SARATOGA SPRINGS —Fabric Memoirs, an in-person program, takes place 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3 at Temple Sinai, 509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs.
Participants will learn how to transfer photographs to fabric and incorporate them into “no-sew” photo collages that bring memories to life.
The event features artist Susan Rivers of Greentree Fiber Arts and is presented by Saratoga Jewish Community Arts. Rivers will demonstrate the techniques to capture memories and tell your personal story in a hands-on workshop.
All materials will be supplied. Participants can bring digital and hard copy photographs and any textiles they would like to use, whether new or repurposed.
Registration required and donations requested. Register at sjca.sjcf@gmail.com.
For additonal information, go online to: www.saratogajewishculturalfestival.org
New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR) 30th anniversary logo. NYMIS is to provide liability insurance coverage for 2024.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Mayor Ron Kim announced that the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR) has agreed to provide the City with liability insurance coverage for the 2024 calendar year.
NYMIR’s mission is to insure, support, and educate municipalities in New York State. NYMIR was formed 30 years ago, and is now the largest municipal property and casualty underwriter in the state, representing over 900 municipalities.
“The City worked with our broker to consider several carrier options for municipal coverage. The national insurance market, including municipal insurance, has been impacted by many factors such as increasing catastrophic weather events. We are confident in NYMIRs work with municipalities across the state, and believe it is the most sound and secure insurance program for our city,” said Mayor Kim, in a statement.
In addition to the new insurance coverage, Mayor Kim and Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran announced that the Risk and Safety program will revert back to the Accounts Department on Dec. 1.
“Governmental risk and safety management programs are essential to identifying and mitigating risk within our City’s operations. The Accounts Department will continue to promote safe and supportive best practices for our employees and stakeholders,” said Commissioner Moran.
Saratoga Springs Fire Station No. 3 on Henning Road on June 29, 2023. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A ceremonial groundbreaking was staged in August 2022 atop the lands where the city’s long-awaited fire station no. 3 would be built. Thirteen months later, an unexpected ground-breaking of sorts was discovered that will push the official opening of the Henning Road fire station into the new year.
“We have some good news, and we have some bad news,” Public Safety Commissioner Jim Montagnino said, regarding the status of Fire Station No. 3.
“The good news is the training facility portion of Fire Station 3 is being used, even as we speak,” Montagnino said. A simulated Ladder Rescue component built into the apparatus bays provides a training area for firefighters, allowing them to train in the city and readily available to respond to any calls.
The bad news – “a minor hiccup that’s being taken care of,” the commissioner said, involves cracks in the concrete pads that lead to the apparatus bays in both the front and back of the station building that need to be remedied.
Concrete in the ‘aprons’ leading to the apparatus bays was poured in May 2023. Cracks were discovered in September and tests conducted one month later. “It was determined they are not surface cracks, but rather go all the way through the eight inches of concrete that form the apron,” Montagnino said. There are “several competing theories” regarding what may have caused the slabs to fail that include everything from waterproofing issues to the depth of the reinforcement bars.
The city’s two currently existing stations are located in the downtown district, and on the west side.
The development of a third station followed a generation’s worth of false starts, hard stops, floated land-swaps and a lawsuit. The Henning Road fire station will improve emergency response to the eastern plateau in Saratoga Springs specifically, as well as provide added coverage for the city in general.
Contractors are slated to begin remedying the situation this week, at no cost to the city, with work estimated to be completed in mid-December. That will be followed by a curing period of approximately four weeks before a heavy load may be imposed, effectively pushing the timeline of completion to January.
BALLSTON SPA —The Saratoga County Law & Finance Committee approved the distribution of $50,000 to the city of Saratoga Springs for the reconfiguration of the Woodlawn Avenue Parking Lot and Garage entrance on Connolly Way, and the distribution of $25,000 to Saratoga PRIDE is in support of the Rainbow Garden Club.
Law and Finance Committee approval is required for a partial distribution of funds for projects identified by the Supervisors of Saratoga Springs.
The motion was made by Saratoga Springs County Supervisor and Law & Finance Committee member Matt Veitch. Law & Finance Committee member and Wilton Town Supervisor John Lant cast the lone vote against.
“Regarding the Saratoga County Discretionary Funds disbursement that Supervisor Veitch and myself have, we will be donating $25,000 to Saratoga PRIDE specifically for the purpose of queer-use programming offered in Saratoga Springs,” city Supervisor Tara Gaston said.
“They partner currently with the Saratoga YMCA and Pitney Farms as well as the Unitarian Universalist Church and Create Studios – all in Saratoga Springs. This will allow them to broaden and to provide additional programming for our youth that fall under the queer umbrella in the city.”
The Learning League and the Health Club without Walls plan to kick off their “no excuses” clinic in January.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The message is simple: Do something fun, get healthy and get rewarded in exchange for your efforts.
“It’s a No Excuses – Just Start” clinic, says program coordinator Billy Yaiser. “And this is something everyone can do.”
How it works: participants sign up in advance and attend one clinic a week for about an hour at a time, where low-impact physical activity games will be on the agenda. Attendees earn points for their attendance, and those reward points earn certificates redeemable at area eateries or stores.
The program is anticipated to begin in mid-January and Yaiser is eyeing the Saratoga Springs recreation facility on Vanderbilt Avenue as the program staging ground where a flexible schedule of events are expected to be held weekday nights and Sundays.
The pre-holiday season is an appropriate time to be thinking about some physical activity in the immediate post-holiday, Yaiser says.
“You go at your own pace, and it will give you a little cardio without killing you,” he says with a laugh. “Also, a portion of the proceeds will go to fund programs for disabled community members,” says Yaiser, who as founder of Second Chance Sports has helped coordinate events and fitness therapy clinics across the state for several decades, as well as teaching sports to the mentally and physically disabled.
Each clinic session can host about a dozen people. Activities will help with hand-eye coordination and balance, and the physical activity involved is something anyone can do, regardless of age or physical condition, Yaiser says.
For more information about sign-ups and clinic times call or text Yaiser 518-226-5888. Everyone who signs up will receive a special Saratoga present that can’t be purchased anywhere else, Yaiser said.
The former Grand Union Motel, located at 120 South Broadway in Saratoga Springs, serves as the emergency cold-weather Code Blue shelter this year. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
BALLSTON SPA —During its monthly meeting, held Nov. 21 at the county complex in Ballston Spa, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors accepted $426,000 from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and approved an agreement with Shelters of Saratoga that will see those funds used for S.O.S. expenses to operate this winter’s Code Blue shelter in Saratoga Springs.
The emergency cold-weather Code Blue shelter will this year, for the first time, be located at the former Grand Union Motel at 120 South Broadway, in Saratoga Springs.
Motivated to action in the wake of the death of a city woman exposed to a winter’s elements on a December night in 2013, a temporary homeless emergency shelter was launched in Saratoga Springs that Christmas Eve at St. Peter’s Parish Center. The Code Blue shelter has found temporary homes across the city in the years since during wintertime.
Of the $426,000 the State is sending to Saratoga County, the Board of Supervisors recommended up to $399,979 be spent in contract with S.O.S. for expenses associated with sheltering the homeless during this fall and winter season, and that any additional costs up to $26,021 may be used by the Department of Social Services for potential costs incurred for sheltering individuals or families not otherwise eligible for emergency housing and not able to be housed at the Code Blue Shelter.
2024 County Budget Proposal Tops $400 Million; Public Hearing Dec. 6, Plan to Adopt Dec. 13
A public hearing on the revised tentative 2024 Saratoga County Budget will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 6, at the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 40 McMaster St., Ballston Spa.
More than $1.5 million approved for work at county animal shelter
The County Board approved the acceptance of a near $1.5 million bid proposal from the John W. Danforth Company of Clifton Park for work to be conducted at the Saratoga County Animal Shelter.
The work relates to the mechanical construction of the HVAC Phase 1 project at the county animal shelter. The $1,495,890 was the lowest bid the county had received.
The Board additionally approved an agreement with B & B Premier Contracting, LLC of Hudson Falls, for work relating to the electrical construction of the HVAC Phase 1 project at the animal shelter at a cost of up to $84,000, and an agreement with DiGesare Mechanical Incorporated of Schenectady, for plumbing construction related to the same project at a cost not to exceed $57,000.
County Sheriff’s Office agreement to provide additional police services in Malta, Clifton Park, Halfmoon, Wilton
A contract extension was approved with the Town of Malta through 2024 for additional police services to be provided by the Sheriff’s Office. The agreement calls for one patrol from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and one patrol 4 p.m. – midnight, seven days a week.
The contract, at $326,580.66, includes reimbursement by the Town of Malta for all County expenses including salaries, benefits, training, all transportation expenses and patrol cars.
Additional agreements were also separately approved with the towns of Clifton Park (2 patrols, 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. & 4 p.m. – midnight, 7 days a week at a town cost just over $653,000); Halfmoon (1 patrol, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tues.-Sun., and 4 p.m.-midnight Tues.-Sat. at just over $259,000), and Wilton (1 patrol, 8 a.m. -4 p.m. Mon.-Fri., just over $125,000).
MOREAU — Wiggly wanderers is a beginner’s hike for toddlers and caregivers who are willing and able to baby wear and/or carry their toddler if their legs get too tired. Note: strollers will not work for these programs. While attendees need not attend each week, programs will continue to build toddlers’ hiking skills as well as their caregivers’ confidence taking the children into the woods to explore. This event does not have sign-ups. Group meets at the nature center parking lot. Wiggly Wanderers – 9:30 a.m. every Friday in December at Moreau Lake State Park, 605 Old Saratoga Road, Gansevoort: Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29. Call 518-793-0511
Additional programs through the month of December include:
Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 10 a.m. Lake Bonita to Lake Ann Lean-to. Join an educator on an approximately 3-mile-out-and-back hike from Lake Bonita to Lake Anne Lean-to. Bring a snack. The cost is $5 at the office upon arrival. Snowshoes and crampons to borrow. Register at least 24 hours in advance at 518-793-0511.
Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 1 p.m. Courteous Critters. Come learn about some native animals as well as animals around the world who give great gifts to secure a mate or a bond. This is a nice reminder to humans of the true purpose of gift-giving, to strengthen our social relationships. Come to the nature center to learn from an educator. The cost is $5 for adults and $1 for kids at the office upon arrival. You can register in advance at 518-793-0511.
Thursdays, Dec. 7, 14, 21 and 28, 10-11 a.m. Knee-high Naturalist. Geared toward children aged 2-5, (siblings welcome). Knee-high Naturalist is a fun introduction to nature. Meet in the Nature Center where we begin by reading a book and then take a short walk outdoors, keeping our eyes open for animal tracks, shells, feathers and other signs of the natural world around us. Dress for the weather. Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance. The cost is $1 per child, payable by cash or check at the office upon your arrival. To reserve your spot call 518-793-0511.
Saturday, Dec. 9, 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. Card Making. Join an educator in the Nature Center to make handmade holiday cards. Cost is $1 per child, $5 per adult. Register in advance by calling 518-793-0511.
Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. Stonewall trail hike. This beginner level guided hike of just over 3 miles is on park property on the other side of the Hudson. Access is closed once it snows so Lake Bonita will be the alternate hike should there be snow. Wear warm, waterproof boots and bring microspikes- or borrow from the office. Cost is $5, reserve your spot in advance by calling the office at 518-793-0511.
My wife turned to me and said, “I wouldn’t know what to do if you died.” I had just gotten off the phone with my father who was simultaneously mourning the sudden loss of his brother and trying to sort out his finances. Talk about a wakeup call. As a financial professional, I’d like to think that I’m ahead of the game regarding this sort of stuff, but her comment made me realize I could do better. I handle the family finances and as a result, had inadvertently left her in the dark as to what would happen in the worst sort of circumstances. Let’s examine a few simple things you can do to prepare your loved ones.
The first financial question that arises when someone passes is “ok, what did they have going on?” Accounts, passwords, investments, debts, real estate, beneficiaries, the list goes on. This burden of data gathering will often fall to an executor named in your will. If there is no clear instruction or executor for an estate, the presiding court will determine a willing individual. Think about this for a second. If you suddenly leave this Earth, someone who you care about will have to deal with the emotional stress of losing you and the mental stress of getting your affairs in order. An organized list of financial accounts, updated annually, can greatly decrease this burden.
Do you have an estate plan? According to a survey by Caring.com, 2/3 of adults in this country do not currently have a will. I get it – it is not the most fun thing in the world to think about and it costs money, so it is easy to push to the back burner. The alternative is not great. Anything with a beneficiary designation like a life insurance policy is cut and dry – everything else is up for debate and probate courts and attorneys may spend a good amount of their time (and your money) to figure out who gets what. Speaking of beneficiary designations, are yours up to date? It is not a great look when an ex-husband gets a life insurance payout after his former spouse has remarried. Again, an annual review of this is recommended.
An alternate angle to approach this topic is one where you become incapacitated but have not yet passed. A health care proxy allows someone you designate to make medical decisions for you. These decisions range from acceptable treatments to measures taken to sustain life. It is pretty heavy stuff so make sure the person you name is someone you trust and willing to accept that obligation. Related to the health care proxy is the idea of naming a power of attorney to take care of your financial affairs while you are incapacitated. A few difficult conversations and proper paperwork instituted before anything happens can save a lot of angst during a stressful period of time for all involved.
Day in, day out, we see very little variation to our routine. Wake, coffee, school/work, home, bed, rinse, repeat. During this repetition, it is easy for our minds to become numb to the reality that everything can end in an instant. The Stoics have a helpful phrase to remind themselves of this stark reality: memento mori. Translation: remember that you will die. If that is jarring to think about, it’s because it is supposed to be. I have used this experience to better prepare my family for my absence. My hope is that you will use it as motivation as well.
David Rath, CMT, CFA, is the Chief Investment Officer at Continuum Wealth Advisors in Saratoga Springs.Continuum Wealth Advisors, LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor registered through the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner poses outside her office at 112 Spring St., where toys for children will be accepted. Photo provided.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (D-Round Lake) is partnering with Toys for Toga to help spread cheer to children in the local community this holiday season.
Donations of new, unwrapped toys may be dropped off in the donation bin outside Woerner’s District Office at 112 Spring St. in Saratoga Springs.
Toys will be collected through Dec. 10 and delivered to local families via: Captain Community Human Services, Franklin Community Center and Mechanicville Area Community Servies Center.
“Please consider donating items for older children as well,” Assemblywoman Woerner said, in a statement. “Games, puzzles, crafts, building sets and sports items are fun for all ages.”
Toys for Toga is an annual toy collection spearheaded by DeCrescente Distributing Company and supported by a variety of local businesses, including Ball Manufacturing, Franklin Square Market and Quick Response Restoration.
Joanne Kiernan has been appointed Deputy Mayor by Mayor-Elect John Safford. Photo: JoAnne Kiernan for Saratoga Springs Finance Commissioner 2021 campaign.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — City Mayor-Elect John Safford announced this week he has selected Joanne Kiernan for the position of Deputy Mayor of Saratoga Springs.
Kiernan, the Republican-endorsed candidate for Commissioner of Finance in 2021, has served as a business advisor and accountant for a variety of local businesses, and also served 9 years on the Saratoga Springs School Board.
Safford, running on the Republican Party line, secured the two-year term to begin Jan. 1, 2024 with 3,752 votes, besting incumbent Ron Kim (D, WF) – 3,172 votes, and independent party challenger Chris Mathiesen – 1,420 votes, according to Election Day tallies posted by the Saratoga County BOE.
“I am proud to announce Joanne as my Deputy-Mayor,” Safford said, in a statement. “I am humbled by the interest shown by so many applicants interested in serving alongside me and thank them for their interest. Joanne is a proven leader and I know she will serve the office of the Mayor and the citizens of Saratoga Springs well”The mayor is chief executive officer and official representative of Saratoga Springs and counts as one vote on the five-person City Council.
Each of the five council members is charged with appointing a deputy to serve their department, and each deputy serves at the pleasure of, and not longer than, the term of the Council member making the deputy’s appointment.
“I am excited to get to work for the people of Saratoga Springs and look forward to hitting the ground running with Mayor-Elect Safford and the rest of the City Council,” Kiernan said.
JoAnne Kiernan for Finance transferred $1,000 to the Safford for Mayor 2023 campaign, according to NYS Board of Elections Oct. 27 disclosure reports.
