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SARATOGA SPRINGS — David Snyder, a lifelong Saratogian, former bartender, civil servant, mayoral staffer, and current substitute teacher in Saratoga Springs’ public schools, announced his candidacy Dec. 14 for mayor of Saratoga Springs.

Snyder was raised in Saratoga Springs and graduated from the University at Albany in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in English. 

He launches his campaign with the endorsement of Run for Something, a national grassroots organization that aims to “recruit and support young, diverse progressives to run for down-ballot races in order to build sustainable power for Democrats in all 50 states.” The organization itself launched in January 2017 and reports 525 Run for Something candidates are thus far on the ballot across the country in fall 2020. 

Snyder had worked as executive assistant to current city Mayor Meg Kelly. He resigned his position last July, citing as reasons “City Hall’s shameful silence on the clashes between Back the Blue marchers and peaceful demonstrators in support of racial justice, and on the county Sheriff’s violent dispersal of the protestors against systemic racism.”

All five City Council member seats – four commissioners and one mayor – are up for vote in November 2021. Of these five seats, Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan has announced she will not seek re-election.   

WILTON — The Wilton Town Board has adopted the Town’s 2021 budget which reflects an overall decrease of nearly 9% from the previous year’s budget. 

The Town Supervisor, John Lant, has prepared a conservative budget, recognizing the continued decrease in sales tax collections while not using existing fund balance to balance the budget. 

Next year marks Wilton’s 39th year with no town tax, according to a statement issued by the town.  The 2021 budget does not include debt financing.

The Town’s total budget for 2021, $8.2 million, is apportioned to the Town’s General Fund and Highway Fund for $5 million and $3.2 million, respectively. 

Budgeted sales tax for 2021 is 5% less than what was budgeted for the prior year, reflecting the current downward trend in sales tax collections, largely driven by decreased foot traffic in local stores resulting from the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus. 

Budgeted payroll decreased by 1% from the prior year in the General Fund, and increased by 3% in the Highway Fund, resulting in a two percent overall increase in payroll expense for the Town.  The decrease in the General Fund payroll was achieved through efficiencies created by cross-training staff. 

Budgeted General Fund expenditures for the Town’s two largest activities, governmental support and culture and recreation, decreased by 8% and 11%, respectively.  The decreases result from timing of project completion, a decrease in staffing levels and equipment purchases, and a decrease in planned spending for activities. 

Supervisor Lant has included funds in the 2021 budget for increased patrol by Sherriff’s Deputies.  The Town Board is also providing funding for the addition of an ice rink at the pavilion to provide Wilton residents with an additional, safe activity to enjoy during the winter months.

The Town of Wilton’s 2021 budget can be found at www.townofwilton.com.

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is warning New Yorkers of ongoing text message phishing schemes. These illegitimate text messages ask recipients to update their driver license contact information. The messages link to a phony DMV website. Anyone who received such a text message should not provide any personal data and should delete it right away. 

To help protect against phishing or smishing (SMS phishing) scams, the NYS Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) recommends the following precautions:

*Exercise caution with all communications you receive, including those that appear to be from a trusted entity.  Inspect the sender’s information to confirm the message was generated from a legitimate source.

*Keep an eye out for telltale signs of phishing – poor spelling or grammar, the use of threats, the URL does not match that of the legitimate site. If the message does not feel right, chances are it is not.

• DON’T click on links embedded in an unsolicited message from an unverified source.

• DON’T send your personal information via text.  Legitimate businesses will not ask users to send sensitive personal information through text message.

• DON’T post sensitive information online.  The less information you post, the less data you make available to a cybercriminal for use in developing a potential attack or scam.

For more information on phishing scams, as well as steps to mitigate a phishing attempt, visit the NYS Office of Information Technology Services Phishing Awareness resources page: its.ny.gov/resources. For more information about DMV, visit dmv.ny.

ALBANY — With the vaccination process underway, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this week that COVID-19 Vaccines will be provided to New Yorkers free of charge. 

“In this state you do not pay for vaccinations, period. That is not true in other parts of the country,” Cuomo said.

The vaccination process is currently in Phase I – which includes vaccinating priority healthcare workers, and nursing home and congregate care residents and workers. Phase II – which includes essential workers and priority general public – is anticipated to begin in late January.

A new state website has been created regarding the vaccines and may be viewed at: covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov. 

As COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations continue to climb, the governor said whether the state will once again need to go to “Pause” mode is up to the behavior of residents through the holiday season. 

“The (potential) shutdown is in their hands, New Yorkers: celebrate smart, healthy holidays, hospital management – we don’t shut down,” Cuomo said.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A disinfection system co-created by Class of 2014 Skidmore College graduate Elliot “Mo” Kreitenberg has been named one of Time magazine’s Best Inventions of 2020. 

The Dimer GermFalcon – a disinfection system from Dimer UVC Innovations – disinfects the interior of an airplane with UVC light. 

“Roughly the size of a beverage cart, the GermFalcon uses the same UVC disinfection systems as hospitals to sanitize every surface of an aircraft’s interior before passengers board,”  according to Time magazine.  While not yet tested against COVID-19, the GermFalcon has been effective against SARS and MERS, two other members of the coronavirus family.w

The GermFalcon utilizes hospital-proven UVC light to quickly and effectively kill germs on all high touch surfaces of an airplane. Dimer is the company that created the appliance. 

Skidmore alumnus Leejay Pollacchi ’13, a marketing and design professional, is also part of the core project team and has been brought on as brand manager at Dimer, according to Skidmore College. Kreitenberg and Pollacchi, two longtime friends, were also college roommates and both studied management and business at Skidmore and played for the men’s baseball team.

SARATOGA SPRINGS

• Saratoga Springs EOC Soup Kitchen Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church: 24 Circular St. 518-584-2597. Mon–Sat 11:45 a.m.–1 p.m., Sun 3– 4 p.m. Serves to anyone who needs food in any county.

• Franklin Community Center: 10 Franklin St. Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-4 p.m., by appointment only. 518-587-9826. Serves to anyone who needs food in any county. 

• Salvation Army 27: Woodlawn Ave. 518-584-1640. Sign up online on Facebook or call ahead to set up order and they will deliver. Facebook: search salvation army of Saratoga Springs. Serves all Saratoga County residents.

• St. Clement’s Food Pantry: 231 Lake Ave. Procedure: building is closed to the public, pre-packed bags. Clients are asked to drive around the church to the side pantry door. Their protein/meat request and family size will be taken, clients will remain in their vehicle and bags will be brought out to them. Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 9–12 p.m., Contact: Marianne McGhan, office: 518-581-9805. Available to all Saratoga County residents.

• Perry Road Food Pantry: 150 Perry Road, Saratoga Springs. Open the 1st and 3rd Tuesday evening of each month from 5-7 p.m. Patrons are required to register with the food pantry online (one time only). Orders will be delivered to your car in the church parking lot. When you arrive, sign in at the rear entrance. Please send questions or concerns to: Dave Worcester at office@prbcny.org

BALLSTON SPA 

• Christ Episcopal Church: 15 West High St. 518-602-0004. No appointment necessary, pull up wait by door: Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri 10 a.m. – Noon, Wed 5–6 p.m. Available to Ballston Spa School District Residents.

• EOC Food Pantry: 39 Bath St. 518-288-3206. Call for appointment. Delivery only. Available to all Saratoga County residents.

• First Baptist Church: 202 Milton Ave. 518-885-8361. No appointment; show up during business hours: 1st and 3rd Tues. 9–11 a.m., Thurs. 4:30– 6:30 p.m.; 1st Sat 8–10 a.m. Available to all Saratoga County residents. 

• United Methodist Church: 101 Milton Ave. 518-885-6886. No appointment necessary, just wait in parking lot: Wed. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. 

CLIFTON PARK 

• Harvest Church Food Pantry: 303 Grooms Rd. 518-628-3663.  Call ahead to schedule time. Available to Southern Saratoga Residents (exit 10 and south) with a call from social services representative.

• Karyl’s Kupboard CAPTAIN Youth and Family Services: 5 Municipal Plaza, Suite 3. 518-371-1185. Call ahead to schedule time. Mon, Tues, Thurs: 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Available to all Saratoga County residents.

CORINTH 

• Corinth Community Cupboard: 6 Fourth St. 518-615-9564. No appointment. Park on street in front and go to door. Tues. 2-5 p.m., Wed 6-8 p.m., Thurs. 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and Fri. 2-5 p.m. Available to all counties. 

GALWAY 

• Greater Galway Food Pantry: 2167 Galway Rd. 518-882-1316. Thurs 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Just show up and honk. Available to all Saratoga County residents. Available once a month. 

GREENFIELD

• Greenfield Community Center Food Pantry: 25 Wilton Rd., Greenfield Center (next to town hall). Wed 1:30–3:30 p.m. Just show up. Available to all Saratoga County Residents.

ROCK CITY FALLS

• ECHO Food Pantry St. Paul’s Church: 771 Route 29. Tues 9–11:30 a.m. Just show up. Serves Rock City Falls residents. 

SCHUYLERVILLE

•Schuylerville Area Food Emergency Relief (S.A.F.E.R.): 12 Spring St. 518-507-6043 (Emergency: 518-932-2219). Mon. and Fri. 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Call ahead  to order. Wait in parking area. Available to Schuylerville School District residents only. 

SOUTH GLENS FALLS

• South Glens Falls Moreau Community Center: 144 Main St. 518-792-6007. No appointment necessary. Mon–Fri 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Just show up, bring ID and piece of mail from the month SGF school district. If need delivery, call 518-792-6007, ext. 12 or 19. South Glens Falls School District only.

• Pine Knolls Food Pantry, Pine Knolls Alliance Church: 641 Gansevoort Rd. Pantry is in ranch style home on property of church. Pull in parking lot. 518-793-7101. No appointment necessary. Just show up with ID & food is brought out to cars. Sat 9-10:30 a.m. Open to all counties.

STILLWATER 

• United Church: 747 Hudson Ave. 518-664-1231. Mon & Wed 10 a.m.–12 p.m., Thurs 5–7 p.m. Just wait in car in parking lot on Palmer Avenue which is behind church. Available to residents in any county. 

WILTON 

• Wilton Food Pantry Trinity United Methodist Church (Annex): 155 Ballard Rd. 518-350-4456. Existing customers go on website and order online. New customers show up and you will get application. Wed 6–8 p.m., Sat 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m. Available to Town of Wilton and surrounding areas.

The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York works to alleviate hunger and prevent food waste by accepting large donations of food from the food industry and distributing those donations to charitable agencies that feed hungry people. The Regional Food Bank serves Food pantries, Soup kitchens, Emergency shelters and other venues in 23 counties, including Saratoga. For more information about the Regional Food Bank, or to donate, go to: regionalfoodbank.net.  For more Saratoga County food pantries and resources, go to: saratogacounty.gov. 

BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga Center for Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Care, a 257-bed facility formerly operated by the county as Maplewood Manor, is anticipated to close early in the new year.

The state Department of Health approved a plan submitted by the leadership of Saratoga Center for Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Care to close, said DOH spokesman Jeffrey Hammond. 

“According to the approved plan, all of the residents will be relocated to other long term care facilities as soon as possible.  DOH will monitor the facility as closure activities commence to help minimize the impact of this closing on the community, and to make sure every resident is relocated to an appropriate level of care,” Hammond said, in a prepared statement. 

After learning of the potential closure, Ballston Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state DOH Commissioner Howard Zucker, dated Dec. 11, requesting the nursing home closure “be extended appropriately, in consideration of the current pandemic.” 

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Walsh called the deadline for closure, which is Feb. 15, 2021, a challenging one, even under the best of circumstances. 

“With the pandemic, this type of major transition could be unsafe for residents or worse yet, deadly,” Walsh wrote.  “Transferring these residents to facilities within the required 50-mile radius necessitates that they will be entering facilities with active COVID cases.” 

The Saratoga facility has thus far reported no COVID-19 positive resident cases. 

“Given the recent surge in cases in Saratoga and nearby counties, many facilities are not accepting new admissions. This may result in residents having to relocate far from home and far from family supports. I do not question the business judgment of the owners and operators of this facility to make the business decision to close. However, I remain very concerned about the health, safety and well-being of these vulnerable residents,” said Walsh, reporting that 87 residents will be required to relocate. “Allowing sufficient time for residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and for the holiday surge in cases to dissipate, would be a reasonable accommodation,” she added. 

The Saratoga Center for Rehab & Skilled Nursing Care, is located at 149 Ballston Ave. According to the DOH, the center will continue operations until the last resident is “placed in the most appropriate level of care,” that a full range of appropriate services for all patients/residents must be provided throughout the entire closure process, and that the closure plan must include provisions for the maintenance, storage and safekeeping of patient/resident medical records. 

BALLSTON SPA — In March, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors authorized $1 million to be directed to battling the spread of COVID-19. There were 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saratoga County at the time. 

In May, the Board authorized Saratoga County Administrator Spencer Hellwig to hire as many as 50 Contact Tracers at the rate of $25 per hour – the costs to be paid from the appropriated $1 million fund. 

Seven months later, with the number of cases nearing a total of 4,000 in Saratoga County, $800,000 of that $1 million has remained unused, and only 23 Contact Tracers employed.   

“We authorized 50 Contact Tracers. In November it came to my understanding that we only had 23 Contact Tracers,” says Tara Gaston, one of two city supervisors who represent Saratoga Springs at the county level. “Whether anyone in leadership knew about it, I don’t know, but that’s when I learned we had only hired 23.  Before that, it hadn’t been discussed. And it was about this same time that we determined that New York State – which had promised us to be able to use their Contact Tracers – was going to limit our access.  So, it became an even larger concern,” she says. 

“I do think mistakes have been made – some at the individual level, and some as a result of the Board of Supervisors not setting this forth as a priority,” Gaston says. “When the request was made for 50 Contact Tracers, we were under the impression that was sufficient, and we were also under the impression that if it was insufficient someone would come and tell us.” There are 21 municipalities represented by 23 supervisors from all across Saratoga seated at the county board. “We have not done what we should have done. I should have done better. We all should have done better.” 

On Dec. 15, Gaston introduced a measure to allow the hire of 25 additional Contact Tracers – which would bring the allowable number of hires up to 75 in all – as well as 5 Supervising Contact Tracers. That number of 75 would bring the number of county Contact Tracers in line with the Johns Hopkins standard of about 30 Tracers per 100,000 people, as well as allow a slight buffer zone should any workers step down.

A second measure she introduced targets $100,000 of the $800,000 remaining in COVID county funds for the purchase of PPE and masks for distribution in the community. 

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The $100,000 PPE allotment is broken down this way:  $75,000 targeted for masks to be distributed to the general public in the community; $25,000 specifically set aside for any form of PPE – masks, gowns, gloves, or face shields – targeting the local population at higher risk like EMS workers, police officers, and “communities of lower economic power,” Gaston says, such as those who are unhoused.

Saratoga Springs City Supervisor Matt Veitch expressed his support for both resolutions. The county Board subsequently approved both measures.     

After spiking in the spring, local infection rates subsequently were reduced and remained below 1 % through most of the summer. The 7-day rolling average COVID-19 positive infection rate doubled from 0.6% on Oct. 1 to 1.2% on Nov. 1 in Saratoga County. From Nov. 1 to Dec. 1, it more than tripled to 3.8%, and has subsequently continued to rise – by mid-December climbing to near 6%, the highest 7-day average rate registered in Saratoga County since April. 

Contact tracing helps prevent the spread of COVID-19 by rapidly interviewing positive patients, identifying and alerting their close contacts to prevent the spread of the infection to others. 

Here’s how it is designed to work: When a person tests positive, a COVID Contact Tracer works with the person to identify and reach out via phone and text to anyone they’ve been in contact with while infectious to trace and contain the spread of the virus. People who have come in close contact with someone who is positive are then asked to stay home and limit their contact with others. The Tracer will also connect persons infected with support and resources they may need through quarantine, such as help getting groceries or household supplies, child care, medical care or supplies. 

Saratoga County’s contact tracing program operates 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. This week’s vote by the Board authorizes the additional hiring of up to 25 Contact Tracers at the rate of $25 per hour, and up to five Supervising Contact Tracers at a rate of compensation of $30 per hour. 

On Nov. 19, the county’s Department of Public Health posted a flyer indicating it was seeking individuals interested in working as Contact Tracers. A subsequent notice, posted Dec. 11, indicated a large number of applications had been received and that no new applications were being accepted. It is unclear whether the Board’s actions of Dec. 15 would trigger a new “Contact Tracers Wanted” request. The Dec. 11 post informs: Please check back on Dec. 18 for an update. The Saratoga County website may be found at: saratogacountyny.gov. 

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