November is National Adoption Awareness Month! Did you know about 1 in 3 Americans are connected to adoption? Join modern adoption conversations with Francine Apy and SoulFilling. Follow along for daily insights, inspiring stories, and fresh perspectives that spark adoption conversations at home, work, school, and in our communities. Whether adoption touches you personally or you’re a teacher, coach, social worker, or counselor, SoulFilling welcomes you to join a new adoption conversation! For local events, visit www.SoulFillingAdoption.com
STILLWATER — Saratoga National Historical Park and the Friends of Saratoga Battlefield welcomes a series of distinguished scholars and historians for its annual Fall Lecture Series. These speakers will discuss a variety of topics to help us examine and better understand our shared histories as we approach the 250th anniversaries of the Revolutionary War and the founding of the United States. Reservations are required and may be made by emailing: SARA_reservations@nps.gov. The schedule is as follows:
Washington’s War Time Cooks – Thursday, Nov. 7, 6:30 pm, Visitor Center. Although there is only one “Washington’s Headquarters” in New York, there are numerous signs around the region stating, “Washington slept here.” Which means he also ate there. Typically, however, not food prepared by the household’s cook, but by his own staff, led by Hannah Till, an enslaved woman, and her husband Isaac. Who were they? What skills may they have had? Join us as we look at current research on Hannah & Isaac and ponder what it may have been like to travel and cook around the region for Washington.
Speaker Lavada Nahon is a culinary historian with 30 years public history experience. She focuses on New Netherland and New York, 17th through 19th centuries, specifically, the lives and cultures of Africans and their descendants, enslaved and free and is the first Interpreter of African American History for New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites.
From the Battlefield to the Stage: The Many Lives of General John Burgoyne – Thursday, Nov. 14, 6:30 pm, Visitor Center.
The Compleat Victory: Leadership and Strategy in the Saratoga Campaign of 1777 – Tuesday, Nov. 19, 6:30 pm, Visitor Center.
Saratoga National Historical Park encompasses five sites including the Saratoga Battlefield, General Philip Schuyler’s House, Victory Woods, the Saratoga Monument and Sword Surrender Site totaling 3,579 acres. For more information about Saratoga National Historical Park, call the Visitor Center at 518- 670-2985, visit www.nps.gov/sara or find the park on Facebook or Twitter @SaratogaNHP.
Sample Ballot 2024 General Election, Saratoga Springs. Source: Saratoga County Board of Elections.
SARATOGA COUNTY —Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. There are 85 polling sites, and 204 total Election districts in Saratoga County.
To see sample ballots for all individual Saratoga County municipalities, go to: https://www.saratogacountyny.gov/departments/board-of-elections/offices-candidates-to-be-elected/..
To learn more about Proposal Number One, go to: https://elections.ny.gov/2024-statewide-ballot-proposal.
2024 General Election Day Poll Sites, according to the Saratoga County Board of Elections, are listed below Note: All Polling Places are Accessible. Sites are listed by Town, District Number: Polling Place & Address. Asterisk indicates polling place change. Polls are open 6am – 9pm.
BALLSTON SPA — The story of how and why Luther Forest in the Town of Malta was selected to begin America’s space program will be told by Paul Perreault, former Town of Malta Historian, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at the Brookside Museum, 21 Fairgrounds Ave., Ballston Spa.
As World War II was ending, America began a race with the Soviet Union to capture Germany’s war secrets. The most prized were the V-2 rockets that had caused so much destruction in England and the Channel Ports. The Army selected engineers from the Schenectady General Electric plant to travel to Europe and interview the captured German scientists and select the papers, drawings and rocket parts to be shipped back to America. Another G.E. team was tasked with finding a secluded location convenient to the GE plant to build a test facility.
“Few of the thousands who pass through Malta every year or even Malta residents themselves, realize the importance that this aging campus had on the Cold War,” Perreault said in a statement. “The story of the Malta Rocket Test Site has largely been lost to history, though it is a story that deserves telling.” Local residents long recalled that the rocket tests were so loud, they rattled the dishes in their homes in the surrounding communities.
Developed almost 75 years ago, remnants of the rocket test site still exist today adjacent to the Globalfoundries chip plant.
This event is sponsored by the Saratoga County History Center. Registration is available at the History Center’s website https://brooksidemuseum.org/ Donations received during registration will be used for SCHC program development
SARATOGA SPRINGS — RISE Housing and Support Services launched a $550,000 Capital Campaign to complete its $3.5 million new HOMEBASE project.
The project will provide peer support and opportunities to combat isolation and provide semi-structured therapeutic activities to develop daily living skills and a natural support system.
The project is budgeted at $3.5 million, with much of the funding coming from a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Project grant, secured by Congressman Paul Tonko, the Sarah B. Foulke Charitable Fund, and Adirondack Trust, among others. Construction is expected to be completed by summer of 2025.
This therapeutic community space will be located at the RISE headquarters on Union Street in Saratoga Springs, and will provide a range of services and facilities designed to foster community engagement, life skills, and personal growth. The new space will feature: Telehealth Conference Rooms, Café/Kitchen, Computer Room, Workshops, Living Room, and Art Studio.
Construction is being managed by the Bonacio Group. Sonny and Julie Bonacio are large supporters of RISE and their mission.
For more information on RISE’s HOMEBASE project, or to donate to the Capital Campaign, visithttps://www.riseservices.org/what-we-do/support-services/homebase-psychosocial-day-program/.
SARATOGA SPRINGS— “The Anatomy of Exile” will be the subject of a performance-lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at Caffe Lena, 47 Phila St.
“All stories of exile begin with an ending,” says Joshua Craze, the writer and performer who has spent over a decade in the refugee camps of Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, and elsewhere. In 2020, he conducted research in the archive of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, while a writing fellow at the Embassy of Foreign Artists.
Craze’s performance draws together archival materials, refugees’ voices, and poetic fragments, to create a panoramic overview of the refugee experience today.
The program is sponsored by the Saratoga Immigration Coalition (SIC).
The program is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. A question-and-answer period will conclude the evening. Reservations are recommended at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/anatomy-of-exile-tickets-1005223329037
SARATOGA SPRINGS —More than two dozen downtown business owners convened at City Hall last week to meet with city Mayor John Safford. The group of entrepreneurs largely expressed displeasure with the inaugural paid parking system the city implemented during the summer season, and pointed to the paid parking plan as a cause for lost sales revenue while requesting its planned return for summer 2025 be terminated.
How successful their plea was, has yet to be determined, however.
“We are asking that the paid parking program in Saratoga Springs be halted,” said John Nemjo, owner of Saratoga Outdoors and Life is Good Saratoga, on Broadway.
“My intention right now is to try it for another year,” said Mayor Safford, whose response was largely met with groans of disapproval from those in attendance.
In early 2024, the City Council unanimously approved a paid parking project slated to run from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The plan would charge motorists coming to the city from outside Saratoga Springs $2 per hour to park at six city-owned parking garages and surface lots, while local residents would be provided free parking passes.
The anticipated seasonal revenue for 2024 was approximately $1.6 million, with expenses estimated at about $450,000, resulting in an estimated first year net gain of over $1.1 million. Of that, the city says it would re-invest $100,000 of the revenue gained in the Downtown Business Association.
In real-time application, the program didn’t go into effect until mid-June and generated just over $275,000. The project cost about $144,000 to implement the first year – nearly $124,000 of which was for the one-time purchase of equipment, according to city DPW manager Michael Veitch, who also noted any potential income coming from parking ticket fees was not included in the figures.
The near $131,000 net revenue produced for the city was far below its $1.1 million net projections. As such, it appears the $100,000 earmarked for DBA won’t be coming.
“We were told we weren’t going to get it,” said Heidi West, owner of Lifestyles Saratoga, Caroline + Main, and Union Hall Supply Co.
“Promises were broken, (and) the revenue forecast – totally unrealistic.” Nemjo added.
The merchants say paid parking is a deterrent to their nearby, non-city resident customer base coming into town, and that having a ticking time limit imposed upon visitors who do park keep from walking around town and taking full advantage of the multitude of the city’s offerings.
“The thing is the city needs revenue,” Mayor Safford told the group, explaining he is opposed to raising taxes, but that Saratoga Springs faces a problem where income is not meeting expenses. “The city is in that situation. You guys are the creative ones,” the mayor said, tossing the baton of inspiring revenue generating ideas to business owners. “Maybe we need some feedback: if not paid parking, how can we solve this problem?”
“Why would you need to balance your budget on the backs of the small business owner?” responded one business operator in attendance. “We need to be competitive with all the other communities that exist around here, and if people have to pay to park here, we’re not competitive anymore.”
“The city’s financial gain should not be at our expense. You’re hurting us and it will hurt the city in the long run if this keeps up,” Nemjo said. “I think people would come back in great numbers if you did suspend it for next year. What we are asking is that the paid parking program in Saratoga Springs be halted.”
“I’d like them to pause it for at least a year. Right from the start, we had ideas about what the program would look like, told them all the problems that might occur and – here we are. It’s all happened,” West added. “My hope is that they will listen to us as the small business community listened to the people who live here and really hear what’s being said: people really don’t want this.”
The mayor and the downtown business owners agreed to have more dialogue in the future and exchange ideas about where to go next. The plan is set to go into effect Memorial Day 2025. Veitch estimated revenue for a full-seasonal program in 2025 at $465,000. Just over 13,700 parking permits were issued to residents, and downtown business employees. Library patrons are also included in the permit-issued tally.
Timeline: How We Got Here
December 2023 – City Council presentation. Proposal of a seasonal tourism parking program would charge visitors for parking at three city-owned parking garages, two surface lots and implement time-limited parking on some downtown streets beginning May 1, 2024 and extend through Sept. 30. On-street permits would provide free parking for residents and downtown business employees. The program is estimated to return nearly $2.5 million in revenue to the city.
February 2024 – City Officials provide an update. The plan, changed in name from “Tourism Parking” to “Seasonal Parking,” looks to implement a program to affect more than 2,000 existing parking spaces (1,300 on-street and 800 in garages and lots) in the downtown area located east and west of Broadway, with Broadway remaining unchanged. Anticipated first-season gross revenue: just over $2 million, offset by about $750,000 in costs, leaving a net income of just over $1.2 million. Some of those initial costs would be first-year implementation expenses, so the city’s net income could conceivably be higher in future years.
March 2024 – Following a presentation to more than 50 downtown business owners, the city announces it has made “streamlined adjustments in response to great stakeholder feedback.” The new proposal suggests seasonal paid parking in garages and atop surface lots only, with plans for on-street paid parking altogether eliminated. The plan is also looking at a shorter timeframe compared to the initial May 1-Sept. 30 proposal. Implementation is now proposed for Memorial Day to Labor Day.
April 2024 – A 65-minute Public Hearing is held regarding the proposal at City Hall. Plan includes both free permit (for downtown businesses owners and city residents) and paid parking (for those outside the city limits) in six city-owned garages and surface lots only. Visitors can pay $2 an hour to park in the garages and surface lots.
Anticipated seasonal revenue for 2024 expected to be approximately $1.6 million, with expenses estimated at about $450,000, resulting in an estimated first year net gain of over $1.1 million.
Of that, the city says it will invest $100,000 of revenue gained in the DBA (“a dedicated marketing professional for the Downtown Business Association”), $50,000 into Parking Structure Capital Reserve, $75,000 into a Downtown Improvement Reserve, and $40,000 into a Recreation Parking program.
The City Council votes 5-0 to unanimously approve the plan. An online portal where residents and downtown business owners may apply for permits is anticipated to roll out by the end of April.
“We have a three-month period here to see how it works and I think it’s worth doing,” said Mayor John Safford, adding that some of the revenue generated will be earmarked to help resolve homeless issues, although how much of, or where those funds would be applied was not specified.
May 2024 – The city public library announces its parking lot with approximately 75 spaces will go to a paid parking scheme during the summer, with provisions made to allow city library cardholders 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, and estimates the library lot is anticipated to return approximately $52,000 in revenues.
The city also announces its previously anticipated Memorial Day garage and surface lot pay plan has been pushed to a post-June 9 start, following the conclusion of the Belmont Stakes. The pay station plan eventually gets underway in mid-June.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —A Women’s March, which will start with a rally in Congress Park, is scheduled to take place 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2.
The local march, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County, will be held in support of the national Women’s March in Washington, DC, and include famous feminist re-enactors and a call to get out the vote.
The League endorses Prop 1 and will be encouraging attendees to cast their vote in support of the amendment to the NY State Constitution, which will be on the back of the ballot statewide
For more information about the march, go to: www.lwvsaratoga.org.
