BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County Career Center in conjunction with the Greater Capital Region Career Centers will hold the following free virtual career workshops during May:
May 22 at 11 a.m.: Completing Job Applications. Statistics show approximately 50% of mid-sized companies and almost all large corporations use an applicant tracking system to screen candidates for job opportunities. Learn how to prepare your online application to get the most visibility from hiring managers. Facilitated by Warren and Washington.
May 23 at 10:30 a.m.: Networking. Networking is your strategic tool for cultivating lasting relationships, fostering professional growth, and unlocking opportunities. Join us for an approachable journey to understanding networking. Facilitated by Warren and Albany.
May 28 at 11 a.m.: Overcoming Barriers. Join an informal discussion about how to overcome potential stumbling blocks to finding a job. Whether you’re facing transportation needs, childcare needs, prior justice system involvement, inexperience, health concerns or more, this workshop will provide you with resources and strategies to help you meet your goals. Facilitated by Fulton-Montgomery-Schoharie.
May 28 at 1:30 p.m.: Social Media. Your social media presence can make or break your ability to find a job. Learn how to use social media to your advantage in searching for a job and marketing yourself to land the job or career you’ve always wanted. Facilitated by Schenectady.
Registration is required for all workshops. Visit https://thejoblink.org/calendar/ to register or call the Saratoga County Career Center at 518-884-4170 for more information. The workshops are offered as part of the Saratoga County Career Center’s WorkPays! workforce education campaign.
BALLSTON SPA — THE Saratoga County Board of Supervisors on April 16 approved a resolution to proclaim May 19-25 as Emergency Medical Services Week in Saratoga County.
The Emergency Medical Services system consists of first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, 911 telecommunicators, emergency medical dispatchers, emergency medical physicians, nurses, law enforcement officers, and firefighters, among others.
“Emergency Medical Services Week” was first proclaimed nationally in 1974 to celebrate Emergency Medical Services Clinicians and the important work they do in communities across the country.
“Whereas, Emergency Medical Service Clinicians provide frontline life-saving services every day, it is important that this Board of Supervisors and County residents recognize the important work and sacrifices that Emergency Medical Service Clinicians make to provide emergency assistance to the citizens of Saratoga County,” according to the proclamation, “and encourages all residents to join in honoring the unwavering commitment of Emergency Medical Service Clinicians who have rendered services to the community, while remembering those Emergency Medical Service Clinicians who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City Council voted to approve applying for a $100,000 Grant from Congressman Paul Tonko’s office to fund a Truck Origin Destination study on Van Dam Street.
Recognizing truck traffic as a top priority for the city to remedy, the city hopes to address the issue of high volume non-local trucks that disturb air quality and increase traffic congestion.
Last September, the Capital Region Transportation Council (CRTC), in coordination with former city Mayor Ron Kim’s Office conducted the truck traffic study to explore options for enhancing safety and improving traffic flow through the downtown corridor by collecting data on the number and classification of trucks traveling through the city, their routes, and speed. The potential areas of study were Broadway (U.S. Rte 9); Ballston Avenue (NY Rte 50); Church Street (NY Rte 9N); Finley/Adelphi Streets; Geyser Road; Lake Avenue (NY Rte 29); Union Avenue (NY Rte 9P); Van Dam Street; Washington Street (NY Rte 29).
This month, the city acknowledged while it had secured a high level study completed through its Metropolitan Planning Organization, it was “no substitute for a full origin destination study which can inform city planning and set us up for additional funding for years to come.”
The Van Dam and Church Neighborhood Association have advocated for this work along with potential alternate routes. In a letter requesting action be taken on a comprehensive truck rerouting in Saratoga, the Van and Church Neighborhood Association wrote: “the city has been negligent in addressing this issue for decades while the problem continues to get worse…and the city must immediately take action to implement a comprehensive rerouting of tractor trailer traffic.” The group further advocated that the city retain a qualified traffic engineering firm to conduct a comprehensive analysis of truck traffic through the city, including multiple alternatives to the current routing through the historic core.
The city’s Complete Streets Advisory Board has a dedicated budget line for matching grants and multimodal transportation projects.
GLENS FALLS — Pet Fest will take place 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Sunday, May 19 in Glens Falls City Park.
The event is hosted by the Glens Falls Collaborative in collaboration with North Country Paws for Obedience, local Canine Enrichment Center & group of leaders/trainers dedicated to adventure, fulfillment, and relationship with the community and their canine companions.
The public is invited to bring their well-behaved, properly leashed pets to the pet-friendly event. Pet owners will be able to interact with different community partners that specialize in helping and educating pet owners and the community.
Among the offerings are concessions, interactive demos from North Country Paws for Obedience, and a Lure Course provided by Alpha Dog. The Alpha Dog Lure Course allows your dog to run through the course to test their skills.
The “Dogs Got Talent” contest starts at 10 a.m. and will showcase the obedience, intelligence, and talent of the participating dogs. Prizes will be given.
Additionally, a Fashion Show for Adoptable Dogs will take place at noon, followed by a “Puppy Parade.”
For more information, go to: glensfallscollaborative.com.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —Caffè Lena presents its third annual Sing In the Streets Festival – from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 19.
The event features six stages of folk, rock, blues, country and kids’ music in the venue’s downtown neighborhood in an annual celebration of the anniversary of America’s longest-running folk music venue. Caffè Lena opened on May 21, 1960, and has been in continuous operation in the same location ever since.
“More and more people are looking to Lena’s as a place to gather, make music, learn new skills and enjoy a sense of community,” said Caffè Lena Executive Director Sarah Craig. “We’re serving young families, teens, retirees and everyone in between. Sing In the Streets is one of the ways this work gets funded, thanks to our business sponsors and those who donate on the day of the festival.”
Caffè Lena presents nearly 300 headline concerts annually, offers free weekly shows for preschool children and alcohol-free open mics for all ages. In addition, the venue teaches folk music skills to youth and adults and produces popular jam sessions for retirees.
Sing in the Streets will take place rain or shine, with events moving indoors if bad weather strikes. Rain locations, all in the same downtown neighborhood, will be posted on the venue’s website, www.caffelena.org.
Scheduled performers: Brule County Bad Boys; Erin Harkes; Girl Love; Mark & Jill; Owl & Crow; Professor Louie & The Crowmatix; Rachael Sumner & Traveling Light; Reese Fulmer & The Carriage House Band, and The Wildmans.
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. – Ballston Spa National Bank (BSNB), locations will be closing at noon on Tuesday, May 14th to give all employees the opportunity to volunteer at the Bank’s annual Community Service Day. This year’s event will support the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY and the Patroon Land Farm in their efforts to provide food assistance to those in need. The farm grows large quantities of high quality vegetables that supply the Regional Food Bank and 1,000 partnering agencies in 23 counties with diverse, fresh produce.
WHO: Ballston Spa National Bank Employee Volunteers Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York Patroon Land Farm
WHAT: BSNB Community Service Day
More than 130 BSNB employees will volunteer their time planting vegetables, weeding, making beds and working in the green houses at the Patroon Land Farm.
WHEN: Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 12:30 pm. Weather permitting. WHERE: Patroon Land Farm, 132 Ketcham Road, Voorheesville, NY 12186 HOW: All BSNB locations will be closing at 12:00 p.m. on the event date
Note: Christopher R. Dowd, BSNB president and CEO will be available for interviews.
Photo and video opportunities available.
ABOUT BALLSTON SPA NATIONAL BANK
BSNB is a locally focused relationship-driven community bank invested in making a difference not only for customers but our community as a whole. Through a combination of personal service and high tech convenience, BSNB offers a wide range of financial products and services to individuals, families, municipalities, nonprofits and businesses throughout New York’s greater Capital Region. Find out more about BSNB’s offerings here. To become part of BSNB’s online community, please visit us on Facebook, InstagramTwitter, and LinkedIn.
ABOUT THE PATROON LAND FARM
The Patroon Land Farm is dedicated to the production of food for our neighbors in need and to provide opportunities for agricultural education. The farm is managed by the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York to produce food for distribution by the Food Bank to over 1,000 partner agencies serving 23 counties in the region.
ABOUT THE REGIONAL FOOD BANK
The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that collects donated food from the food industry and distributes it to more than 1,000 partners feeding our neighbors in need in 23 counties of northeastern New York. The food provided by the Regional Food Bank helps to feed over 350,000 people each month. In 2023, the Food Bank distributed 48 million pounds of food, enough for 40 million meals. The Regional Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, the national network of food banks.
Saratoga Springs parking lot on May 6, 2024. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city public library parking lot will be going to a paid parking scheme this summer, although provisions are being made to allow library card-holders to continue to park free of charge during the library’s normal hours of operation.
The Saratoga Springs City Council unanimously approved a pair of measures during its May 7 meeting, allowing the proposal to come to fruition.
Since its opening in 1992, the 75-or-so parking spaces in the Saratoga Springs Public Library (SSPL) lot, which sits between Putnam and Henry Streets one block east of Broadway, had offered free parking to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Since then, the city of Saratoga Springs has constructed four parking garages and service lots and more recently a seasonal public parking permit program to accommodate a growing population and tourism industry. These recent developments would impact the use of the library parking lot,” city DPW Commissioner Jason Golub said during this week’s council vote. “SSPL approached the city to develop solutions for protecting patron use of the space.”
The library – which serves 700 people per day, is chartered not simply by the geographical boundaries of the city of Saratoga Springs, but in the larger school district which serves about 52,000 people.
“Regulations are intended to provide library patrons with priority use of the lot during library hours and to allow the city to charge for parking in the evenings,” Commissioner Golub said, adding that the library lot is anticipated to return approximately $52,000 in revenues during the seasonal parking plan.
A new seasonal paid parking program affecting six city-owned, off-street parking facilities was approved April 2, prior to the addressing of the library lot. Overall, it was anticipated the seasonal program would run Memorial Day through Labor Day, although that may be headed toward a post-June 9 start, following the conclusion of the Belmont Stakes Festival.
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When the plan goes into effect, Special Permits will be required for library patrons to park in the library lot during designated hours. Permits, which will run via a license plate system, will be available to patrons who register and have a library card. Although the software to approve permits is not yet in place, library staff will be the ones responsible for registering patrons on a portal site provided by the city.
“People will need come into the library to register for the permit, because it will require that they are a resident of the school district and a library card holder,” said Library Director A. Issac Pulver.
“The library is essential to our community and serves a lot of our people,” said Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi.“The library is the lifeblood of our community in so many different ways…the ability to gather together and learn from each other… I’m happy we came to a solution that works for the library and the city.”
Draft Regulations:
(a) The Library Permit will enable Library Patrons to exclusively use spaces in the Library Lot from the hours of 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily, for a three-hour time limit.
(b) Library Permit holders may continue to use the lot for free for three hours until 9 p.m. daily, but the spots will be on first-come, first-served basis and the lot may include paid parking users after 6 pm.
(c) Library Permit Patrons seeking to use the lot 9 p.m. – 9 a.m. will be charged a fee by the city when the city parking program is in effect.
(d) The city may charge a fee for Non-Library Permit Patrons after 6 p.m. daily and on days or holidays when the Library is closed.
The anticipated charge for paid parking will be at the rate of $2 per hour. On holidays and other days when the library is closed, the city may charge for parking at any time. Tickets will be issued for violations.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Last week, regional officials announced they anticipate the hosting of the Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga to have an economic impact in 2024 of upwards of $50 million.
Shifting to Saratoga next month, the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will begin on Thursday, June 6 and continue through Sunday, June 9. Belmont on Broadway meanwhile, billed as a locally based multifaceted celebration, is slated to take place June 4 -9 featuring concerts and other complimentary events to the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
That $50 million projection comes from applying a mathematical formula that takes the overall economic activity of the annual 40-day summer meet at Saratoga and assigning it to the number of days of the upcoming Belmont festival.
“The historical number for the 40-day meet has been $370 million so we simply took what we knew to be fact – $370 million – and divided it by the number of days for the Belmont Festival on Broadway, including the Belmont Stakes. That’s how we came up with the $50 million,” Gregory Connors, president and CEO at Saratoga Economic Development Corporation, explained this week.
That overall 40-day meet figure, at just over $370 million, was detailed in a study commissioned by the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency based on data from 2021 and released in 2023. The study additionally cited nearly $2.1 million of tax revenue in Saratoga Springs, almost $2.4 million in Saratoga County, and over $7.3 million of tax revenue in New York State as attributable to the 40-day meet.
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As a curious aside, of those counted as visitors to the racecourse during the 40-day meet, the study pointed to nearly 6 in 10 visitors as coming from outside of the Capital Region, and indicated that overall, just under half of all track visitors stayed overnight locally. It will be interesting to learn, if such movements are to be tracked, the way those numbers will trend for the Belmont.
Saratoga Hosting Belmont Stakes 2024 & 2025, Scheduled to Return to Long Island in 2026
Last December, the New York Racing Association announced the 2024 Belmont Stakes would be relocated to Saratoga Springs, and three months later followed up with an additional announcement that the 2025 Belmont Stakes would be staged in the Spa City as well.
In its post-Kentucky Derby story published this week, the Associated Press referenced Saratoga as playing host to the Triple Crown’s final race for the next “three” years while Belmont Park is being reconstructed. It is a rumor that has been circulating throughout the spring – although no one in any official capacity has said likewise. To be clear, current plans for the near half-billion-dollar redevelopment of Belmont Park hold firm that renovations to Belmont Park are expected to be completed in time for the Long Island racetrack to host the Belmont Stakes in June 2026.
Connors said he has not heard anything other than that the Belmont is expected to return to Long island in 2026.“My sense is, and my personal opinion is that it’s all connected to the construction schedule on Elmont, Long Island at the Belmont track. If they’re on the construction schedule that they hope to be able to follow it’s more likely to be a two-year thing (in Saratoga),” he said. “In any event we know we’re going to put on a great show in 2024 and 2025.”
GLENS FALLS — A public community climate action walk is slated to take place 1-4 p.m. Saturday, May 18 in downtown Glens Falls.
Attendees are asked to gather at 1 p.m. at City Park by Crandall Public Library. A walk down Glenn Street to Crandall Park where speakers are located will take place 1:30 p.m.
In response to the serious environmental crisis facing the planet, the Community Climate Action Walk provides the opportunity for individuals, families, and organizations to come together and learn about local actions they can take to address the severe and far-reaching impacts of climate warming.
The walk has been organized by the Unitarian Universalist Social Action Committee, St. Mary’s Social Justice Ministry, and North Country Earth Action (NCEA), a citizens group for climate action advocacy.
Speakers include: Students from the Glens Falls High School Social Justice Club, Dr. Patrick Wrisley, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, Emmett Smith, Northern Power & Light, Michael Richardson, representing Third Act on the NY Renews steering committee, and many others. Original poems written for the event will be read. Ken Tingley, former editor of The Post Star and current author of the on-line “Front Page” blog about our hometown community, will moderate the speakers. Chuck “Rochmon” Vosganian will manage the sound system from the band shell.
