll see what type of plan they come up with – if we need to go to polling places throughout the county, it may be ballots being picked up. I’m waiting to hear from them to see what type of plan they have in place and then that’ll tell me how many people I need.” 

BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County Office of Emergency Services this week hosted a panel discussion with members of the region’s education and medical communities. 

As the second week of school gets underway locally, Superintendents Oliver Robinson – of the Shenendehowa Central School District, and Patricia Morris – of Stillwater Central School District, say: so far, so good. 

“School is different this year. One of the things we were worried about is wearing masks and how kids will comply, but I have to tell you: kudos to our students from kindergarten through grade 12; kids have been absolutely great about following protocols, which has made the reopening so much smoother,” Robinson said.    

“There are certain logistics that we simply could not anticipate until we started, such as the number of parents who drive their kids to school. There are things we have to make adjustments for – and we have. Transportation the first day was a bit of a traffic jam, the second day was better and by the end of the first week things were flowing very well. Most of our kids are eating lunch in the classroom, and the food service folks have figured out a system that works very smoothly. So, a lot of people came together with a mindset of what can we do to make it a reality.” 

At Stillwater, Morris said a lot of “angst” in preparation for the fall semester has largely been resolved as a result of careful preparation and planning in advance of the start of a return to classes. 

“We were very excited to welcome students back and it has been a whirlwind. It’s been wonderful seeing the kids,” Morris said. The biggest challenge, she said, has been working out the logistics to make everything run as smoothly as possible – keeping students safe while providing them an education.

“We looked at the needs of each grade level: our youngest kids through first grade we wanted those kids in every day being that they’re new learners; replicating the experience of a regular education for them while keeping them safe was important to us.  A hybrid schedule is not ideal for anyone, it’s not that face-to-face, and fully remote certainly is not,” Morris said. “We would want all of our kids back in- person, but to do that we need to be safe. So we created a schedule that would allow grades 2 through 5  and then 6 through 8 to come in intermittently a couple of times a week, and then 9th through 12th  graders are in one day a week, but they have a double period of their core classes.” 

Figuring out the financial aspects under a tight budget will be another challenge. At Shenendehowa, Robinson said the district has spent over 1 million on various Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE’s – masks, sanitizers, and machines among them, and those types of things will be ongoing, not one-time expenses. 

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Cathleen Medick of the county office of public health added that experts are predicting a potential second wave of COVID in the fall as people become more active and schools go back in session. 

“I think the most important thing anyone can do right now is to get a flu shot,” Medick said. “It’s also the beginning of flu season, and COVID and Influenza have very similar symptoms. Getting the flu shot will help keep the flu down and hopefully keep illness at bay. On average in a slow flu season 36,000 people die here in our country from the flu, so we don’t want to add to what’s happening with COVID – we’re up to about 200,000 people who have died in our country with COVID.” Physician offices as well as many pharmacies offer a flu shot, she said. 

“It’s very hard to tell the difference between COVID and flu,” said Dr. David Mastrianni of Saratoga Hospital Medical Group, who also served as a panelist at the forum. 

“There are a few symptoms that may lean you one way or another. What we’ve seen with COVID is a loss of taste and smell, but the reality is it’s going to be hard to tell. There are some people who have gotten very sick and other people who had minimal to no symptoms. There’s no one-size-fits-all, so when people are sick, they’re going to have to be evaluated for both, and we have tests for both,” Mastrianni said.   

“We have a lot of experience with flu vaccine over many years. We know the effectiveness and we know the side effects. It is very safe. There are only very rare various reactions to it. It’s really important this year as we seek to avoid this confusion of COVID and the flu,” he added. 

Members of the local medical community are hopeful mask-wearing and social-distancing to avoid the COVID infection will also result in less cases of the flu being transmitted. “Masking is absolutely critical and then when you add social distancing – that really is very effective. We think this is a key going forward,” Mastrianni said. 

“I think the people in this community have done the right thing. We’ve gotten through those tough first few months where we had our ICU full and we had to open a second ICU. We took patients from New York here, and we saw the decline in cases as people did the right thing. We’ve gone through the summer now where we’ve had spots here and there, but overall people have done a very good job,” Mastrianni said. “I think we are ready for this. We need to be cautious and to know there will be cases, but that we can handle them and that we can work through this together.” 

Robinson cautioned it’s not a time to let one’s guard down. 

“We try to emphasize that parents remind kids when they’re out of school, those same protocols need to be practiced, because COVID isn’t generated in the school. It’s brought into the environment.  So, wear masks, maintain social distancing, have good hand-hygiene,” Robinson said.  “If you have a child that’s sick in any form or fashion, keep the child home. If people are diligent about that, we will continue to have a successful year. School is part of the community and we’re in this together.” 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — An expansion at the Excelsior Park complex is being reviewed by the city Planning Board.

The area of review is off Excelsior Avenue, located north of the VFW Post 420 in a wooded area bordered by Spring Run Trail.  Excelsior Park Phase 1 has been constructed and Phase 2 has previously been approved and is under construction.

The Excelsior Park Project currently under review proposes a mixed-use development that includes 163 residential units, 36,200 square feet of commercial space, a banquet facility, spa, swimming pool, and a 60-room hotel with a 200-seat restaurant. 

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The residential component includes a variety of single and multi-bedroom apartments, townhouses and condominiums. The original application for the project was made in November 2017 and first presented to the Planning Board in early 2018. 

Plans call for the construction of three new structures – the largest of which will stand 50 feet high and 250 feet wide.  The Excelsior Park expansion is anticipated to occur over several phases and cover nearly 35 acres with a start date of June 2021. 

The group presenting the proposal is represented by The Chazen Companies – a multi-disciplinary firm providing clients in both the private and public sectors with a everything from land surveying, planning, and landscape architecture to construction services.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Moby Rick’s Seafood, which formerly served as Pepper’s Market & Deli is slated for demolition this month.  The Lake Avenue building dates to 1891, according to the business’ current inhabitants. Demolition was approved in May regarding the building at 173 Lake Ave, and proposals call for a new two-family dwelling to be constructed in its place. Moby Rick’s Seafood will be relocating to 170 South Broadway.