BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors adopted its 2024 Saratoga County Legislative Program during its monthly Feb. 20 at the county complex in Ballston Spa. 

The 10-page document summarizes requested legislative action by state and federal officials, as well as identifying what the Board considers important priorities and initiatives for consideration at state and federal levels. 

Among the items under program’s General Government Services subhead is the county’s support of local municipal control to determine hours of retail sale of alcoholic beverages. 

Currently, the state’s Alcohol Beverage and Control Laws provide counties with an opportunity to submit a request to the State Liquor Authority to restrict hours of sale of alcoholic beverages on a county-wide basis. 

For more than a decade, officials in Saratoga Springs have attempted to initiate earlier bar closing times but with little success; As per current law, the county would need to advocate for earlier bar closing times across all county municipalities – which it has been reluctant to do. 

The Saratoga County Board this week pledged its support for a change to the ABC law to allow for local municipalities to make requests directly to the State Liquor Authority on their own, and for the SLA to determine hours of retail sale of alcoholic beverages based on municipality – without requiring county-wide actions and restricting sales in a neighboring town, city, or village.  The entry marks at least the second time in consecutive years the item has been adopted by the county Board of Supervisors.     

Even as the county may be open to local governments setting parameters for the hours of sale of alcoholic beverages within their own respective municipalities, cities and towns seeking to make any potential changes continue to face an arduous task as the ABC law would need to be amended in order for cities and towns to restrict hours. Consideration of such a law change would be up to the state legislature and there does not appear to be any pending legislation currently addressing the matter. 

•Saratoga County announced it was awarded $111,278 via a new fund created under the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to support youth team sports programs for underserved youth under age 18. The county was provided the award to disburse between 7 different Youth Team Sport programs. To that point, the Board of Supervisors voted to approve the execution of the subcontracts:  Mechanicville/Stillwater Little League – $15,000; MACSC Volleyball, Dodgeball League – $4,468; Mechanicville Stillwater United Soccer Club – $5,606; Schuylerville Youth Lacrosse $ 6,917; Department of Aging & Youth Services Administration 10% – $11,128. Agencies: Old Saratoga Athletic Association $31,999; Galway Baseball Softball League $18,160; Corinth Youth Hockey Association, Inc. $18,000.  

•County officials announced the creation of a school-based opioid and substance use disorder advocacy and support program to address and reduce the impact of addiction and opioid use disorder in Saratoga County schools. The new program will pair school resource officers with certified peer recovery advocates to help students in recovery. 

Tuesday, a resolution was approved for a two-year memorandum of understanding between the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and the Saratoga County Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for the use of $205,000 in regional abatement funds authorized from the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS). The Sheriff’s Office will use the funds to contract with the Healthy Capital District Initiative (HCDI) and with two Certified Peer Recovery Advocates to launch the school-based opioid and substance use support program.

•The Board approved $48,837 in one-time funding as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to increase its capacity for provision of offsite services, one-on-one services, improvement of telehealth infrastructure, and other items. The top dollar amount appropriation increases are for:  Minor IT Equipment – $6,515, Office Equipment – $6,500, and Department Supplies- $5,200. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Spa City is looking to implement a seasonal parking program that will affect more than 2,000 existing parking spaces in the downtown area located east and west of Broadway.

Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub and DPW Business Manager Mike Veitch provided an update on Feb. 15 of the city’s parking plan anticipated to go into effect May 1. 

Specifically, the program – the name has been changed from “Tourism Parking” to “Seasonal Parking” – is looking to convert more than 1,300 on-street parking spaces into strictly Permit Parking, and 2-hour-free-and-Permit Parking spots. Broadway itself will remain as is. 

An additional near-800 combined spots in the Walton, Putnam and Woodlawn city parking garages would be converted into 170 Permit parking spaces with the balance of spaces set as paid spots. The plan includes pay stations and mobile pay options, but no traditional parking meters.

Free permit parking will be reserved for city residents, business owners and their employees. Downtown businesses will be able to register their employees for the free permits regardless of where those business owners and their employees live. 

Free permits will also be made available to city residents, who will be able to register for permits with proof of residency; the passes will be available to all residents and not just taxpayers. Guest passes will also be made available for those visiting residents.   

“Paid parking is a way many small cities and towns have taken to generate revenue to maintain their garages and to support the needs of the city,” Department of Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub explained during the Feb. 15 presentation at Saratoga Music Hall. The gathering was attended by more than 50 people, most of whom are downtown business owners. The 25-minute presentation was followed by a 30-minute Q&A session. 

“While I understand the need for the city to bring in a different revenue stream to help with garage maintenance, I do have serious reservations about the implementation,” said downtown business owner Heidi Owen West, adding that the length of the seasonal parking program may have a negative effect on local customers coming in from outside the city limits, as well as the potential lack of parking spot turnover that the resident parking permits may cause. 

“Turnover is critical for businesses,” West said. “Businesses need this turnover, and my concern is that the inventory for visitor parking is too limited.”

“There will still be a significant amount of parking on the streets. Broadway will remain the same, and most of streets coming off Broadway will have the two-hour (free) option,” Golub said.  

The city anticipates a projected first-season gross revenue of just over $2 million that would be offset by about $750,000 in costs, leaving a net income of just over $1.2 million. Some of the initial costs would be first-year implementation expenses, so the city’s net income could conceivably be higher in future years. 

The city began researching the potential of a paid parking tourism or seasonal program about a year ago by studying existing programs in comparable cities with tourist-based economies. 

Over the next 5 years, the city will need to spend more than $600,000 in capital improvements on its parking structures, Veitch explained.  “This money would go toward that.” 

“The reality is the garages today for our residents and our visitors are atrocious. And we don’t have the money to fix them,” Golub said.  “We will be doing capital improvements over the course of the (next few) years based on revenue we are able to generate – and hopefully also address the homeless issue with some of these revenues as well, so they aren’t using the garages as shelters.” 

There will be at least one public hearing – date to-be-determined – before the City Council votes on the matter. The council will also be required to vote separately on the dollar amount of the paid parking fees. 

The plan is tentatively slated to go into effect from May 1 to Sept. 30. Commissioner Golub stressed that the plan is fluid and community input is encouraged in advance of implementation.  The program will be evaluated after the first season and any adjustments deemed necessary will be made after the first year. 

“This is an ongoing conversation. We want your input, and we want to get this right before we roll it out,” Golub said. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —A ceremony at the Saratoga Music Hall will take place Feb. 29 when the 153-year-old hall will be re-dedicated as the Skip Scirocco Music Hall.

The hall will be named after Anthony “Skip” Scirocco, a lifelong Saratogian who served the city professionally – first as the animal control officer, then as elected Saratoga County Supervisor – from 1998 to 2005, and as a standing Commissioner of Public Works, starting in 2008.  Scirocco died in April 2022 at the age of 74 following a brief battle with cancer. 

Scirocco was born on Feb. 29, 1948, and Feb. 29 is why the date for dedication was selected, said current DPW Commissioner Jason Golub. 

Saratoga Music Hall has been around since construction of City Hall was completed, at a cost of $110,000, in 1871. The building was first known as Town Hall – Saratoga Springs was not yet a city – and the third-floor hall was used as a courtroom in 1872 for the sensational murder trial of Edward Stokes. The trial, in connection with the shooting death of the New York City financier James “Diamond Jim” Fisk, attracted large crowds and newspapermen from across the Northeast. Stokes ultimately was convicted of manslaughter in the case.

Over the years the theater hosted conventions, minstrel shows, early movies, events associated with Saratoga Lake rowing competitions, and performances by actors such as Sarah Bernhardt, Raymond Hitchcock, and Irish tenor Chauncey Olcott. The theater also was the site of the founding meetings of the American Bar Association and the American Banking Association in the late 1800s.

The original Town Hall Theatre was home to the Town Hall Players, one of whose members was George Hyde Pierce, the father of actor David Hyde Pierce, who grew up in Saratoga Springs and is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Niles Crane on the television sitcom “Frasier.”

In 2016, fear grew that the 300-seat hall was in its last days as a community gathering space, with the venue targeted by the city – in accordance with a state mandate – for conversion into a courtroom. At a public hearing hosted by the city, dozens of people spoke in protest of the council’s suggestion to turn the hall into a courtroom space, and an online petition titled “Save the Music Hall!” garnered more than 370 signatures in the three weeks in advance of the hearing. 

Saratoga Springs City Hall – which houses the music hall on its uppermost floor – sustained extensive damage following an August 2018 lightning strike, and the council subsequently determined a building-wide multi-million-dollar renovation and restoration project was appropriate. 

“The emergency following the lightning strike along with the mandates from the courts and legislature were circumstances outside of our control, but this Council has worked collaboratively to keep this project moving,” then-DPW Commissioner Scirocco said at the time. “It’s the largest and possibly the most important project the city will undertake in our lifetime… and I think the public will be pleased with all the improvements in their City Hall.”

The newly restored Saratoga Music Hall opened to the public in late 2020. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The 25th Annual Chowderfest will be held 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10.

“It’s the 25th year of Chowderfest in Saratoga Springs. There will be 80-plus participating restaurants and vendors, there will be live music, kids’ activities, collectable hats and shirts for sale.” Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran told the City Council last month. 

“The anticipated attendance is between 30,000 and 40,000 in downtown Saratoga. We are ready to bring these crowds into the community to celebrate. Knock on wood we get great weather and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing everybody. We’re going to show the world this is a community that knows how to welcome guests and to show them everything this city has to offer,” Moran said. 

The family-friendly event invites participants to savor 4 oz. chowder samples at $2 each from more than 80 Saratoga County establishments.

In addition to chowder, downtown Saratoga Springs will host live entertainment and family-friendly activities. Free shuttles from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. will be available at Saratoga Casino Hotel. 

Exclusive 25th-anniversary long-sleeve shirts ($15 or $17 for XXL), beanies ($10) and collectible spoons ($5) will be available for purchase at the Saratoga Springs City Center and Saratoga Springs Heritage Area Visitor Center while supplies last.

“For 25 years, Chowderfest has woven itself into our community’s fabric as a cherished tradition. Join us as we mark this milestone with surprises and unforgettable flavors – it’s destined to make history,” Darryl Leggieri, president at Discover Saratoga said in a statement.

Voting will take place online at discoversaratoga.org/chowderfest/vote. One vote per device will be accepted and voting closes at 5 p.m. Winners will be announced at 6 p.m. at Saratoga Springs Heritage Area Visitor Center.

Discover Saratoga is also conducting a promotion during Chowderfest which allows attendees who download the new mobile app and check-in at participating establishments to earn entries into a drawing for $1,000 in gift cards to Saratoga businesses and restaurants. One winner will be chosen. 

The Discover Saratoga mobile app is free and available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information regarding Chowderfest, visit discoversaratoga.org/chowderfest or call 518-584-1531.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Jack Quinn grew up on the city’s west side near Saratoga Hospital. The pages of his high school yearbook – Saratoga Springs Class of 2008 – unveil images of the young man’s smiling face alongside a list of pursuits of his teenage years: ski club and SPAC, fun, lacrosse and film club among them. 

“I was always the kid with the video camera,” he says. “It just grew from there.”

Three weeks ago, Quinn walked onto a Los Angeles stage and was presented with an award that recognized the achievements of the kid with the video camera from Saratoga Springs. 

“It was crazy,” says Quinn about attending the 75th Creative Arts Emmy Awards. “Just a wild night.” The images depict a smiling man cradling that most famous of statuettes depicting a winged woman holding an atom. “I watch the Emmys every year and it was a great opportunity to go.” 

Quinn and his team were nominated for and the eventual winners of the Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction Or Reality Series award based on their work with the HBO series “Succession” (Controlling The Narrative).  They faced competition from Saturday Night Live (Presents Behind The Sketch), and The White Lotus (Unpacking The Episode), among others. 

“The night we got to attend was geared toward unscripted shows – a lot of documentary series, a lot of Reality Shows, and our category fell into that because we were nominated for the Inside the Episode series, which is basically a mini-documentary,” Quinn says. The Creative Arts Emmys presentations are among a small handful of events held during the multiple nights of Emmy ceremonies.    

“Jeff Probst – the host of Survivor, was presenting that award. It was funny to see him onstage and to have him hand us the trophy,” Quinn says. “It was a whirlwind night.”  

Quinn was born in 1990 and spent his formative years in Saratoga Springs, leaving for four years to attend classes at SUNY Oswego – where he earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting in 2012 – and returned to Saratoga Springs for a handful of years before heading to Georgia, where he earned a Master of Arts – Film & Television Production, at Savannah College of Art & Design. 

“I was hired right out of school to work for Turner Broadcasting,” Quinn says. He joined HBO in the summer 2021, where he has worked with the shows “Room 104,” and “Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union,” “The Gilded Age,” and the current running series “True Detective: Night Country.”  

“When I started at HBO, season 2 of Succession was wrapping up. When season 3 came around, I told my boss: hey, I really love Succession and I would love to work as much as possible on this show. Thankfully I got the opportunity to do that,” Quinn says.  

“I work for HBO in the marketing department on the corporate side. Within my team we get assigned certain shows to handle the marketing campaign,” he explains.  “We do these little episodic promos – basically a trailer for the next episode. So, after the episode ends it’s: Next Week on Succession… and there are the little trailers we put together. Or, after the episode there will be an Inside the Episode featurette – an interview with the cast and crew, and that’s something my department does as well. That involves us interviewing everyone and putting together these little featurettes for every episode.”

You can find Quinn’s specific editing work on a number of “Succession” Inside The Episode broadcasts as well as in a variety of series trailers. The series, as described by the television network itself: “A bitingly funny drama series exploring themes of power and family through the eyes of an aging media mogul and his four grown children.”   

It is for “Succession: Controlling The Narrative,” that Quinn as producer secured the Creative Arts Emmy award. 

“When season 4 came along, I guess my boss trusted me a little more and we worked closely putting together the interviews – assisted in writing questions for every cast member and crew member who we would interview per episode, and actually worked on a cast interview,” Quinn says. “When it came time to work on the campaign in terms of editing everything together, I got the opportunity to do the most consequential episode featurettes – the Inside the episodes of the season and the series finale.”

How does he approach the work? “When I’m working on those Inside the episode pieces – you watch as many episodes as are available, and you read the scripts. You’re not looking at the finished product, but you’re trying to find as much subtext and drama and identify the most exciting and interesting moments and try to create questions that might give answers that people are interested in,” says Quinn. 

“I’m really glad to be working with HBO because I feel they have the best programming department in the business. They’re really good at picking projects and they give people a considerable budget to work with so I’m always excited to see what HBO gives us next to work with,” says Quinn, who these days calls Brooklyn home. 

It was during his time growing up in Saratoga Springs that Quinn says he came to the realization that the craft of editing – as opposed to shooting or anything else in the realm of videography – was a path he wanted to follow.  

“I grew up messing around with the family camcorder – we had this Sony Handycam that probably most families had at that point – and I just started messing with it, shooting videos with my friends, little skits. I figured out how to edit on my own,” Quinn says. “I got professional software and I had no idea what to do, but eventually I just sort of figured it out.” 

What’s up next? “Right now, I’m wrapping up some work on the series True Detective – which just started a few weeks ago – and the next thing is a show called The Regime, which was given to our team to handle because some of the same people from Succession are producing and writing it, so it’s a good fit.

“I was always the kid with the video camera and luckily, I now have a career in the same field.”