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Saratoga Springs: June Special Events

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in News.


Flag Day Parade 2019. Photo by Francesco D’Amico.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — City Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran announced that the following special events will take place in Saratoga Springs:

Saturday, June 3, 2023 –TUFF eNUFF Mud Run – Prevention Council fundraiser obstacle courses (kids course and teen/adult course) at the BOCES facility on Henning Road.

Saturday, June 3, 2023 – Whitman Brewfest fundraiser for Saratoga Pride. This is a ticketed event with samples from local area breweries, food, music, and vendors.

Sunday, June 4, 2023 – Cantina Kids Fun Run fundraiser for Saratoga Hospital Pediatric Emergency Services to be held at Congress Park.

Saturday, June 10, 2023 – Annual Flag Day Parade hosted by the Saratoga–Wilton Elks Lodge.

Saturday, June 10, 2023 – Grace Fellowship Outreach event for Grace Fellowship Church.

Sunday, June 11, 2023 – Beekman Street Art Fair with fine art, craft show, street performers, live music, and food trucks.

Saturday, June 17, 2023 – 2nd Annual Cars on Union car show hosted by the Saratoga Auto Museum.

Monday, June 19, 2023 – Symbolic two-and-a-half block walk concluding at the Frederick Allen Lodge.

Sunday, June 25, 2023 – Saratoga Pride Festival celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride at High Rock Park.

Iron Chef Saratoga Event Raises More Than $32K for Wellspring

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in News.

Iron Chef champs 30 Lake. Photo provided.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Chefs from three prominent area restaurants and bartenders from two popular local bars competed at Airosmith Development’s third annual Iron Chef Saratoga event last week to raise funds for Wellspring, the county’s domestic violence and sexual assault resource agency. 

All proceeds from ticket sales – over $32,000 – will go toward the agency’s mission to support survivors and engage the community to end relationship and sexual abuse. 

As in the classic Iron Chef culinary game show, chefs were given a secret ingredient and each round was timed. The competing chefs, from well-known Saratoga restaurants 30 Lake, Osteria Danny, and Salt & Char, were a new addition to this year’s Iron Chef. Previous events had featured notable community members cooking and competing, including the event’s creator herself, Margaret Smith-Cassier, founder and CEO of Airosmith Development and longtime member of Wellspring’s Board of Directors. This year’s event also featured a new specialty cocktail competition between bartenders from Spa City Tap and Barrel and Lucy’s Bar.

In addition to the specialty cocktails, the 150 guests in attendance were treated to two rounds of appetizers prepared by each restaurant’s chefs as well as hors d’oeuvres, desserts, a prosecco bar, live music, and the excitement of watching the chefs prepare each dish. 

Attendees voted to choose the winners of the evening. Spa City Tap and Barrel was selected as the cocktail competition winner, and 30 Lake was crowned this year’s Iron Chef, taking home a sizable trophy and bragging rights.

Wellspring is the domestic violence and sexual assault services resource for Saratoga County residents and the sexual assault resource for Washington County. Wellspring’s mission is to support survivors and engage the community to end relationship and sexual abuse. Wellspring provides emergency shelter, a 24-hour phone hotline, counseling, legal advocacy, housing assistance, innovative programs, and more. All services are free, non-judgmental, and confidential.   

Facelift? Plans Submitted for Downtown Chipotle

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Featured, News.

City Development: A proposed 2,343 sq. ft. restaurant was recently
submitted to the city’s Planning Board at 12 Ballston Ave. pictured above.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city stages regularly scheduled meetings by three Land Use Boards that review development activities within city boundaries. Those boards are typically where new development projects, or alterations to existing developments are discussed.   

The Saratoga Springs Planning Board is a 7-member citizen board that has jurisdiction over the development of most new multi-family, commercial, institutional and industrial projects. 

The Saratoga Springs Design Review Board is a 7-member citizen board which reviews development activities within city boundaries – Historic Review, and Architectural Review.

The Saratoga Springs Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) is a quasi-judicial 7-member citizen board that reviews requests for waivers from existing regulations in the zoning ordinance. 

Multiple workshops and meetings are held monthly related to all three boards. The meetings are open to the public. For a specific schedule of meetings and agenda items, visit the city website at: Saratoga-springs.org. 

Play It Again, Sam! Sam the Bugler: Back at Belmont. Once more, with feeling

Written by M.E. Altieri on . Posted in Featured, News.


Photo by George Adams

Fans of horse racing who attend this year’s Belmont Stakes will find many things that are familiar, and comforting.  Post-Pandemic Life still is rife with many uncertainties:  to take a day off, and experience things as we knew them before Covid, is a gift.  At Beautiful Belmont Park, Canada geese still soar the skies, landing on their Infield Pond with ballet-like beauty, and grace.  The neighing of thousands of horses in the barns greet fans as they arrive, soothing with their ancient song.

Race fans, especially New Yorkers, are particularly proud of Big Sandy, Belmont’s  magnificent dirt track.  The geese’s Infield is enormous:  large enough to land a 747.  The track itself is deeper than most tracks, due to NYRA’s proprietary recipe:  more sand in its mix (with clay and silt) than other tracks = more of a challenge to runners.  (That recipe makes Big Sandy deep-enough to unnerve horses and jockeys who’ve never experienced it before.)  

Big Sandy is the quicksand over which Secretariat flew with otherworldly speed, 50 years ago this month.  Big Red, stared Big Sandy in the eye, and didn’t blink.

This year’s Belmont Stakes will offer familiar, comforting sounds both to those on-track, and to the millions worldwide who’ll see the race on their TVs, computers and smartphones.  On June 10th,  the legendary Sam Grossman – Sam the Bugler – will grace his Belmont winner’s circle once again. 

In 2022, he stepped back a bit to tend to personal matters.  These days, he’s channeling his tremendous talents and energies into teaching music in a public school, north of Miami – sharing his wealth of knowledge and passion with a new generation of young musicians.  (Sam’s fans won’t be surprised by this information; he has a long reputation for generosity of spirit.)

He doesn’t dismiss the idea of playing occasionally at Saratoga, of course, and he’ll play other NYRA special occasions.  But as of this writing, June 10th is the chance for  race fans to witness the master’s joyous return to his home turf, playing his song.  And – bonus! – this year, Sam will play First Call (Call to the Post) with his twin brother, Irv Grossman and his close friend, Bethann Dixon.  The dynamic trio brings special magic to those 34 notes, notes that have set hearts and imaginations afire at tracks all over the world since at least the late 1850s.  On June 10th, on-track or virtually, fans can request: 

“Play it again, Sam.”  Once more, with feeling.

Saratoga Springs Dem. Mayoral Primary Event June 12

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in Featured, News.

Incumbent Mayor Ron Kim (left), and challenger Chris Mathiesen (right). Photo: lwv.saratoga. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The public is invited to submit questions for incumbent city Mayor Ron Kim and mayoral challenger Chris Mathiesen in advance of the city’s Democratic Party Primary, which will take place June 27, with Early Voting beginning June 17.  

The “Meet The Candidates” event will take place virtually, from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Monday, June 12. The event will be live streamed on Zoom webinar and hosted by the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County – a local chapter of the League of Women Voters of New York State and the national League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization whose stated mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government.

Questions: The public is encouraged to submit questions for the candidates by June 9, 2023, to QuestionsLWVSC@gmail.com with “Mayor” in the subject line. Questions should be addressed to both candidates, represent a broad range of topics and not contain personal attacks.

The general election will take place in November for the two-year mayoral term. The Saratoga Springs Republican Committee has endorsed John Safford as the GOP’s candidate for mayor.  

In Saratoga Springs, there are just over 8,300 registered Democrats eligible to vote in the June 27 Primary. The city counts just over 5,800 registered Republicans, and 5,500 “blank” voters – or those registered to vote with no party affiliation, according to the Board of Elections.     

City Sets Sights on 24/7 Homeless Shelter

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in Featured, News.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city received one response to its RFP seeking to obtain proposals from qualified nonprofit organizations to operate a temporary low-barrier homeless shelter in Saratoga Springs. That respondent is RISE Housing and Support Services. 

“The next step for the City Council is an award of the bid; If that passes then we would enter into a contract with (RISE) and do a budget amendment to pay for the contracted amount,” Saratoga Springs Mayor Ron Kim said on May 31.  

That potential shelter will serve as a temporary one and in lieu of a permanent shelter site – anticipated to be decided upon at some point this summer.

At the time it issued the RFP (Request for Proposal), the city was engaged in hoping to secure a public-private partnership by June 1 with the locally based RISE Housing and Support Services to provide a year-round, low-barrier, 24/7 interim homeless shelter at 4 Adelphi St. The agreement was to be discussed at length and voted on by the council in early May, but the item was pulled from the table after the council deemed an RFP for the project would first be required. 

Several weeks later, the one respondent to the proposal eventually turned out to be RISE Housing and Support Services. The organization detailed $239,385 as the amount needed as an operating budget to hire, train and staff the program, as well as maintain the facility. According to the RFP, contractors were requested to submit an annual proposed operating budget. 

That initial draft agreement stipulated the city provide funds to operate the interim shelter from the date of execution to Dec. 31, 2023, and pledged sufficient monetary resources to fully fund the operations of the facility “for the 2024 Fiscal year and such future years as required.” Additionally, it specified that the city anticipates awarding a 6-month contract for the remainder of 2023 and a subsequent one 1- year contract with up to three 3 additional 1-year renewal periods. 

City Still Seeks a Permanent Shelter

The Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness is currently searching for a permanent site for a homeless shelter and navigation center and is anticipated to provide its recommendations to the City Council in July. 

The Taskforce was formed In February 2023 and was charged with determining a working definition of “low-barrier,” determining whether there is a need in the city for a low-barrier shelter, providing recommendations for a possible location for a low-barrier shelter, and offering recommendations on possible funding sources for the operation of such a shelter. 

The implementation of any proposed shelter by the Taskforce, however, is anticipated to take several months or some years to complete. With the recent RFP, the city is hoping to create a temporary shelter for the unhoused in Saratoga Springs as an interim solution. 

The Adelphi Street building is the venue that served as the last city winter-seasonal temporary shelter. That lease, which was $8,000 per month and involved the Shelters of Saratoga organization, expired April 30. In previous years of operation, Saratoga County as well as the State have provided some level of funding support for shelter operations. When asked in April about the county’s potential support of a shelter based in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Todd Kusnierz said: “We will entertain any proposal that is provided to us.”

Union Avenue Street Tree Maintenance Starts June 5

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in News.


Photo by Super Source Media

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Department of Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub announced that the Urban Forestry Division will be performing street tree maintenance on Union Avenue Starting on June 5.

The work will take approximately five days with brief lane closures for the removal of  twelve large trees in various states of decline under power lines, and the planting of twenty-four utility-line friendly trees.

The project will be performed in coordination with National Grid’s tree service vendor to trim trees around power lines. Removals will occur from Monday through Wednesday, and new plantings will take place on Thursday and Friday. Newly planted trees will be eligible for a $50 reimbursement, to the City, from National Grid as part of their “10,000 Trees” initiative.

Spa City Solicits Consultant to Create a Climate Action Plan 

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in News.

The city of Saratoga Springs is scheduled to unveil responses to its call for Climate Action Plan consultants on June 6. Graphic: www.cityoftacoma.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City of Saratoga Springs has put out a call for bids in its search for consultants to collaborate with the city to define and create a Climate Action Plan.

The bids were initially scheduled to be unsealed on May 30. That day has been moved to June 6, at 2 p.m.   

The scope of services requested of the consultant include engaging city staff and Commissioners to secure feedback on planning aspects that impact various city departments, hosting a Public Meeting to present general information and benefits to the public, developing an inventory and gathering data related to city emissions, and Identifying climate action goals, setting GHG reduction targets for city operations, and finalizing a Climate Action Plan. 

On December 20, 2011, the Saratoga Springs City Council unanimously approved the Climate Smart Communities Resolution and pledged to be a Climate Smart City. The five-member council, under the leadership of then-Mayor Scott Johnson, asserted in its resolution that it “believes that climate change poses a real and increasing threat to local and global governments which is primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels,” and set a series of steps to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate.”    

Commissioner Montagnino: Saratoga Springs Fire Chief Facing Sixteen Charges of Misconduct

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in News.

Joseph Dolan.
Photo: www.saratoga-springs.org

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Sixteen formal charges of misconduct have been filed against Saratoga Springs Fire Chief Joseph Dolan, according to city Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino. 

With the filing of the charges, Chief Dolan’s employment status goes from paid administrative leave to suspension without pay, Montagnino said in a statement. 

The 16 charges, the details of which were released May 23, include multiple allegations of Dolan’s attending training at the State Academy of Fire Sciences in Montour Falls, as well as providing training at the Saratoga County Fire Training Center Center, and at the Troy Fire Department for which he was paid by the state, while not charging “leave time,” and so also being paid full salary as city fire chief. 

The charges also allege an intent to obtain personal benefit by using a city-owned vehicle for personal use. 

“I don’t believe there’s anything here that would warrant the termination of the Chief’s employment,”  said Dolan’s attorney, Brian Culnan. “Based on the facts as I understand them, it’s obvious to me that the city is really not aware of a lot of the facts here and has charged him with a lot of stuff in which there’s really no wrongdoing.”  

Dolan’s response to the commissioner’s allegations is anticipated in early June.

Board of Ethics Advises Social Media Awareness for City Office Candidates 

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in News.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — In February 2023, Mike Brandi, Chairman of the Saratoga Springs Republican Committee, filed a complaint with the Saratoga Springs Board of Ethics regarding posts to the official City Facebook page which he said promoted campaign pages of Mayor Ron Kim and Commissioner of Finance Minita Sanghvi. 

The complaint alleged that the posts violated Section 13-3(k) of the Code of Ethics which states, among other things, that officers or employees not use the City “workplace” to influence any person to participate in an election campaign or political event or to contribute to a political party, committee, campaign or candidate.

The City Board of Ethics returned a two-page response to Brandi’s inquiry on May 17 regarding the matter. 

The Board, in a 4-0 ruling, said that as the City’s Ethics policy does apply to the City’s social media practices, and in finding a social media site officially created by and maintained by the city as a “workplace,” that ”the Board must find that the postings did not comply with Section 13-3 (k).” 

Additionally, the Board added: “In reaching its conclusions it finds no intent on the part of either Council member to act contrary to the Code. It will advise, however, that in the future all candidates for office have a responsibility to be aware of, and to instruct their campaign staff on, the requirements of Section 13-3(k).”