SARATOGA COUNTY — At its final scheduled meeting of the calendar year, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 19 approved an agreement with LeChase Construction Services, Inc. of Rochester, for the construction of the new fixed base operator terminal building at Saratoga County Airport at a cost of up to $28.51 million. Of those costs, $24.53 million is listed as increase revenue State Aid under the 2023 Capital Plan, and $3.78 million as transfer from the capital reserve fund.   

The 2024 Organizational Meeting of The Board of Supervisors will be held at 4 p.m. Jan. 3, at 40 McMaster St. in Ballston Spa. 

Also approved on Dec. 19: 

DMV to Stay at Wilton Mall: the Board approved a three-year lease extension with Wilton Mall, LLC for space in the Wilton Mall where the County Department of Motor Vehicles will continue to site a satellite office. 

The lease runs Jan. 1, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2026 and totals $3,356.25 per month, plus an annual $900 fixed cost for electricity and an annual fixed charge for water in the amount of $35 per month. Those costs are subject to annual increases of 2% – to fixed electricity charge, and 3% – to rental rate and fixed charge for water commencing on Jan. 1, 2025. 

Better Cell: The Board approved a Resolution supporting Empire State Development’s designation of a cellular-specific point person to lead the state’s efforts on enhancing cellular coverage, and further encouraging the state to implement a unified strategy to assure every major road corridor has reliable cell coverage. 

County officials reported that approximately 70 percent of 9-1-1 calls originate from cellular phones,  adding that 99 percent of respondents in a recent survey of almost 2,000 Adirondack Park residents reported owning a cellular phone, with 67 percent reporting they rely on a cellular phone exclusively. 

Copies of the resolution will be forwarded to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Sen. Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Sen. Mark Walczyk, Sen  James Tedisco, Assemblymember John McDonald, Assemblywoman Carrie Werner, Assembly-member Matt Simpson and Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh. 

Spa Park Pump Station Upgrade Project: The Board approved executing a contract with Environmental Design and Research, Landscape Architecture Engineering and Environmental Services D.P.C. of Saratoga Springs, to provide engineering services for the Saratoga County Sewer District No.1’s Spa Park Pump Station upgrade project, at a cost of up to $184,525. 

The Saratoga County Sewer District Commission, the Executive Director, and the City of Saratoga Springs each agreed that extending the county-owned sewer infrastructure south on Route 9 could improve existing environmental conditions. 

SARATOGA COUNTY —New York State Police will participate in a special enforcement initiative to crack down on impaired and reckless driving the holiday season. 

The enforcement campaign is part of the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” initiative and runs through Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. Drivers can expect to see sobriety checkpoints along with more troopers on roadways during the campaign.

In addition to the DWI checkpoints and patrols, Troopers will be watching for distracted drivers, vehicle occupants who are not properly buckled up, and drivers violating the “Move Over Law,” which requires motorists to exercise extreme caution when passing emergency vehicles that are stopped in or on the side of the road. State Police will also conduct underage drinker enforcement details statewide.

During the campaign, Troopers will be using both marked State Police vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles as part of the operation. The CITE vehicles allow Troopers to more easily identify motorists who are using handheld devices while driving. CITE vehicles allow the Trooper to better observe distracted driving violations. These vehicles blend in with everyday traffic, but are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated. 

During last year’s crackdown, State Police arrested 453 people for DWI and issued 32,934 tickets, including 11,305 tickets for speeding, 912 for distracted driving, and 316 for the “Move Over Law.” 

SARATOGA COUNTY —Travels With Darley podcast Executive Producer and Host Darley Newman will host a lecture/seminar focusing on her Revolutionary Road Trip, which visited several communities across the country earlier this year, including Saratoga County. 

Newman will be joined by a panel of experts that includes Saratoga County Historian Lauren Roberts. 

The program takes place 6:45 – 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 18 and will be broadcast live via zoom.  

Lecture description: Delve into the nation’s founding and its future through the lens of history along this road trip route that travelers can recreate from Charleston, SC, to Trenton, NJ Hear about sights and activities in Berkeley County and Camden, SC. Learn more about Prince William County, VI, where Revolutionary history abounds along the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail and at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. In New Jersey, explore Princeton, Trenton, Washington Crossing State Park, Somerville, and Morristown before heading onward to Saratoga, NY, and beyond. Topics of interests include the battles of Trenton and Princeton, part of the “Ten Crucial Days” of the American Revolution, and historical documents from the country’s founding.

For ticket information, go online to: smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/revolutionary-road-trip. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness, an ad hoc committee formed in February and charged with suggesting a potentially permanent site for a homeless shelter and navigation center, approved its final report to the city at its meeting Nov. 27 at City Hall. 

The 11-member Task Force was initiated In February 2023 by city Mayor Ron Kim, and saw its board appointed by most of the currently seated City Council members and Supervisors.   

The ad hoc group began by evaluating more than two dozen potential sites across the city, eventually whittling that number down to a handful of locations, with a 3.7-acre lot on Lake Avenue/ State Route 29 ultimately being selected as the primary suggested site for a permanent homeless shelter. The vacant lot is located between the Northway overpass and a Stewart’s Shop near Weibel Avenue, and had earlier this year been listed for sale at $800,000.  

Alternative sites highly ranked included a parcel at 153 South Broadway. That property stands in close proximity to two temporary shelters in the city, but the owner is reluctant to sell the property; 1.6 acres at 3290 Route 9 / Top Hill motel; a 1-acre property at North and East Ave., and 260 Maple Ave./ Gateway Motel, which extends to 1.5 acres.

Each of the potential venues suggested offer some set of challenges that includes everything from Land Use Board review to area variances required (although the latter would seem unnecessary were the city to outright purchase the property), proximity or lack thereof to venues currently providing social services, access to public transportation, and, given the track record of previous attempts made: opposition from some area residents when a site is ultimately selected.   

Finalizing a location and identifying funding sources – including what level of support may be provided by the county – are still matters to be discussed. Those discussions are anticipated to continue in the new year with the new city government. Two of the five members of the City Council, and one of two Supervisors representing the city at the county level, will be seated in those positions for the first time. 

“Our next step will be to reach out to the mayor-elect (John Safford) in end of January beginning of February – they meet the first and third Tuesdays, so hopefully in early February we can be in front of the new City Council,” said Committee co-chair Tom Roohan. 

BALLSTON SPA — During a special board meeting held at the county complex on Dec. 13, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors adopted the 2024 county budget. 

The $410.1 million spending plan points to an increase of more than $32 million over this year’s adopted budget and marks the first county plan to top $400 million. By comparison, the annual approved plan was approximately $297 million in both, 2016 and 2017, before climbing to more than $319 million in 2018.       

During the meeting the Board also voted to approve the execution of multiple agreements with a variety of public benefit organizations in exchange for the services they provide. To that point, the 10 highest dollar amount appropriations are: 

$1.475 million – Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of Saratoga County (for county Farm Guide update and Stormwater Management Services; 

$400,000 – Discover Saratoga (economic development);

$325,000 – Saratoga Economic Development Corporation (economic development); 

$300,000 – Campaign for Saratoga 250th, Inc. (economic development & heritage tourism); 

$142,000 – Saratoga County Soil & Water Conservation District (soil and water conservation);

$105,000 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center (pilot marketing campaign and economic development); 

$100,000 – Regional Food Bank of N.E. N.Y. (addressing food insecurities);

$90,000 – Saratoga Center for the Family (child abuse services);

$60,000 – Capital District Regional Planning Commission (regional studies); 

$60,000 – Capital Region Chamber of Commerce (tourism & economic development).