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SARATOGA SPRINGS — A public hearing on final revisions to the St. John Neumann senior housing development plan and zoning map amendment proposed by the Bonacio Corporation preceded the Saratoga Springs City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 6. Those who spoke at the hearing were generally favorable to the project, with one resident voicing some concerns about possible traffic problems with children in the neighborhood. Among those who spoke in favor of the project was Father Paul Borowski of St. Clements RC Church, the current owner of the Neumann property.

 

Essentially, the council’s final concerns revolved around the structure of the language regarding the amount of land in the parcel that would be reserved for buffering, and the residential density of the project. The applicant’s attorney, Michael J. Toohey, proposed that a restriction be added to the deed which would reserve just over two acres of buffer area in the 11-acre parcel from future development except for park, trails and related ‘passive’ development and that this portion be removed from density calculations. This would cap the number of residential units for all time at 92 (the current Bonacio plan calls for 85) and that number would be fixed for any potential future deed-holders. 

 

With these conditions satisfied, the council, which was favorable to the project from the beginning, passed the two resolutions unanimously, clearing the way for the new senior housing development.

 

During the public comment period, an issue was raised by several members of the “Trackside Neighborhood Association” about the designation of one-way streets in the area around Lincoln and Frank Sullivan Place during the summer racing season. The residents said that they had not been adequately notified. Resident Mary Farrell said that this would impose a financial hardship upon her due to the loss of parking revenue on her lawn during the race meet. 

 

Commissioner of Public Safety Christian Mathiesen responded that he believed the notice was adequate, that this would be reviewed after the race meet and modified if necessary and that he was open to discussing the issue with residents. 

 

Officials from the Saratoga Casino and Raceway (SCR) –

Skip Carlson, vice president of external affairs along with Tony Stellato, civil engineer with CHA Engineering and Brian Davis, director of design and development – made a presentation about their proposed hotel/event venue expansion. Prior to the presentation, Mayor Joanne Yepsen, noting that SCR’s revision of their application had downgraded the city’s status from an “involved” agency to “interested” – due to the fact that SCR will not require an additional water and sewer hookup for their proposed new facilities. 

 

This is more than nuance. The change in designation means a further restriction on the city’s official ability to review SCR’s plans; currently the State Gaming Commission is the lead agency for reviewing this proposal. The mayor noted though, “The city has every intention to have a seat at the table.” She went further and took note of many city resident’s advocacy that the city file an article 78 motion to place itself as lead agency, although City Attorney Mark Schachner ventured his opinion at the microphone that the city had attempted to do this when SCR expanded last in 2006, and lost that effort to be named lead agency. 

 

Mr. Schachner’s analysis of the current law is that it would make it more difficult for the city to win an Article 78 motion than in 2006, and that it would be costly for the city. Rather, he urged that there be the type of cooperative spirit that he observed from SCR in coming to the council to present it’s plans.

 

In fact, SCR is intending to go further in referencing city agencies than it is currently required to do legally. They have pledged to appear at the city planning board twice to present its plans. Their first planning board presentation will be on Wednesday, May 14. 

 

 

Saratoga Springs City Center President Mark Baker, who advocated that the city do all it can from a “legal, legislative and civil” standpoint to oppose SCR’s expansion, also delivered the City Center’s annual report for 2013. Mr. Baker noted that the facility had maintained its high plateau that it established after its expansion in 2011. Overall, the City Center enjoyed a remarkable 80 percent occupancy, generating an unaudited $1.9 million in sales tax revenue for the city.

 

Published in News
Friday, 07 February 2014 10:09

Reporter’s Notebook- Council: Time’s Up

“Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way…”

                  - Pink Floyd, “Time”

 

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Our review of the proceedings of the Saratoga Springs City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 4 must include something about what occurred later in the night, after the meeting room was all but abandoned except for a hardcore group of stalwarts, perhaps about six people, including myself.

 

I was hoping it would not be necessary to revisit the issue of ponderous, self-serving time wasting on behalf of  council members with a new year and a new administration. In truth, I believe Mayor Joanne Yepsen is making a valiant effort to keep the meetings moving along as quickly as possible. 

 

Having experienced being at the tail end of many council meetings, she certainly has tried to keep the pace brisk while coping with longer than usual public comment periods since taking office due to the divisive casino issue. 

 

It’s important for everyone to make a commitment to making meetings more brisk, not because as a reporter I want to get out earlier (although that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world) but because as an active citizen and voter, I would like more citizens to take an active interest in what is, after all, the people’s business. 

 

However, nobody in their right mind will elect to sit through overly lengthy meetings, agendas padded with ponderous items that have no purpose and no respect for fellow council members’ and the audience’s time. 

 

Case in point: as we approached 10:30 p.m., fully 3.5 hours into a long meeting, we finally arrived at the Public Safety agenda, which had these items:

 

- Four discussion items. None of which had a vote attached to it.

- One motion to set a public hearing.

- One announcement.

 

In truth, only one of the four ‘discussion’ items was a discussion in the classic sense, for none of the council members had any response (except in some cases to inspect the ceiling) to anything Commissioner of Public Safety Chris Mathiesen had to say, except for an item regarding eleventh hour appointments by former Mayor Johnson. 

 

Otherwise, library silence. 

 

The first ‘discussion’ item was perhaps the biggest time waster. Commissioner Mathiesen actually thought it was a good use of public time to read into the record a two-week old reader’s view he had written, and which had already been published in the media, on his opinion on the casino issue. 

 

Regardless of what you think of the merits of his opinion on the subject (you can search it out yourself if you like – it appears to advocate unilaterally changing the thrust of the language of a proposition that has passed statewide in this reporter’s opinion and therefore has zero shot of happening), the point is why he needed to take up everyone’s time in the first place with this. 

 

Other commissioners have written reader’s views; some for us, some for other publications. When was the last time someone read it into the record? If it must be part of the record (a dubious point), why not just hand it in to the person taking minutes and move on?

 

This was followed closely by two other ‘no-discussion’ items, both pet subjects for the commissioner; one on the subject of bar-closing hours and a noise ordinance. Commissioner Mathiesen saw fit to say that he was planning to introduce motions on each at some undefined time in the future. Again, at this late hour are future motion forecasts really a good use of public time?

 

In fact, why are pure ‘discussion’ items, without a vote attached, even on the agenda? Last time I looked, council members were allowed to talk to each other before meetings. This is why other meetings, including Saratoga County’s Board of Supervisors and many other municipalities are able to get their business done in a fraction of the time it takes this council to do so.

 

Finally, Commissioner Mathiesen made an announcement about his next public safety forum, over a month from now. If you missed this announcement because your eyes had glazed over by this point, no need to worry. He promised to repeat this announcement again at the next couple of council meetings. Oh, goody!

 

While we are singling someone out here, I want to make it clear that Commissioner Mathiesen is by no means the only one on the council who engages in this kind of thing – just the latest and perhaps most illustrative example. 

 

 

I do promise to point out this kind of time wasting by any of our elected officials in the future, as I believe it is discourteous to the county supervisors who sometimes have to wait over three hours to give their reports, to fellow council members and most importantly, to the public at large. 

Published in News
Thursday, 06 February 2014 13:49

Saratoga Springs City Council

SARATOGA SPRINGS – The Saratoga Springs City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 4 had a shorter public comment period than in previous meetings. While some commenters ventured opinions on both sides on the expanded gaming issue, the numbers were far less than recent meetings.

 

This was good, as the regular agenda was robust with three interesting, well-prepared presentations about various topics that are important to the city. 

 

Only one of these presentations could be regarded as time sensitive, however (the Bog Meadow water infrastructure project had a vote scheduled to amend the capital budget to fund it later in the evening) and it might be a wise move on the part of those who schedule these things to limit the number of presentations per meeting when possible to avoid information overload. However, all three were chockfull of information. 

 

Regarding Bog Meadow, a well system that eventually could be built out to four wells was proposed to elevate the safe daily yield of water to well above what is needed on peak demand days, while diversifying the sources for city water. During the public comment on this topic, which followed the presentation, some took issue with the contention that this diversified scenario would actually achieve the goal of keeping the supply at adequate levels should an emergency arise with one of the major water sources (for instance, at Loughberry Lake), the council voted by a 5-0 roll call vote to amend the capital budget and fund the project. 

 

The next presentation was a traffic study on Broadway, presented by the firm of Greenman Pedersen, Inc., where a total of nine intersections from Grove to Congress Street along and near Broadway were examined to gauge the impact of options such as timing sequences, turn arrows (with or without an extra left turn lane), eliminating left turns altogether and accommodations for increased dedicated pedestrian crossing time with an eye towards each options’ impact on traffic flow. The entire report is available online at saratoga-springs.org. Note well that it is over 200 pages. The options led to questions and discussions by many council members. No action was taken at this time, but the council appeared to be leaning towards some of the more moderate options such as time adjustments and sequencing.

 

The third presentation was by members of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation regarding the Spirit of Life Statue and Trask Memorial renovations in Congress Park. Dedicated on June 26, 1915 on the same day as the city’s incorporation, it is hoped that all renovations will be completed in time for the city’s centennial. Executive Director Samantha Bosshart led the presentation, which was supplemented by comprehensive reports by Martha Lyons on the site’s history and landscaping, and Dan Wilson on the masonry restoration and other related topics. 

 

The complete reports and other data about the project can be accessed at  spiritofliferestoration.org.

 

Mayor Yepsen presented a proclamation to Father Dominic Ingemie in honor of his retirement from St. Peters church and his support for Code Blue. She also had a moment of silence for the passing of city resident Robert Pascuillo, who was active in many ways to make the city a better place to live.

 

Published in News
Friday, 24 January 2014 16:02

The ‘White Wave’ Waves No White Flag

Saratoga Springs City Council

SARATOGA SPRINGS— The public comment period at the beginning of the Saratoga Springs City Council meeting on Tuesday, January 21, was, as expected, longer than usual and dominated by members of the public expressing their opinion on the issue of expanded gaming. 

 

But, as opposed to the council’s previous meeting (January 7) the composition of the commenters might best be described as a “horse of a different color.”

 

Another overflow city council chamber was, this time, dominated by white-shirted advocates for expanded gaming at Saratoga Casino and Raceway (SCR). (This later led Commissioner of Public Works Chris Mathiesen to lead a discussion regarding moving future meetings to a larger room, perhaps the Music Hall on the third floor). These advocates were largely drawn from the ranks of people who were employees or had some connection to SCR, or were members of the advocacy group “Destination Saratoga”. 

 

The SCR employees that spoke came from all levels of the facility, from management to part-timers. It was apparent to this reporter that many were not used to public speaking and some read from comments that were on paper. 

 

But it is important to note that there was nothing that was apparent that indicated that they were handed a script to read, or that they were being compelled to read said script. 

 

It appeared that everyone spoke from the heart, and there was no reason from this vantage point to doubt anyone’s sincerity in their feelings of gratitude for their position and their employer. 

 

One standout commenter who of course needed no script was former Commissioner of Public Works Tom McTygue, who spoke in his trademark “plain folks” language and garnered the most thunderous applause of the evening. 

 

Of course, there were some commenters and members of the gallery who were against expanded gaming at SCR, among them were members of SAVE (Saratogians Against Vegas-style Expansion.) However, that group had sent out a memo to the press and their membership saying that the jobs at SCR as currently constituted “…are protected under the legislation that passed in November,” and therefore they were sitting this meeting out. Some decided to come a la carte’ anyway to observe, leaflet and in one case, hand out pastries donated by Mama Mia’s restaurant. 

 

The sugar was certainly welcomed by this member of the media, as well as Mayor Yepsen, who had a full agenda which was underway with an executive session nearly 80 minutes after we had all saluted the flag.

 

In Other Council News: 

- After emerging from executive session, Mayor Yepsen detailed and the council unanimously approved the ratification of the collective bargaining agreement with the police administrative officer unit, which covered the Chief, Assistant Chief and Captain. 

 

This contract had expired in 2008 and will run though the end of this year. As such, there were pay increases that were retroactive that totaled approximately $57,000 (which would be paid out of a contingency fund which had been set up previously in Finance Commissioner Madigan’s budget) as well as a $17,000 increase in the current budget. The mayor saluted her team for their diligence in getting this expired contract up to date.

 

- The mayor made three appointments: James Helicki to the zoning board, Mark Torpey to the planning board and Carol Maxwell to the heritage area program advisory committee. Later, Commissioner of Accounts John Franck appointed Alexandra Besso to the board of assessment review.

 

- The mayor discussed Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address and it’s impact on city residents and reminded everyone that her annual State of the City address will take place next Tuesday evening, January 28 at the Saratoga Springs City Center. 

 

- By a 4-0 vote, the council approved a Public Works addendum to an agreement related to the Ballston Avenue Improvement Project with Greenman Pedersen, Inc., with Commissioner Franck recusing himself, as he owned property in the affected area. Also, the council approved 5-0 a change order with Bunkhoff General Contracts for an ongoing project related to moisture removal and structural strengthening in the historic Canfield Casino’s basement.

 

 

- Commissioner Mathiesen received unanimous approval for his motions to begin alternative side of the street parking on Greenfield Avenue between North Broadway and Clement Avenue. He also received unanimous approval for increasing base parking violation fees from 30 to 35 dollars and adding a scofflaw fee of $10.

Published in News
Friday, 10 January 2014 11:50

The “Red Sea,” and a Wave of Change

Saratoga Springs City Council

SARATOGA SPRINGS – An overflowing council chamber, which looked more like a Target team member meeting, or perhaps a Boston World Series home game than a usual audience, greeted new Mayor Joanne Yepsen and the 2014 Saratoga Springs City Council at their first regular meeting of the new year on Tuesday, January 7. 

 

The first order of business was a public comment period, which normally is scheduled for about 15 minutes. 

 

But not on this evening.

 

A virtual sea of red-shirted, red-scarfed, red everything-clad audience comprised the overwhelming majority of the dozens who lined up to express their opinions on the pending siting of a capital region expanded gaming facility. 

 

Most of the commenters (this reporter estimated that perhaps as much as 80 percent of those who went to the public microphone) were members, or had some degree of support for the viewpoint of of SAVE (which stands for Saratogians Against Vegas-style Expansion), an organization that is strongly committed against the siting of an expanded gaming facility in the city or in Saratoga County.

 

To be sure, there were several people during the comment period that expressed support for such an expanded facility in town, most notably at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway (SCR). These commenters were both a cross-section of SCR employees, management (represented by Vice President George W. "Skip" Carlson) and members of Destination Saratoga, a group which advocates siting the capital region expanded gaming facility at SCR) as well as private citizens who favor such a facility. 

 

However, numbers do not lie, and it cannot be denied that SAVE has once again exhibited the ability to turn out big, motivated, visible numbers. This would be evident even if you were watching the proceedings on a black-and-white television. 

 

But the questions remain: will those numbers count? And will the city council count those numbers and do what several SAVE members, as well as some of those not part of the “red sea” advocate: to pass a firm resolution against siting an expanded gaming facility in the city? 

 

It is no stretch to say that the council has a tough soul-searching road ahead as it formulates its position, if any, on this issue. 

 

By and large, given the amount of commenters and the intensity that advocates on both sides feel about this issue, the gallery was generally well behaved, and if not silent, cordial to opposing viewpoints. Mayor Yepsen needed to use her gavel just once to restore order. 

 

Yet, the people who wished to opine on both sides kept coming, and the public comment period, rather than a quarter-hour, extended well into a second hour. 

 

After the public had wound down, the council went into executive session for about 45 minutes. It appeared that it was shaping up to be quite a long night. 

 

Yet, remarkably, once having emerged from executive session, the council conducted an orderly, organized and most importantly brisk session in which a large agenda with several important items were dispatched just under 60 minutes. 

 

As this reporter has vehemently criticized the council for previous meandering, ponderous and near-endless pointless discussions, they must be credited when due. Here’s hoping that this sea change in comportment continues.  

 

Among the notable developments in the January 7 meeting:

 

  • -The capital budget was amended, by a 5-0 roll call vote, to provide funds for the public safety department to complete its renovations of the police department facility. This in itself is notable in itself; more so, because the council agreed to modify the usual agenda process to move up this important item much earlier in the process, allowing the interested public to hear the discussion and vote. Normally, public safety department items would among the last to be considered.

 

  • -Mayor Yepsen announced that her State of the City address would take place on Tuesday, January 28 at 7 p.m. at the Saratoga Springs City Center. The mayor also appointed Robert W. Manasier to the recreation commission. She also gave an update as to the status of the new Code Blue facility, which began on December 24 (see related story on page 7), noting that the city of Glens Falls had inquired about information about Saratoga Springs’ experience with an eye towards establishing its own facility.

 

 

County Supervisors Matthew Veitch and Peter Martin reported on the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors’ organizational meeting and detailed their committee assignments. Supervisor Veitch has been named as the vice chairman of the board, which means he will be the chair of the law and finance committee and will have primary responsibility for preparation of next year’s county budget. Supervisor Martin noted that among his committee assignments he will be a member of county racing committee, a committee whose scope has been expanded to include all forms of gaming.  

Published in News
Friday, 06 December 2013 10:41

The Big Picture - Ballston Avenue Improvement

SARATOGA SPRINGS – On Tuesday, December 3 the Saratoga Springs City Council approved plans and transferred funds to effectuate the beginning of an important project to widen, beautify and generally improve Ballston Avenue (Route 50) from the area around the Price Chopper Plaza to the intersection of Broadway. The $2.29 million dollar project was primarily funded from State and Federal sources, with Saratoga Springs needing to pledge about $120,000 of that total. In addition to high daily vehicular, pedestrian and other traffic, this segment of Route 50 is currently among the most dangerous, with 42 accidents recorded in a 42 month period in a traffic study from 2008 to 2011. Among the most notable features of the improvement project are medians, left-turn lanes and a reconfigured (and possibly relocated) bus stop at Price Chopper Plaza for pedestrian safety. The intersections of Perry Street and the south side of Union Street with Ballston Avenue will have access closed, which, with a traffic light at Lincoln and Ballston Avenues, will help to improve traffic flow. The city is currently in the property and right-of-way procurement phase, after which the project will be bid in the Spring of 2014. If all goes well, construction will proceed in earnest around September, 2014 with a 6-9 month timetable, with completion in time for track season of 2015. Thanks to Tim Wales and Kate Maynard of the City of Saratoga Springs Planning Department for providing graphics and annotations.
Published in News
Thursday, 24 October 2013 14:43

City Council—Sender and Receiver

SARATOGA SPRINGS—At the last Saratoga Springs City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 15, something happened for the first time since I started covering these proceedings in 2009.

I walked out early. At 11 p.m.

I’ve always considered it a point of pride to stay on until the end of these meetings, because sometimes I might pick up an item that grows into a story after my colleagues at dailies have to dash to make their deadlines. 

It’s also a matter of respect for those who are at the end of the agenda. And, for you who reads this. 

But quite frankly, folks, I just couldn’t take it anymore. 

These meetings are way too long to be useful. They aren’t starting to get out of hand—they’re already way out of hand, they have been for some time and someone has to protest. So it falls to me. 

As a writer, I was taught early on that the receiver of a message is at least as important as the sender. Thus, if I fail to make clear, concise, understandable points, I lose the reader.

So how’s this? Council—you are losing people. 

In droves. 

With your endless agendas, discussions that are repetitive, rambling and have no structure. 

This is not meant as a slam against any individual. In my opinion, some council members are worse than others, but as a collective body you are, I’m sorry, terrible.

But I am sympathetic to your situation. For I confess that here at the paper I’m the undisputed champ of “long-winded-ism.” I never met an attention span that I couldn’t outlast. Ask anyone.

So I have to force myself to be disciplined and realize that someone is giving you an honor when they give you their attention, or in your case, Council, attend your meetings. 

Abuse that privilege and they learn to stay away. 

Out of that discipline, I have now learned to detail my point of view concisely.  

And so I’m here to offer help.

Perhaps the next Mayor will decide to have someone from the private sector take a look at things, for no private company stay in business with over four hour board meetings twice a month. 

Perhaps she (side note: interesting to not write he/she for once) will forward that person this note. Here are some suggestions that once employed, are guaranteed to make these marathon meetings efficient and meaningful. Guaranteed, I say.

Oops, I must have fallen in love with the sound of my voice again and run out of space, so I guess I’ll have to learn the lesson again to be more respectful to you, the receiver and your time. 

If I am lucky enough to get another chance.

 

 

Published in News
Thursday, 17 October 2013 14:32

Wirth: No Deputy

Candidate Would Invest Savings back into Public Safety budget.

SARATOGA SPRINGS— Saratoga TODAY Newspaper has learned that candidate for Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety Richard Wirth (R,I,C) will announce today that, if elected, he will leave the public safety department’s Deputy Commissioner vacant at the beginning of his term. 

A conversation with Wirth revealed that he plans to re-invest the annual savings, estimated at approximately $100,000 in salary and benefits, back into the department budget for items such as equipment, additional police officer or firefighters.

 

“In Public Safety, we have two professional chiefs running their respective departments.” Wirth said. “My intention is to be a full-time commissioner that works directly with the police and fire chiefs. A deputy position is just an additional, expensive layer of bureaucracy that the taxpayers have to pay for. I’d eliminate it.”

 

Wirth continued, “That money is better spent on the street, on needed equipment, technology or personnel. We need less government and more safety.” 

 

He said he would work to establish a public safety reserve fund instead of naming a deputy. That fund would be applied to the public safety operating budget as needed.

 

“In this day and age, we need to make sure that every dollar that we receive from the taxpayer is well-spent. I believe this puts the money where it should be for a safer Saratoga Springs.” Wirth said.

 

“I’m glad Rick Wirth is announcing this bold policy,” said Saratoga Springs Independence Party Chairman Edward Miller. “I can tell you that when he mentioned this possibility at our candidate interviews, he got the whole committee’s attention.”

 

“It’s a common sense policy that is absolutely brilliant—making sure that tax dollars are well-spent,” Miller continued. “Hopefully, this will stimulate other politicians to really examine their budgets as if it were their own money they were spending.”

 

Published in News
Thursday, 03 October 2013 13:56

Saratoga Springs City Council: Budget and Beyond

SARATOGA SPRINGS – At the council meeting on Tuesday, October 1, the proposed 2014 comprehensive budget was detailed by Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan.

The keywords comprehensive and detailed also described Madigan’s presentation message to the council and the packed chamber. The philosophical underpinnings behind the choices made (such as “a safe city is an economically viable city,” and “…decreasing the amount of fund balance used in the operating budget is an important step towards a sustainable government”) were explained before she itemized how she would effectuate those broad goals.

The bottom line for the taxpayer is this: a 0.68 percent increase in the property tax rate for 2014, or a $4.11 increase for a homeowner with an assessed value of $100,000.

The PowerPoint budget presentation is available on the finance department page on the city’s website. Visit www.saratoga-springs.org to access this. The first public hearing on the 2014 comprehensive budget is scheduled for Tuesday, October 15 at 6:45 p.m. Also, a number of budget workshops have been scheduled that will review the 2014 budget by department: 

·         Tuesday, October 8 at 1 p.m. – Mayor and Recreation Department

·         Thursday, October 10 at 6 p.m. –    Department of Public Works                                                                                                                                                                   and Capital Budget

·         Thursday, October 17 at noon- Finance and Accounts Departments

·         Wednesday, October 23 at 5:30 p.m. – Department of Public Safety

·         Tuesday, October 29 at 6:30 p.m. and Thursday, October 31 at 1 p.m. – General review

      The rumor that costumes will be optional at the last workshop could not be confirmed at press time. In any event, the entire council has until November 30 to pass or submit modifications to this comprehensive budget. By city charter, should the council not act by that time, the budget submitted by Madigan becomes the operating budget for 2014.

      In other council news:

Roll call votes unanimously passed two amendments to the 2013 Capital Budget. The first adopted the Safe Routes to School provision, which is eligible for complete reimbursement by NYS DOT and the second adopted a water treatment plant emergency generator to satisfy a state mandate.

Mayor Scott Johnson led a discussion and vote which serves to advance the adoption of the master plan and Phase I development for the Waterfront Park project. A public hearing on this has been set for 6:50 p.m. on October 15, prior to the next council meeting.

Accounts Commissioner John Franck sponsored a motion to merit for review to the city and county planning boards the proposed Beekman Street Art District zoning and map modifications. After some discussion as to how the filing fees (about $4,700) could be waived, city attorney Matt Dorsey clarified the matter and the motion passed unanimously.Franck also announced that the voting districts that had been at the Lincoln Baths at Spa State Park would be moving back to the Saratoga Springs City Center for the next election on November 5.

Mayor Johnson, on Public Safety Commissioner Mathiesen’s behalf, announced that a public safety forum on late night noise and other public safety issues will take place on Thursday, October 24 at 7 p.m. in the city council room

County Supervisor Matthew Veitch announced that the Saratoga County Office for the Aging will have a public hearing on Wednesday, November 13 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Saratoga Springs Public Library. He also reviewed his experience from attending the recent New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) conference, and noting that the county had received $13 million in capital requests, of which $11 million were adopted. The county pays for these capital projects out of the general fund, unlike the City of Saratoga Springs, so there was no bonding costs associated with them.

Published in News
Page 2 of 2

Blotter

  • Saratoga County Court  Kathleen M. Callanan, 62, of Saratoga Springs, was sentenced to 1 year in local jail, after pleading to felony grand larceny.  Cassandra R. Barden, 38, homeless, was sentenced to 1-1/2 to 3 years incarceration after pleading to felony attempted assault, charged in Milton.  Ashley Vetrano, 35, of Glens Falls, pleaded to felony robbery, charged in Moreau. Sentencing May 23.  Gabrielle Montanye, 63, of Stillwater, was sentenced to 5 years probation, after pleading to felony attempted identity theft, charged in Ballston Spa.  Daniel J. Koenig, III, 53, of Round Lake, was sentenced to 2 to 4 years incarceration, after…

Property Transactions

  • BALLSTON Eastline Holdings LLC sold property at 12 Aspen Dr to Shaun Scott for $596,673 Sunmark Credit Union sold property at 15 17 & 19 Main St to Landmark Holdings 2023 LLC for $240,000 CORINTH Gary ONeil sold property at 115 Hollister Dr to Aaron Schips for $345,000 GREENFIELD Jeffrey Fuller sold property at 4 Lanie Dr to Jacob Brooks for $221,700 Bernice Moeller sold property at 395 North Creek Rd to Devin Vernon for $270,000 MALTA  Maureen Weise sold property at 13 Pepperbush Pl to Robert ONeill for $245,000 MECHANICVILLE Robert Murphy sold property at 406 Park Ave to…
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