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)

The building approval process in Saratoga Springs is broken! The public is ignored, the Land Use Boards (Zoning Board, Planning Board, Design Review Commission) have lost sight of who they represent. The developers hold court with fancy photo-shopped presentations.

When 800 individuals sign a petition opposed to a project; when only one individual claims support for a project; when a respected community organization whose purpose it is to monitor development says the building “doesn’t fit in this context;” you sit up and take notice. You don’t ignore what is blatantly obvious. You assess the information presented by both the public and the applicant. You don’t dismiss the public’s information just because they are not professional engineers, architects or developers. Instead, cursory acknowledgement was given to the facts presented by the public regarding the proposed 269 Broadway project at the January 12 Design Review Commission (DRC) meeting.

I am under the impression that the function of the Land Use Boards is:

1. To gather information regarding applicant proposals from the applicant, from mandated Federal, State and Local requirements, caravans and the public comment.
2. To assess that information and form a recommendation regarding the feasibility of the applicant’s proposal as befits our community.
3. To seek a common ground to resolve issues in the best interest of the community they are appointed to represent.

Instead, at the January 12 DRC meeting regarding the proposed 269 Broadway project some members of the DRC had things to say such as,  “beautiful,” “I love this building,” “looks great,” “it’s funky.” REALLY!

Nowhere is it stated that personal opinion should factor into a final decision and yet time and time again members of the Land Use Boards make many decisions based on their personal likes or dislikes. Granted they are entitled to their personal opinions. However, personal opinion should not be wagging the tail of decisions. Yet meeting after meeting. I have heard members lay out their personal opinion as the reason for their support of a project.

Seldom do you hear a member of a Land Use Board preface a decision by stating, my decision is based on an assessment of what I saw myself on the caravan, or the comments and research provided in the public comment or some legally required report.

Often what occurs, as was the case on January 12, a member of a Land Use Board makes a statement as an “expert witness” such as was this statement by one member of the DRC “I don’t object to the location. It is the urban core. The urban core doesn’t have to be between Spring Street and Lake Avenue.” I suggest that members of the DRC speak with City Historian, Mary Ann Fitzgerald regarding the urban core in Saratoga Springs.

I also suggest that more credence be given to information presented by the public. At the January 12 meeting the public presented information regarding the distances of existing buildings on Broadway both in the four-lane sector and the two-lane sector to demonstrate the tunnel effect factor. It was blatantly obvious that the members of the DRC did not assess this information. However, the photo-shopped pictures presented by the developer were readily used as was Google Maps information retrieved by one DRC member. Again, I say, REALLY!

If the DRC members were doing their job thoroughly, they would have asked the public presenter where his information came from. They would have found out that the presenter went to the source, Broadway, with a 100′ measure. The facts given at a DRC meeting or any other meeting need to be checked and truthful.

My fellow citizens of Saratoga Springs we need to fix this broken system as soon as possible. The public is entitled to a voice and a presence at all public meetings. Your participation in public meetings is paramount if our city is to remain the jewel it is. 

In addition, public officials, the Mayor who appoints the members of the Land Use Boards, the City Commissioners called upon to provide information, the City employees who staff the Land Use Boards, and members of the Land Use Boards who generously volunteer their time and expertise must give serious consideration to the public they represent. It is imperative if the process for development in our City is to be more than a perfunctory process that gives an advantage to developers. 

The public may have only three minutes to be listened to but they have every right to be heard and respected. This is our City!

– Carol Obloy

CICERO, NY – Saratoga’s Natasha “Tash” Chudy has reached a milestone that many high school basketball players hope to achieve – joining the 1,000-point club. 

Chudy was only 35 points away before their tournament games this past weekend against Cicero-North Syracuse and Bishop Kearney. After scoring 23 against Cicero-North Syracuse, that put her 988 points; and during the third quarter of Saratoga’s game against Bishop Kearney she hit 1,000. Chudy started her junior year season with 702 points, and after her 21 total points during the Bishop Kearney game, her record now stands at 1,009 points. 

“I’m extremely proud and so happy for her as she achieves this big accomplishment,” said Robin Chudy, Saratoga Springs Varsity Girls Basketball Coach and Tash’s mom. “It’s been a pleasure having a front-row seat to watching all of her hard work pay off. I know more will follow!” 

Chudy was an eighth grader when she moved up to the varsity level. During her time with the Saratoga Springs Varsity Girls Basketball Team, she has had the opportunity to play with two other Saratoga girls who also reached the 1,000-point milestone – Kelly Flaherty and Dolly Cairns. Dolly Cairns, who is a sophomore guard on the University of Rhode Island’s Basketball Team, is Saratoga’s all-time leading scorer with over 2,000 career points. 

Saratoga fell to both Cicero-North Syracuse (67-64) and Bishop Kearney (74-52). 

Carly Wise led Saratoga against Bishop Kearney with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Chudy added 8 rebounds and 6 assists to her 21 points. 

Along Plummer Road in the town of Milton sits the Powell-Wiswall Cemetery, a peaceful rural cemetery where local residents have been laid to rest since the early 1800s. Standing like a sentinel over it all is a large statue of Christ. On two sides are engraved the names Ella Frances Wood-Mann and her husband Enos Rogers Mann. This monument sits adjacent to Wood family plots, where over the years Ella’s parents and other family members have been laid to rest.

If you were one who routinely explores local cemeteries, you might have noticed another similar statue standing near the center of the Ballston Spa Village Cemetery. A closer inspection will prove that they are the same in shape, size, and engraving.

This story begins with the birth of Enos Mann in 1840. Enos was the son of John Mann, a carpenter residing in Willow Glen, a hamlet in the town of Stillwater, Saratoga County. The Mann’s family tree can be traced back to their ancestor Constant Southworth, a member of the Mayflower colony. Enos’s early education was in the rural school in Willow Glen, and from there he went on to the Ballston Spa Institute. At the age of 19, he began as a teacher in district schools, a career he would follow for the next fifteen years.  After four years of study under William T. Odell of Ballston Spa and later Jacob W. Miler of Cohoes, he was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1864. 

For some reason that is never revealed, Enos did not pursue a legal career, and in December of 1865 he struck out on a new endeavor, partnering with the town of Milton resident and newspaper publisher Sanford H. Curtis to establish the Ballston Democrat newspaper in the village of Ballston Spa. Although their ownership in the paper only lasted a year, Enos Rogers Mann continued for the rest of his life in newspaper work. Over the years he was employed by numerous papers both locally and statewide, including the Albany Argus, Saratogian, and the New York Tribune. His most lasting achievement was the book on legal history entitled “The Bench and Bar of Saratoga County.” In 1905 Enos Rogers Mann died of heart disease at the age of 64 and was laid to rest in Ballston Spa Village Cemetery.

As his death was unexpected, his wife, Ella Frances Wood-Mann purchased six cemetery plots in the Ballston Spa Village Cemetery as part of his funeral arrangements. Five years later, she purchased four lots in the Powell Wiswall Cemetery from the Powell-Wiswall Cemetery Association, choosing plots close to where her parents were buried. Ella Frances Wood, born in 1857, was the daughter of Ballston Spa farmer Cyrus Wood and his wife Rebecca. Ella’s grandfather David and his wife Dorothy, settled on Middleline Road in the Town of Ballston (now Milton) in 1775 purchasing property not far from the current Powell-Wiswall Cemetery. In 1879, Ella, 22 years old and a graduate of Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, married Enos Rogers Mann. After their marriage, she took the surname Wood-Mann.

Two years before Ella Frances Wood-Mann passed away in September of 1936 at the age of 85, she had made a will that gave clear direction in how her estate should be distributed. When the will was made public during probate, it made front-page news in the September 23, 1936, Ballston Spa Daily Journal. The large bold headline was enough to capture any readers’ attention: Mrs. Ella Frances Wood-Mann Leaves Estate for Monuments and Bells.

The Bethesda Episcopal Church of Saratoga Springs was to be the recipient of ten thousand dollars for bells that were to be placed in the tower, with additional bells to be purchased in memory of Ella’s family. On November 24, 1946, the Carillion Bells were dedicated in the memory of her parents, Cyrus & Rebecca Wood, and their children, Lousia Rebecca, Sarah Esther, and Ella Francis.

The most notable and lasting part of Enos Mann & Ella Wood-Mann’s legacy were the three monuments that were to be placed on the cemetery plots that Ella had purchased many years earlier. In her will, Ella had set aside over $23,000 for the creation of these cut and sculpted memorials. Two of the monuments were to be sculptures and the other a large cross on a granite base. One of the sculptured monuments was to be placed in the Powell-Wiswall Cemetery and the other two, a sculpture and a cross, were to stand on cemetery plots in the Ballston Spa Village Cemetery.

Having covered all the details for the construction and placement of the monuments, Ella next addressed the issue of future maintenance. In her will, she set aside seven thousand dollars for the Bethesda Church to provide perpetual care of the burial plots at both cemeteries as well as the two sculptures and the cross. Along with the normal care, she also required that every five years an examination was to be made of the monuments and any necessary repairs be made.

The prominent Wood-Mann monument in the Powell-Wiswall Cemetery in Milton has confused some concerning where Enos and Ella were buried. To this day the website findagrave.com shows Ella’s gravesite as being in this cemetery, though interment records from the Ballston Spa Village Cemetery clearly show that both she and her husband are buried there. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Last August, the previous City Council adopted a resolution requiring all employees and visitors to wear a face mask when entering City buildings, facilities and/or indoor events sponsored by the city.

This week, the current council approved a supplemental resolution that employees specifically wear a KN95 mask in public settings during work hours and duty assignments, unless an N95 is required per OSHA Standards. With an eye on providing the KN95 masks to its employees at no cost to city workers, the council subsequently approved a resolution to set aside $50,000 to help COVID safety expenses for City Hall personnel. The $50,000 is not strictly limited to the purchase of masks only, and any funds ultimately unused will go back to the general fund. 

Masking is a critical public health tool for preventing spread of COVID-19, according to CDC guidelines. On Jan. 14 the agency updated its informational pages to read: “loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection, layered finely woven products offer more protection, well-fitting disposable surgical masks and KN95s offer even more protection, and well-fitting NIOSH-approved respirators (including N95s) offer the highest level of protection. ” 

“For clarification – we’re strictly speaking of city employees. We recognize that we do not have the right to mandate the public wear a specific style mask,” explained Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran. Mask wearing of some kind presumably remains in effect for the public entering City Hall. “Testing and masks quite honestly are the best tools we have in our hands, provided we’re not choosing to use vaccinations. If we are using vaccinations, our tools are that much more effective.” 

“We do not get masks or test kits for our City Hall employees (and) we did not receive masks in 2021 other than the year-end masks given to the county supervisors,” said Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi. “We know COVID is changing and evolving. Having these funds assigned will help our city manage COVID, keep its employees safe and help us provide services.” 

Following a recent spike in infections amid an omicron variant wave that began late last month in Saratoga, officials are hoping regional COVID infection rates are beginning to exhibit signs of a less infectious trend. 

“Our (county) rate is coming down, it was trending up around 20%, now it’s at 18%,” Supervisor Tara Gaston told the council this week. “That is good, but that is not a sign to lessen up, it means to continue to follow the guidance we have. Those who are fully vaccinated and have boosters are performing the best when they do contract COVID-19. Right now, only about half of our fully vaccinated residents in Saratoga County have obtained a booster. We really need to pick that up.” 

Of the just over 80,000 fully vaccinated county residents who have received a booster, 8 are hospitalized  related to COVID. Of the similar number of vaccinated residents without a booster, 30 are hospitalized. And of the approximate 61,000 county residents not fully vaccinated, 32 were in the hospital this week, according to Saratoga County Public Health Services.      

Mayor Ron Kim said the city will be placing advertisements for a city attorney with the goal of securing a new hire in the next few weeks.  The previous two attorneys – a city attorney and an assistant city attorney, were not reappointed at the start of the new council on Jan. 1. 

Following an analysis of the caseload and funds paid and budgeted to be paid regarding the previous full-time attorney position, Kim said, “I thought it was important to ask: Are we spending our tax dollars effectively and efficiently for legal services and is there a more effective way to obtain those legal services?” 

The re-organizing to a part-time city attorney position is anticipated to average a 30-hour work week at an annual salary range of $95,000 to $100,000, to be combined with a “smart and judicial use of outside counsel” as needed, when specific issues such Land Use or labor/employment expertise is required.    

“We think this restructuring will save between $50,000 and $75,000 per year once implemented – without the quality of legal services suffering,” Kim said. 

The council adopted a measure to hold this year’s State of The City event by March 19. Typically held in January, the move to later in the year is due to the difficulty of holding a public gathering in the current COVID environment.  While the resolution calls for the event to be held by March 19, Kim added that he hopes it may be held by mid-February. 

Public Safety Commissioner Jim Montagnino reiterated he will lead a Public Hearing prior to the Feb. 1 council meeting regarding the creation of a Civilian Review Board, as per the recommendations of the city Police Reform Task Force.

DPW Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco was not present at the meeting. “Commissioner Scirocco is recovering from a medical procedure,” Mayor Kim announced. “We saw him today on Zoom and he looked great. All the best to him and (wife) Corinne and we look forward to seeing him very soon.” 

BALLSTON SPA – The county Board of Supervisors this week launched a $2 million grant fund for non-profit organizations in Saratoga County negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had set aside the $2 million last year for a grant program for not-for-profit organizations, so this establishes the program, sets up the rules for what organizations can apply, who can be eligible for a grant, and also the framework of how much they can ask for,” said Saratoga Springs Supervisor Matt Veitch. 

The program is preparing to roll out and will presumably include specific instructions and an application on the county website. The county site may be accessed at: saratogacountyny.gov. 

“It is tied to COVID relief, so organizations will need to prove some hardship – lost revenue, loss of funds due to COVID,” Veitch said. 

The individual grants range from $500 up to $50,000.

How it will work: Requests, accompanied by the Saratoga County Non-Profit COVID Relief Grant Fund Application, will be submitted to the County Administrator’s office, which will then refer completed and qualified funding requests to the Law and Finance Committee
for consideration. 

Veitch is one of seven members newly appointed to the committee for 2022, which is chaired by Jonathan Schopf. (See: story page 10).  That Law and Finance Committee, which typically meets monthly in Ballston Spa, will subsequently recommend funding requests. The requests are then subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors.

To contact the county administrator’s office, call 518-884-4742 or visit the website: www.saratogacountyny.gov/departments/adminstrators-office. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs City School District will hold a virtual Realtor Information Event on Jan. 20 at 9 a.m. This presentation will include information about the school district, including an overawe of their educational and sports opportunities, elementary zones including the new flex zones, and the registration process. The WebEx link will be posted on the District website at www.saratogaschools.org. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) program will hold virtual open houses on Jan. 19 and Jan. 20. Each open house will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. 

CTE is a division of WSWHE BOCES that gives students the chance to master academics, as well as technical skills within a subject that interests them most. This year, CTE has twenty courses available to high school students entering their junior year in the fall of 2022. 

Virtual open house visitors will learn how CTE programs help students prepare for careers and college through hands-on learning, internships, and partnerships within business and industry. For more information and to register, visit careerandteched.org. 

CTE classes include Auto Body Repair, Automotive Technology, Construction Trades, Cosmetology, Criminal Justice Studies, Culinary Arts and Hospitality, Early Childhood Education, Environmental Conservation and Forestry, Graphic and Visual Communications, Health Occupations, HVAC-R, Heavy Equipment Maintenance and Operation, Horse Care, Horticulture, Landscaping and Floral Design, Machine Tool Technology, Power Sport Technology, and Welding. 

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