SARATOGA SPRINGS — A new program to assist older residents with serious illness to navigate health and community services and continue aging in place has been introduced by the Saratoga Senior Center.

The program, called Senior Life Transitions, is designed for seniors aged 50 and older who have a new advanced illness diagnosis or a set of worsening health conditions. The program is open to residents of Saratoga County. Membership in the Saratoga Senior Center is not required.

The need for this program is in large part due to the isolation, worsening health conditions, new diagnoses, and aversion to nursing home placement, much of it exacerbated by the COVID epidemic.

The transitions dealt with are emotional adjustments to a changed life, practical needs for in-home care, support services such as transportation and grocery shopping, advocacy in navigating the health system, and coaching around wellness and growth potential in the midst of serious illness. The program features the development of an Aging-in-Place plan that takes possible future scenarios into consideration, including resources to support those plans. Referrals to appropriate health, mental health, and social service agencies are made. Collaborative relationships exist with other Saratoga County agencies serving the elderly, including Saratoga Hospital Medical Group, the County Office of Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association, and various care coordination services.

For more information, call the Saratoga Senior Center, 518-584-1621 ext. 206. Other services offered by the Saratoga Senior Center aimed at fostering independence include weekly food programs, wellness programs, caregiver support groups, information and referral, advocacy, and direct assistance through Community Connection volunteer matches. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last week that masks would be required to be worn in all indoor public places statewide starting Monday Dec. 13. Businesses and venues could alternately implement a vaccine requirement, and the action was directed to address the “winter surge” with COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rising across the state, Hochul said. 

On Monday morning, a great number of store windows fronting Broadway shops had been fitted with signs instructing all who enter to wear a mask.  Late Monday, Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Theodore Kusnierz, Jr. released a statement to say the county’s Public Health Department and law enforcement agency would not enforce “New York State’s misguided and unrealistic
mask mandate.” 

“The best way to protect the health and safety of Saratoga County residents, families, schools and businesses is to continue to focus public health resources on rapidly providing booster vaccinations to the public, which our Public Health team continues to do,” Kusnierz said, in his prepared remarks.  “Asking already thin-stretched local health departments to enforce mask or vaccination mandates only detracts from this critical endeavor.” 

Saratoga County joins more than a dozen New York counties refusing to enforce the mask mandate.

Saratoga Springs City Supervisor Tara Gaston pushed back on the statement issued by Board Chair Kusnierz. 

“While I admit that there are a number of issues with mask mandates, including concerns about possible violence against business owners and employees, I strongly disagree with the tone of the statement, and worry for its impact on our community,” Gaston said.  “There will never be a true account of the number of non-fatal losses, the businesses we’ve seen all over town, the domestic violence that our Sheriff and the DA have seen.” 

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More than 1,000 Saratoga County residents had tested positive for COVID over the previous 7 days, and seven-day average positivity rate in Saratoga County was 6.7%, compared to a 4.8% average rate statewide. Since the start of December, 23 county residents had died of COVID. Current hospitalizations, as of Dec. 15, were 49. 

Gaston praised the county’s public health department for their work and said while it should not be the priority of the health department to enforce a mandate, she took exception with the tone of the chairman’s statement, which did not come via an overall board vote, and created confusion among many residents and business owners who had reached out to her following the statement’s release late Monday. 

“It should not be the priority of our public health department to enforce such a mandate…they are doing work that is far more important than doing that – but – it should not be the work of this Board of Supervisors to issue by any member, or the board as a whole, a statement that is inflammatory and indicates that the mandate or the law of this state will not be held in this county,” Gaston said Wednesday. 

Board Chairman Kuznierz donned a mask at the start of the county’s monthly meeting on Dec. 15. All 14 other county supervisors in attendance wore masks, the majority of them kept in place throughout the meeting. 

“Quite honestly you can still wear masks. We’re just not going to go out and fine people $1,000 for not wearing a mask or following the ‘unenforceable’ – using the words of our own governor – policy,” Kuznierz said during the meeting. 

“Yes, masks benefit our residents, but there’s nothing that can protect our residents more than getting vaccinated and getting your booster shots,” Kuznierz said.

According to data provided by the county public health department this week, 74.5% people – approximately 170,000 of the county’s 230,000 residents – are considered fully vaccinated.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —  Born in Brooklyn in the mid-1950s, James Montagnino worked in the Bronx district attorney’s office in the 1980s, at the height of the crack epidemic, and then continued on in Westchester as a prosecutor with the district attorney’s and defense attorney with The Legal Aid Society. He’s been a visiting instructor at the police academy, principal court attorney for Supreme, County and Family Courts and court attorney/referee. 

In the November election, Montagnino, a Democrat, bested Republican and Conservative candidate Tracey Labelle by a 53-43 margin in the race for Public Safety Commissioner.  On Jan. 1, Montagnino will join Ron Kim (Mayor), Dillon Moran (Accounts), and Minita Sanghvi (Finance) as one of four new members of the five-person City Council. Anthony “Skip” Scirocco (DPW) is the lone returning council member. 

The Commissioner of Public Safety is responsible for the overall operation of the police department and the fire department, code administration, animal control, and parking enforcement.

What led to your desire to run for City Council? 

“If I had to tie the decision (to run for office) to one thing, it would be the Daryl Mount case and how it was treated. How nobody in authority did anything that you would have hoped.

“I was sitting in my living room watching CNN with my wife when I saw the video of George Floyd being murdered. Just watching that, it was devastating. The aftermath – the protest in Saratoga Springs in the summer of 2020. I had only very loosely followed the Daryl Mount case. I remember the very first reports said he was running from the police, he ran into a construction site, he fell and was badly injured. I remember feeling awful about it, but not that there were any questions surrounding it. The police chief said there had been an internal investigation and the then-commissioner had basically affirmed that. It sounded like they did what they were supposed to do. And then you find out when the chief is put under oath in the deposition in the civil suit, he admits, well, he misled the press, of course meaning he intentionally misled the public.”

Background: In late summer 2013 Darryl Mount, a 21-year-old biracial man, suffered injuries that left him in a coma after fleeing police on Caroline Street and allegedly falling off a scaffolding behind The Washington building, then under construction. Mount died eight-and-a-half months later.  Mount’s family subsequently filed a wrongful death lawsuit and city Police Chief Greg Veitch later came under public scrutiny following reports that the public safety department never conducted an internal probe into police actions, after earlier claiming there was one. The incident became the catalyst of the formation of Saratoga Black Lives Matter, and included public calls for a citizen review board as well as a number of protests and marches that have taken place in Saratoga Springs during the past few years.  A “Case litigation Timeline” as well as audio and video files related to the matter may be viewed by going to: www.saratoga-springs.org/2408/Darryl-Mount-Information. 

Would you advocate for an investigation – either internal or external investigation at this point? 

“Here’s the problem: If there had been an Internal Investigation done in a timely fashion where a report and the evidence upon which it was based were released to the public – depending on its thoroughness, I might say: We’re done. But, with all that’s happened, I can understand how many people have drawn the conclusion that there must be something to hide. 

“At this stage, I don’t know how satisfied the general public would be with an Internal Investigation. In a perfect world, what ought to happen is the district attorney should use this provision in criminal procedure law that allows for a grand jury investigation of a non-criminal nature. It’s the one area where a grand jury can investigate – and it’s not necessarily a crime they’re investigating. It’s allegations of misconduct on the part of a public officer…at the end of the investigation, the grand jury issues a report, and the judge has discretion to release the report to the public.”    

“What I’m hoping is the District Attorney use her authority under criminal procedure law to get that rendered investigation going. And I’m considering the possibility of making a motion before the City Council for a resolution asking the DA to do that.” 

There has been a public spotlight on the role of protesters and the role of police regarding city staged protests and arrests in recent years. What would you like to say about both these aspects?   

“The way I see it, the question of if you blocked traffic in July and a policy decision is made that we’re going to prosecute you in September, the problem becomes: how do I get that defendant in to court? You don’t do it with an arrest warrant if it’s a petty offense. Almost all of those were petty offenses in criminal procedure law, they’re not crimes. My feeling is that if there is a petty offense committed in the past, you use a summons. You don’t use an arrest warrant, unless there’s some exceptional set of circumstances that you can put in writing to satisfy me that you need a warrant. 

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“I think what some people lose sight of is that there’s a difference between a protester and a common criminal. These are our neighbors who have chosen to commit some petty offense or to make a statement. We’re not condoning the offense, and the offense should be handled in accordance with its severity, the background of the defendant and the circumstances under which it is committed. The idea of going out and getting an arrest warrant, then executing the warrant… none of that was necessary. If they had been given summonses, they would have shown up in court of their own volition, or, if not – then warrants would be issued. It didn’t have to start with custodial arrests.   

Additionally: “I would like the word to get out that there should be an over-arching policy of mutual respect between the police and the people they serve. There is a fighting words exception to (to First Amendment protected speech) that has been recognized by the Supreme Court since the 1940s. What I would like to try is a policy of mutual respect where beforehand I would sit down (with those planning to protest) and I’d say, ‘Look, here’s the situation: the kinds of things like getting in an officer’s face and saying (expletive) – that speech is not protected under the First Amendment.’ That’s a statement intended to provoke a violent response I think. What I would like to see in a situation like that is an officer would be trained to say, ‘I’m sorry, that’s inappropriate conduct, and it can’t be continued.’ Maybe two or three repetitions of that.
And if it continues, then, OK, we’ll make an arrest on the spot. Cops have a hard enough job to start with. The First Amendment doesn’t mean you can say whatever you please. There are circumstances where it can still be prohibited. Standing up in the movie theater and screaming ‘FIRE!’ You’re getting arrested. There’s no First Amendment reaction.”  

“The vast majority of people in Saratoga Springs are not going to choose to walk up to a police officer and berate him or her. But, we’ve all seen that happen under certain circumstances. And that’s not fair. They’re doing a tough enough job as it is and they shouldn’t be asked or expected to have to take abuse, verbal or otherwise, for doing their jobs. So that’s something I’d like to get in the process early on. Putting the word out that you expect a lot from our officers, and we expect mutual respect in exchange.” 

A multi-point plan, partially adopted by the City Council, was submitted to the council by the ad hoc Saratoga Springs Police Reform Task Force, and recommended that a Civilian Review Board, or CRB, be implemented. This has not yet occurred. What is your opinion? 

“I envision a CRB like the one the Task Force proposed. One tweak would be the method of appointing the members of the CRB. With the possible exception of the chair – because there needs to be someone with some familiarity and continuity of process. I’m thinking that the selection process for the chair might be by the mayor, or the mayor with the advice of City Council. The membership I would like to see randomly selected. Like jury duty. There would certainly have to be public hearings on the method to be employed for selecting the members of the CRB, and the method for selecting the chair.

With subpoena power?

“With subpoena power. But – I know that there are subpoenas, and then there are subpoenas. The most that we would have the power to authorize is an administrative subpoena. That does not carry with it contempt citations. So, if you were to ignore an administrative subpoena the most that could happen is a monetary fine and it’s a trivial (dollar) penalty. 

“There’s nothing in the Task Force proposal after the CRB does what it does. Its power, according to the City Charter, is limited to a recommendation to the commission. They take testimony, examine evidence and make findings, conclusions and ultimately recommendations. That sounds simple enough, but what does that mean? So, what I want to do as the first commissioner to serve with a CRB is to create a framework for what would be the role of the Commissioner upon receiving the recommendations of the CRB. I see the commissioner’s role as an administrative appellate authority. I see my role as taking the recommendation and saying: OK, I want to see all of the evidence, not just the findings and conclusions; to review that myself for factual and legal sufficiency, so that the CRB is not the last word as to factual findings and legal conclusions – the Commissioner is. I think it’s important the Commissioner’s Office promulgate its own internal procedures, so that it’s not just what the CRB said rubber-stamped. There’s a significant amount of responsibility with having to come up with the next steps.” 

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BALLSTON — Construction is underway of an affordable and supporting housing development in the town of Ballston. The $21 million project at Dominic Hollow Apartments will create 60 homes, half of which will be reserved for adults in need of supportive services. 

“Saratoga County is one of the fastest-growing counties in New York, and the Dominic Hollow Apartments will help fulfill the rising need for affordable housing,” NY Gov. Kathy Hochul said, in a prepared statement released Nov. 30. “As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, my administration will continue to prioritize investments that allow New Yorkers to find safe, secure, and sustainable housing so they can live healthy and successful lives in the communities they love.”

Dominic Hollow Apartments will be affordable to households earning at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income, or AMI. The town of Ballston is home to nearly residents – up from just under 10,000 a decade ago, according to recent census data. The median household income in 2019 dollars is $95,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Sixty percent or below of that annual household income is $57,000 and under.   

State financing for Dominic Hollow Apartments includes Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits that will generate $11.5 million in equity and $4.6 million in subsidy from New York State Homes and Community Renewal. OMH is providing debt service on Community Preservation Corporation’s bank loan of $3.9 million and a $106,500 Program Development Grant. NYSERDA will provide $56,000 in support. JP Morgan Chase provided $9.6 million in construction financing and the Richman Group is the tax credit syndicator. 

Thirty apartments will be reserved for adults who will receive on-site services provided by RISE Housing and Support Services. RISE is also the project’s developer with CSD Housing in a consulting role. 

Services and rental subsidies for 18 supportive units will be funded by the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative and 12 supportive units will be funded by the New York State Office of Mental Health. OMH is providing $416,000 annually in operating expenses for the 18 ESSHI units, as well as $477,000 annually for the 12 supportive units.

Dominic Hollow Apartments is part of the state’s unprecedented $20 billion, five-year Housing Plan to make housing accessible and to combat homelessness by building or preserving more than 100,000 affordable homes and 6,000 homes with supportive services. Since 2011, New York State Homes and Community Renewal has invested more than $490 million in the Capital Region, which has created or preserved over 5,500 affordable homes.   

BALLSTON SPA — The Village of Ballston Spa’s Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee will meet 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16 at the Saratoga County Office Building at 50 West High St. 

The committee will be exploring potential actions to address village infrastructure concerns that were discussed during the Dec. 2 meeting.  The meeting is open to the public, in-person attendance or via Zoom. Zoom link will be available prior to the meeting at villageofballstonspa.org/comprehensive-plan-steering-committee. 

The Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee has been formed to work in conjunction with a professional planning consultant to identify and study several topics over the course of the next year in order to create a final plan for approval by the Village board of trustees. 

All meetings are open to the public and Zoom accessible. For more information, contact steering committee chairperson Karen Martell  at karenmartell27@gmail.com or the Village Office at 518-885-5711, villageclerk@villageofballstonspa.org.

MALTA — A large-scale community COVID-19 testing site opened on Monday in Malta, Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Theodore Kusnierz announced at a morning press conference. 

“One of the things we committed to in January of this year is we would make Saratoga County’s response to COVID our number one priority. And this is an extension of that effort,” said Kusnierz. “The opening of this testing site is another example of how Saratoga County has made fighting the pandemic our number 1 priority.” 

The site, located off the Northway Exit 12 at 100 Saratoga Boulevard in Malta can accommodate up to 1,000 COVID-19 testing appointments per week. It is part of a public-private partnership with Syracuse-based Quadrant Biosciences.

Kusnierz said the reason behind the opening of testing site is “to take the load off our health care providers and urgent care providers” around the region. During the past week, from Nov. 28 – Dec. 4, there were nearly approximately 18,900 COVID tests performed across Saratoga County. Just over 1,350 people, resulting in a 7.2% positive average was returned over that 7-day period.   

Just over 72% of the Saratoga County population is fully vaccinated, according to the county health department. “As Dr. Kuhles (Commissioner of Saratoga County Public Health Services) has repeatedly said, vaccination is the best way to combat COVID,” Kusnierz said Monday. The county is hosting a handful of vaccination/booster clinics in the upcoming weeks. That information may be found at: www.saratogacountyny.gov/covid/covid-19-vaccines-and-boosters/. 

 The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors – the legislative and executive authority of County government – has not issued any mask-wearing or vaccine mandates, as some other communities in New York State have done. 

“This is another effort by Saratoga County to be proactive and to be ready for the holidays coming up – Christmas, New Year’s – we know that families will be getting together in close proximity and there is the anticipation that we will see a continued rise and one of the ways we can be proactive is to have this program up and ready before that time.” 

The site will not provide vaccinations and is to be used only by people who are having symptoms. 

Testing will be done using the Clarifi COVID-19 Saliva Test. Results will be available within 24-48 hours of testing. Those using the Malta testing site are required to create an account at app.clarifi-covid-19.com to access their results.  Appointments may be made 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. 

For more information or to make an appointment, go online to quadrantbiosciences.com/covidtesting or www.saratogacountyny.gov/COVID. 

MOREAU — The Open Space Institute announced last week a land protection success that will, for the first time, provide a direct recreational and habitat connection between Saratoga County, Moreau Lake State Park and, ultimately, the Adirondack Park. The newly protected land completes OSI’s years-long goal of creating the corridor of protected land in one of the fastest-growing regions in the state.

OSI purchased the newly protected, 60-acre “Moreau Lake Connector” property from Margie French, who owned the land for more than 40 years before selling the parcel to OSI. The property is situated in Warren County between the southeastern boundary of the Adirondack Park and Moreau Lake State Park. It is adjacent to Ralph Road State Forest and more than 1,260 acres of OSI’s “West Mountain” acquisition to the north and Moreau Lake State Park, which OSI has more than doubled in size, to the south. 

The property is located at the north end of the southern Palmertown Range and is part of OSI’s ongoing work in the area to connect the southern Palmertown near Saratoga Springs to the Adirondack foothills. 

With several existing access roads running throughout the property, the forested land has the potential to expand visitor access and recreational use of Ralph Road State Forest and the northern side of Moreau Lake State Park. In the future, the property may be considered for additional trail creation and for the potential creation of a parking area and trailhead along Call Street. 

The acquisition furthers OSI’s goal of establishing trails between the Saratoga Spa State Park, Moreau Lake State Park, and the Adirondack Park Preserve to better welcome and disperse new and existing visitors to the area.

This property, and the properties it connects to, are home to a diversity of wildlife. The Moreau Lake Connector property is one of eight significant properties, including the Spier Falls addition which doubled the size of Moreau Lake State Park, Big Bend, Ellsworth and Kenison (together known as Greentree Lake), Hudson Pointe, Faith Bible Church, and West Mountain, together totaling more than 7,000 acres, that OSI has protected in the area in support of creating a connected, green corridor in the Palmertown Range. 

The property is anticipated to be added to Ralph Road State Forest, along with OSI’s 1,260-acre West Mountain property. Once the transfers are complete, OSI will have helped the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) more than triple the size of Ralph Road State Forest. 

The centerpiece of the Palmertown Strategy will be the development of a landscape scale, 50-mile-long multi-use trail system called the Sarah B. Foulke Friendship Trails System. A year-long master planning process for an inclusive trail network was completed this summer. 

BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office’s Second Chance overdose program recently conducted its 500th post-overdose follow-up. The Sheriff’s Office became an Opioid Overdose Prevention Program certified by the New York State Department of Health in 2018.

Substance use disorder is a scientifically documented medical condition listed in the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders. It is not limited to opioid use.

The program, which began in 2017, aims to ensure victims of overdoses and their families/significant others are aware of and able to use services that are available to them. Follow-up is attempted by the Sheriff’s Office with every victim as soon as possible after the event, in an effort to connect them with assistance.

Currently, there are members on every shift who carry extra naloxone (Narcan) kits to train and dispense to civilians on-the-spot. 

Since the inception of the program, the Sheriff’s Office has dispensed 1,032 naloxone kits to both civilians and law enforcement.

To date, the Sheriff’s Office has responded to 88 overdose calls, 12 of which were fatal. Naloxone was used in 58 of these events.

If you or someone you know suffers from substance use disorder, contact department partners at Healing Springs Recovery and Outreach Center in Saratoga Springs at 518-306-3048 for non-emergency assistance. The Sheriff’s Office communications division may be contacted to arrange for Narcan training at 518-885-6761.

It’s that time of year again when the focus shifts to the Code Blue Emergency Shelter for individuals experiencing street homelessness. Code Blue is a New York State mandate that says when the “Real Feel” temperature drops to 32 degrees, emergency, low barrier shelter for homeless individuals must be provided. In December of 2013, Nancy Pitts passed away in the freezing night which sparked a call to action to begin Code Blue operations in Saratoga Springs.

Frankly, the whole philosophy of Code Blue has often left me baffled. Why is it that we must hit a certain temperature before we take care of those who are most in need? Do we need the thermometer to tell us when we show compassion, kindness, and empathy? I have seen homeless individuals from ages 1 to well into their 80’s. I have seen veterans, persons with masters and Ph.D. degrees, daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, and even grandparents.

Maybe if we understood our homeless a bit more, that philosophy might change. Homelessness is not just a Saratoga problem; it has been an issue in our country and across the world for decades. There are many reasons why homelessness is such an issue. The contributing factors around homelessness are poverty, lack of affordable housing, addiction/substance use, and mental health challenges. In today’s society, we look at those who are suffering and instinctively assume that homelessness is of their own creation. Many people have been let down by our societal systems, and overcoming homelessness requires a support system many do not have. I can assure you that no person aspires to be homeless or at a Code Blue shelter.

Please, don’t get me wrong. I’ve been working at Shelters of Saratoga and in this wonderful community for 15 months. What I’ve seen since my arrival would make anyone proud. I’ve seen our businesses, city and county government officials want to be part of a solution. I’ve witnessed how much our community truly cares about some of today’s most controversial issues. Most notably are the dedicated staff and volunteers that give up their evenings and early mornings so that they can provide a hot meal, a warm cot, and more importantly, dignity and hope to our neighbors that have lost so much.

Last year we sheltered an average of 33 people a night at Code Blue, serving a total of 215 people for the season. Our volunteers served over 5,000 meals that were generously donated by local restaurants and community organizations. Code Blue is currently in full swing at our temporary Adelphi Street location and we are already on par to eclipse last year’s numbers.

There are multiple agencies working diligently to solve homelessness. Code Blue is a life-saving strategy, but not the answer to homelessness. We must work together on proven solutions to bring this human issue into the forefront of our minds and hearts. It’s time we discard the “thermometer philosophy” and take the next steps to expand  year-round services at the navigation center and designate a permanent location for Code Blue. With these resources we can forge better pathways out of the despair of homelessness. 

To learn more about Shelters of Saratoga’s work to end homelessness, please visit: sheltersofsaratoga.org