SARATOGA SPRINGS – There was that week in June 1994 that delivered a series of unusual events that could fill a lifetime.

There was Matt McCabe watching his beloved New York Rangers hockey team win their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years. There was the buzz all along the Caroline Street storefronts among shopkeepers and customers alike as O.J. Simpson slunked in the back seat of a white Ford Bronco, leading a low-speed chase by police through Southern California. There were the freshly printed calendars pointing to a summer season of music in Saratoga, showcasing performers like The Eagles and Peter Gabriel, Phish, James Taylor, The Beastie Boys, and for the first time to SPAC a relatively unknown songwriter named Dave Matthews.  

“There was a lot going on and I’ll never forget it,” says McCabe, who amid all the external happenings opened the doors of his music shop for the first time.

“June 14, 1994. Flag Day. I started in a little 160 square-foot hole in the wall space on Caroline Street,” recalls McCabe. “It was my first real business venture. I opened with 48 used guitars and 10 used amplifiers.” 

Twenty-five years later, McCabe’s Saratoga Guitar has two locations in the Spa City – at 480 Broadway on the lower level of the Collamer Building next to City Hall, and at 75 Weibel Ave. The sheer number of new, used, and vintage instruments has increased exponentially, and the store has grown to include a plethora of accessories, as well as sheet music, a center for instrument repairs, school band instrumental rentals, and used vinyl records. 

For more than 20 years, McCabe has hosted The Capital Region Guitar Show, which draws dealers, musicians and fans from across the northeast.  This year’s event takes place at the Saratoga Springs City Center Oct. 4-5, and as a special addition marking Saratoga Guitar’s 25th anniversary, a free concert will be staged in the upstairs room at the City Center Saturday, Oct. 5 featuring live music and an opportunity for the community to give back to several local non-profit organizations. 

His first sale after opening his shop 25 years ago? “I don’t remember specifically. It was probably a couple of picks,” McCabe says with a laugh. “I sold a couple of picks today too. So, pretty consistent!

“Thanks to family and friends I’ve been able to make it work over the years. The city’s been very good to me. The kids were all born here. And the downtown vibe is great. After 25 years, I think I’m looked at as one of the so-called funky stores, the mom-and-pop stores,” McCabe says.

“There are a handful of us still here. Retail-wise today we face struggles with the Internet and with changing technologies, but we’re still here, and we’re still viable. Mom and pop music stores have a very high mortality rate. We are extremely lucky to be in business - and to be here,” says McCabe, who served two 2-year terms as city Finance Commissioner from 2004-2007. He was a popular member of the council and independent of any political party.

“You learn a lot about your fellow citizens and what I learned was how smart I wasn’t. At those meetings when people come up and speak – people from all walks of life and from all over our city – you see how varied our population is. When you listen to the public comments you realize: My goodness, how many passionate people there are; How many qualified opinions there are. And from people out there who are smarter than you. Just because you’re in office, it doesn’t mean you’re smarter,” McCabe says.   

“I think If I had any success at all, or if there is any decent legacy as a business owner or as a politician it is that I’m accessible and willing to listen and to be educated. When people have a problem, when things go wrong, how are you going to correct the situation? We’re all going to make mistakes. Things will happen, no matter how prepared you are, and that’s how it was in City Hall too.  You have to learn: How are you going to handle the tougher times and be as fair as possible? It was a life-learning experience for me,” he says.   

At Saratoga Guitar, his specialty is buy, sell and trade, new, used and vintage guitars. Given the type of business and the location, McCabe says you never know what you’re going to see in product or in clientele.  

“We’ve met some nice people over the years. We had a lot of people this summer stop in. Sheryl Crow’s guitar player, Hutch Hutchinson – who is Bonnie Raitt’s and Jackson Browne’s bass player. Beck stopped in. Over the years we’ve seen Graham Nash and Stephen Stills, John Fogerty. Joe Bonamassa came back in this year. Dave Matthews has always been very nice to us. They come here, they love Saratoga and  they like that they don’t get bothered here. We always take the low key, engage as they want, but you have to know that they’re working people too.”

The Capital Region Guitar Show – one of the longest running guitar shows in the country, takes place Oct. 4-5 at the City Center. Approximately 30 different vendors are expected. From 4-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 Saratoga Guitar’s 25th Anniversary free concert will be staged at the City Center. The Concert will feature Moonshine Falls, The Rapid River Boys, DIZ, Drew Vanderrhorn, and Matt McCabe & Rick Bolton.  The concert will provide the backdrop for a community fundraiser for five local non-profits. Those organizations include: Wellspring, Katrina Trask Pre-School, Operation Adopt A Soldier, Friends of Music, and Franklin Community Center. Saratoga Guitar requests people attending the free concert bring non-perishable food items for the FCC Food Bank. There will be door prizes in addition to the donated items that folks can take home if they win.

“The concert is free, and the musicians are all donating their services, so were just going to try and make a fun community event,” McCabe says. “We want to give back - that’s always been part of our theme. There are a lot of good organizations in town. We’re hoping to make it a party and we’d like to start making it (the party) a yearly event to work with nonprofits and local musicians, so we’ll see how that grows as we start feeling the next 25 years.”      

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Congress Park will serve as the staging grounds for this weekend’s Native American Festival. The significance of the location is not lost on Joseph Bruchac, whose family was involved in the founding of the festival at the Spa State Park a decade or so ago.

“Congress Park is where the original Indian encampment took place a century ago. And that was the original idea years ago, before the state park approached us,” said Bruchac, whose Native American heritage comes from his mother’s side of the family, the Nulhegan Band of the Abenaki Nation. “And the thing about Congress Park is it’s an incredible venue. I think it’s one of the most beautiful parks in the country and designed by (Frederick Law) Olmsted – who designed Central Park. “

Historic maps presented in the 1970s to the city’s Community Development offices place the “Indian Encampment,” in an area adjacent to the so-called “Devil’s Chair” in the northeast section of the park close to Circular Street and Spring streets. The encampments were sited in Congress Park up until just before the start of the 20th century, when they were relocated to an area close to Ballston Avenue. In July 1883, the Saratoga Journal reported on a festival in the “picturesque Indian village,” which “delighted children” and “many well-known citizens and guests” alike, and was highlighted by an Indian medicine ceremony and “fancy rifle shooting by Texas Charley.”

Richard Canfield purchased the encampment grounds in May 1902, according to newspaper accounts of the time. Two decades earlier, Canfield purchased the Saratoga Clubhouse and spent a considerable amount of money during the late 1800s enhancing the building and the surrounding Congress Park grounds. That building – today known as The Canfield Casino houses the Saratoga Springs History Museum and will be used as a staging area for some of Sunday’s events during the Native American Festival.

Sunday’s festival is an important one, Bruchac says. “One of the traditions in our native culture is that we tell stories, and we do this for two reasons: one is to entertain; the other to educate. Sharing culture is one of the best ways to teach people things that they may not have ever thought of before,” he says. “So, our festival will, first of all, let people see contemporary Native Americans. We’re not all existing in the teepees on the Great Plains of a hundred years ago but are part of the continuing community of peoples here in the northeast. And secondly, what they’ll get to see is more than 34 different artists offering their works – from baskets and jewelry, to woodcarvings and stone carvings. Pretty amazing stuff. They’ll get to see the continuing strength of our artistry that is so much a part of Native American culture.”

Three years ago, the festival relocated to the National Museum of Dance. In search of an appropriate venue this year, a conversation with Saratoga Arts Executive Director Joel Reed led to Sunday’s festival staging at Congress Park and at the Canfield Casino. The first Saratoga Native American Festival was a two-day event.

“That first day we had 5,000 people, but the second day we got totally rained out. That happened to us the second year as well, where we had one good day and one really bad rain day,” Bruchac says. “So now, we thought we’d pick the one good weather day, rather than going with one day that’s good and one day that’s bad,” he joked, looking over the predicted sun-filled forecast for the Sunday.

The Saratoga Native American Festival takes place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 22 in Congress Park. The event is free and open to the public. 10 a.m.: Vendors Open. Flute and Drum Music by James, Jesse and Joseph Bruchac. 11 a.m.: Tom Porter‘s Opening Address. The festival will begin with a traditional opening address, delivered in Mohawk and English by Tom Sakokwenionkwas Porter, who positions with the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs and is the spokesman and spiritual leader of the Mohawk community of Kanatsiohareke. Noon: Grand Entry. Black River Drum, Old Soul Drum, Nulhegan Drum. 12:45 p.m.: Honoring of Chief Don Stevens. 1 p.m.: Haudenosaunee Singers and Dancers. 1:45 p.m. and 3 p.m.: Smoke Dance Competition. 2 p.m.: Brian Blanchett on Canfield Stage. 2:10 p.m.: Joanne Shenandoah on Canfield Stage. Shenandoah, a Grammy Award winner, is one of Native America’s most celebrated musicians. 3 p.m.: Perry Ground storytelling on Canfield Stage. Perry Ground is a Turtle Clan member of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. He has been telling stories for over 20 years as a means of educating people about the culture, beliefs and history of the Haudenosaunee. Perry learned most of the stories he shares from the elders of various Native American communities and feels practicing and perpetuating the oral traditions of Native people is an important responsibility. 4:15 p.m.: Kay Olan Storytelling on Canfield Stage. Kay Clan is a Wolf Clan Mohawk storyteller and educator. After teaching for 33 years, she relocated to the Traditional Mohawk Community at Kanatsiohareke where she worked as director. 5 p.m.: Vendors close. Closing Address by Tom Porter

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Patrick Kauth stood atop the lawn at High Rock Park Wednesday morning, trying to encapsulate the thoughts and emotions of the past 18 years into a few poignant words. 

“It’s a changed world,” said Kauth, whose childhood years were spent in the classrooms of St. Clement’s and Saratoga Springs High. He grew up in a hockey family, one of four siblings. His dad, Don Kauth, was killed in the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center.      

“A loss is a loss and you can’t change time,” said Kauth, who teaches history at the Albany Academy.

It was early in September 2001, when Don Kauth drove his son to Merrimack College in Massachusetts, where Patrick was entering his freshman year.

“He bought me own of those huge Dell desktop computers,” he remembered. “Afterwards we ate dinner and exchanged pleasantries and insults, the way that best friends do, because he was my best friend,” he said. “Then he was off to New York the next morning.” Don Kauth worked as a bank analyst for Keefe, Bruyette & Wood at the World Trade Center.

It was a week or so later when Patrick Kauth joined his new college roommates watching the events of 9/11 take form on the TV.

“I remember thinking that this couldn’t be real. At first, I joined along with them, just sat there, and then after about sixty seconds it clicked: wait a minute. He works there. So, I phoned home. And I heard it in my mom’s voice. She hadn’t heard from him. The communication was very difficult that day, but still, he would have found a way. So, I knew pretty immediately that he was gone. “

Kauth was the keynote speaker at the city’s 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony Wednesday morning at High Rock Park. It is a historic park that has been known to Native Americans for over 5,000 years. In the summer of 2012, it became home to the 25-foot-tall sculpture, titled "Tempered by Memory," which was created out of five twisted pieces of World Trade Center steel. Four of the pieces came from the North Tower - distinguished by the antenna on its roof - and one steel beam came from the South Tower.

The ceremony, held on the 18th anniversary of the attacks, began with a welcome from Raymond F. O’Conor, author and CEO of Saratoga National Bank, and the observance included members of the city police and fire departments and the U.S. Navy. Keri Alonzo sang The National Anthem, Rick and Sharon Bolton provided additional music. Chaplain Sid Gordon, Disabled American Veterans, delivered the Invocation and Benediction.

“The attacks caused the deaths of 2,996 people and the injuries of more than 6,000 others,” said city Mayor Meg Kelly, who recited a series of the numbers that reflected the tragic losses of that day at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, on each of the four planes, and the firefighters, paramedics, police officers and others who were killed responding to the attacks and trying to help others.    

“Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609; Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051; Estimated number of New Yorkers suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder as a result of 9/11: immeasurable,” Mayor Kelly said. “It is with these numbers that we will always mark this horrific day.”   

Kauth says the collective stories of the tragic day’s events, as well as visits to The National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York have become as fundamental to him as the battlefields of Saratoga, and Gettysburg, and the museums and the monuments in Washington.

“In particular, it is overwhelmingly emotional listening to our first responders The Day Of - from their own radio correspondence, describing in detail their quickly deteriorating situation and the victims who could not make it out of the stairwell,” Kauth said. “It becomes apparent, pretty quickly, that these heroes knew that they were not making out. That they were going to save as many people before the inevitable collapse.

“I cannot help but think, in awe and with tears streaming down my face, about the bravery and resolve displayed by these firefighters and policemen who wanted nothing else but to just have a chance at saving people like my father,” Kauth said.

“Time does help. I have a family of my own that we’re growing now, and that helps immensely. I love my son more and more each day,” he said, gesturing a few yards away across the park to his wife Shauna, and their 22-month-old son, Oliver.

Asked what he will teach his own son about his father, Kauth said it will be about his dad’s caring for others.  “He was a unique guy. A really thoughtful guy who did a lot for the community and for anybody that needed something. So, what I’ll tell my son is that we have to continue to try and live his legacy,” Kauth said.  “But you’re never going to have that hole filled up completely.”

City Council will address a series of issues this month that could change the visual landscape of Broadway, enhance the diversity of future political candidates, and alter the directional flow of traffic near the downtown core.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City Council will address a series of issues this month that could change the visual landscape of Broadway, enhance the diversity of future political candidates, and alter the directional flow of traffic near the downtown core.

On Sept. 2, the council introduced a 44-page lease proposal between the city of Saratoga Springs and the Saratoga Springs City Center Authority. If approved – which could happen by mid-month - the agreement would set into motion the development of a 600-space parking garage project near High Rock Park.

The terms of the lease runs to Dec. 31, 2032 – aligning with the length of the existing lease with the City Center itself, explained City Attorney Vincent DeLeonardis.

Plans call for the City Center Authority to build and subsequently maintain a multi-level, 600-space parking garage atop city owned land, just east of the existing City Center building. “Air rights” for the construction of a so-called pedestrian connector would be included, and bridge the city center with the parking structure, atop Maple Avenue.

The city would receive in return 60 designated parking spaces in the new structure to be used during daytime working hours, as well as 50% of the structure’s excess cash flow. What approximate dollar figure that would equal is “not known at this time,” said DeLeonardis, but is “to be determined by a calculation of the revenues generated minus the debt service and maintenance and operation costs associated with the facility.”

The City Center Authority would also develop an extension of the Green Belt Trail along High Rock Avenue. The city owns approximately 2-1/2-acres of land, currently used for surface parking, that runs from High Rock Park to Lake Avenue, and Maple Avenue to High Rock Avenue, one block east of Broadway. The lease is specific to one portion of that segment – the area of land to the east of the City Center - and only to the development of the parking structure and pedestrian bridge.

A Public Hearing is expected to take place prior to the next City Council meeting, on Tuesday night, Sept. 17. The Council will likely vote on the lease agreement later the same evening. If approved, the development of the parking garage may begin as soon as this fall.  

Parking Congestion at Lake Ave School

The council hosted a 45-minute public discussion Sept. 3 to address student safety and residential concerns as it relates to public parking, student parking and school bus transport in the immediate area of the Lake Avenue Elementary School.  The school faces Lake Avenue and is bordered by Regent Street and Marion Place.  Proposed changes may include altering traffic patterns on some of the neighboring streets. Traffic congestion and the safety of students being dropped off and picked up at the school remains the primary concern. Two public hearings have been held on the matter, and a third is slated to take place Tuesday night, Sept. 17.

Increasing City Council Salaries, Expanding Deputy Residency Requirements to attract Qualified and Diverse Candidates and Appointees

The council staged a Public Hearing regarding a Local Law to amend the City Charter as it relates to terms of office, eligibility and salaries of officers. The law seeks to increase the compensation of the elected City Council members from $14,500 per year to $30,000 annually, beginning on Jan. 1, 2020.

Member salaries have not increased since at least 2001, city Mayor Meg Kelly said. “Consider what $14,500 means per year.  My average work week is about 50 hours. That’s $5.58 an hour. Consider that some of us (on the council) work 30 hours – that’s $9.28 an hour.”

Mayor Kelly advised that the Saratoga Springs salary is comparable with that of Mechanicville, which pays its mayor $12,000. “While Mechanicville shares our Commission Form of Government, it only has a population of 5,200 people with limited tax base, tourism, economy, or destination power,” she said, adding that among 14 comparably sized cities, the average salary paid to the mayor is about $44,500.

“We are entering into a new budget season and the time is right for fair and reasonable discussions about these salaries,” Kelly said. “It is more important than ever to attract talented and diverse candidates. To date, our candidate pool has been largely retirees, the affluent, or people who have the luxury of being supported by a partner’s income…this is a nominal increase aimed at a considerable impact on the quality of our governance.”  

The council did not vote on the matter related to their own potential salary increases, but did unanimously approve a resolution that proposes an amendment to state law to expand geographical residency requirements for deputies.

Each of the five council members appoints a deputy. According to Public Officers Law, all deputies must reside in the city of Saratoga Springs. The council resolution seeks to expand those geographical boundaries to become county-wide. 

The current requirement significantly restricts the number of qualified persons available for the administrative positions, the council says. The expanded boundaries would create an opportunity for council members to seek qualified individuals for positions from anywhere in Saratoga County, and would result in a significant benefit to the public. The proposal seeking an amendment to the existing law will be presented the offices of Sen. Daphne Jordan and Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner for submittal to the State Legislature. 

City Approves Six-Year Plan Proposal - Eastside Fire/EMS Facility Tagged a Priority

The city’s six-year proposed capital plan, totaling just under $17 million, was unanimously approved Sept. 3 by the council in a 4-0 vote. Public Safety Commissioner Peter Martin was not present at the meeting.

The plan ranks 36 city projects according to importance with the highest proposed ticketed item being an Eastside Fire/EMS Facility. The city currently has two stations – one just off Broadway and one on the west side. The potential of an east side facility has been discussed for several years. At present, no land where the station would specifically be sited has been determined. The fire/ems station ranks third highest in order of importance.

The six-year Capital plan is updated annually and varies in accordance with changing priorities and budgetary fluctuations. The city’s Comprehensive Budget is presented annually in late fall.   

SARATOGA SPRINGS – The Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee last week announced its endorsements for the 2019 general election.

The committee endorsed incumbent John Franck for Commissioner of Accounts, Patty Morrison for Commissioner of Finance, incumbent Meg Kelly for Mayor, Dillon Moran for Commissioner of Public Works and incumbent Tara Gaston for County Supervisor. The announcement was made by newly named Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee chairwoman Sarah J. Burger.

Earlier this summer, several members of the committee staged a walk-out after incumbent Michele Madigan - the committee’s previously endorsed candidate for Commissioner of Finance - lost the June Democratic Primary to Morrison.

Morrison - on the Democratic line, and Madigan – who will appear on the Independence Party and Working Families Party lines, will face one another in the citywide general election on Nov. 5 when all five City Council positions – including mayor - as well as two Saratoga Springs Supervisor seats, will be up for vote.

The city Democratic Committee also approved a resolution, supported by all endorsed candidates, declaring that survivors of sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence be heard and respected, condemning sexual harassment, sexual abuse and domestic violence and demanding that perpetrators be held accountable.

Kendall Hicks, who is running for Commissioner of Public Safety as a Democrat, has not receive city Democratic Committee endorsement.

On the Republican side, Commissioner of Public Works Anthony "Skip" Scirocco and Supervisor Matthew Veitch - both incumbents, and candidates Robin Dalton – for the position of Commissioner of Public Safety, and Stephen Mittler - for Saratoga County Supervisor, have been endorsed by the Saratoga Springs Republican Committee.

Tim Holmes, who is running for mayor on the Republican line, has not receive city Republican Committee endorsement.

 SARATOGA SPRINGS – At a special mid-day meeting of the City Council Aug. 27, the council approved a new contract to continue the School Resource Officer Program in the city’s public school system for the next two years.

The new contract represents some changes compared to the agreement which what had previously existed.

Previously, if the assigned SRO was not available – those cases including sick days and time off – a replacement had not been provided, explained Public Safety Commissioner Peter Martin. With the desire to have an armed and trained SRO present at the high school every day, the new contract stipulates that should the assigned SRO not be available on any school day, the city will provide a qualified substitute for the position. To meet that expectation, three additional officers began their SRO training on Aug. 27 to ensure there may be substitutes available.

The SRO will be assigned to the school on a full-time basis and on duty at the campus from 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. each school day, excluding summer school and summer programs. The School Resource Officer remains an employee of the city and within the chain of command of the Saratoga Springs Police Department.

Previous costs to the school were about $53,000. To meet the additional guaranteed time, the new contract sets costs at $65,000 for the 2019-2020 school year, and $70,000 for 2020-2021.

An additional officer, supplied by the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office, is designated for Maple Avenue Middle School, Dorothy Nolan Elementary and the Greenfield Elementary schools.

Among the duties of the School Resource Officer: assisting the Principal in developing plans and strategies to prevent and/or minimize dangerous situations which may occur on campus or during school sponsored events.

The SRO shall take law enforcement action as required. Except in an emergency situation, the SRO shall obtain the consent of the principal of the school prior to taking such action. At the Principal's request, the SRO shall take appropriate law enforcement action against intruders and unwanted guests who may appear at the school, and related school functions. And, except in an emergency situation, the SRO shall notify the principal before requesting additional police assistance on campus.

All photos by SuperSource Media.

A Farewell Kiss to Saratoga in a Blaze of Pyrotechnics
and a Birthday Party for ‘The Demon’

SARATOGA SPRINGS — As the clock inched closer to midnight on Aug. 24, Gene Simmons was serenaded by several thousand of his closest Saratoga friends with a group sing of “Happy Birthday,” celebrating the conclusion of the bassists’ 70th year on earth. 

Simmons and bandmate Paul Stanley – two of the four founding members of Kiss – performed Saturday night at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, in what is anticipated as the group’s final regional appearance.  The group had performed at the same venue while on their “Farewell Tour” in 2000.This time around, it’s the “End of The Road Tour,” which is ultimately expected to conclude at the end of the calendar year. 

Saturday night, the band emerged atop the stage alongside a fury of bombastic explosions, heat-bearing flames and a slew of pointed laser beams, opening with “Detroit Rock City.” 

Overall, the 20-song set took mightily from the group’s early years, with a dozen titles dating to the 1970s, including a trio - “Deuce,” “Cold Gin,” and “Black Diamond” released on Kiss’ 1974 debut album. More than 46 years have passed since the band first performed on stage, which took place at a club on Queens Boulevard on a January night in 1973. 

Gene (The Demon) Simmons was in full tongular assault throughout - a menacing God of Thunder bound in some feathery sort of breast plate and spewing blood in the stage haze of puke-green illumination. 

For his part, Paul (The Starchild) Stanley, when not slinging ‘round his six-string signature guitar with the sparkles, provided voluminous quantities of between-song banter. “Let Me Hear Ya Say Yeah!” and “How Ya Doin’ Saratoga!” his two most popular go-to incantations. Drummer Eric (The Cat Man) Singer, and guitarist Tommy (The Spaceman II) Thayer completed the Kiss 2019 quartet.   

Kiss is an arena show that’s played for decades and, depending on your point-of-view, is kin to a long-running staged musical, or a band on auto pilot, albeit blending with a mix of catchy choruses. 

Among the high points was Kiss’ recreation of their song “Deuce” - the band performing in sync with a video performance of their similar staging of the tune decades ago, the “Rock and Roll All Nite” anthemic conclusion, and Stanley’s across-the-amphitheater zip-line which delivered him atop a small platform stage for performances of “Love Gun,” and “I Was Made For Loving You.” 

Santana’s Ode to Woodstock Generation at SPAC

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Fifty years after the weekend he famously played Woodstock – that’s 18,270 days, give or take – Carlos Santana staged a concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center that kept the crowd packed into the amphitheater on their feet for most of the near two-hour show. 

It was an ode in tribute to that three-day celebration of Hippiedom in 1969 during which Santana emerged on the SPAC stage. The stage-side video screens flashed through a ten-minute introductory interlude - accompanied by the horn-musings of a cool jazz soundtrack - that displayed groovy lights and peace symbols, barefooted children, fringe vests, and hordes of denim-wearing, mud-sliding, granola-eating Woodstock festival goers. 

Fittingly, as Carlos Santana brought his 10-member entourage onstage to a live performance of “Soul Sacrifice” as the video screens simultaneously depicted him performing the same tune at the Woodstock festival all those years ago. 

Carlos excelled in his six-string virtuosity most notably with songs such as “(Da Le) Yaleo,” wringing notes and soliciting screaming wails from the neck of his guitar, in his sonically signature style. 

The setlist was a mix of vintage and modern-day Santana. The latter brought classics such as “Evil Ways,” “Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen,” and a rendition of Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va” - whose decaying sustain was uprooted by One Big Power Chord that changed up the momentum, and moved it all into the modern day. 

A handful of tunes revisited from his monster 1999 album ‘Supernatural,’ included “Smooth,” the sultry undulations of “Maria Maria,” and an emotionally stirring performance of “Put Your Lights On,” during which thousands engaged their smart phone electro-lights, illuminating the amphitheater in a surreal glow. There were also musical snippets, or entire renditions of tunes in tribute to other artists such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, The Chambers Brothers and Olatunji.

At his best, Carlos led the ensemble in a series of cadences that alternately beat with rhythmic intensity or pulsed in a seductive flow, ultimately culminating in the manic boogie jump-jump of his song “Foo Foo,” before bringing it back full circle with The Youngbloods’ inspired encore “Get Together.” The Doobie Brothers performed earlier in the evening.

KNOTFEST ROADSHOW

Photos of Slipknot on stage at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, Aug. 21 at Knotfest Roadshow 2019. 

City Streets

The City Council this week announced an experiment on Henry Street which will see the two-way road transformed into a one-way street for motor vehicles. The free lane space created will then be turned into a two-way cycle track. The pilot project – which will run from Saturday, Sept.14 through Sunday, Sept. 29 - will measure the impact of implementing this low-cost engineered design to create the urban segment of the Saratoga Greenbelt Trail from Lake Avenue to Spring Street.

Henry Street, which runs adjacent to the rear-side entry of the Saratoga Springs Public Library,  was named after Henry Walton – a man of high culture and polished manners who possessed the faculty of binding to himself close social ties to the educated and the refined, according to William Stone’s late 19^th century writings, “Reminiscences Of Saratoga.” Walton was a judge and landowner during the early development of the local community.  

A Public Hearing was held Aug. 13 regarding traffic congestion and the safety of students being dropped off and picked up at the Lake Avenue School, which faces Lake Avenue and is bordered by Regent Street and Marion Place.  Potentially converting one of the two-way streets into a one-way street, as well as implementing “traffic calming-solutions” such as a large, billboard-esque electronic speed monitor were among the topics of discussion. The public hearing remains open and will be revisited by the council.  

City Salaries

A Public Hearing was scheduled and will take place at 6:40 p.m. during the Sept. 3 City Council meeting regarding a Local Law to amend the City Charter as it relates to terms of office, eligibility and salaries of officers. The law seeks to increase the compensation of the elected City Council members from $14,500 per year to $30,000 annually, beginning on Jan. 1, 2020. Member salaries have not increased since at least 2001, Mayor Meg Kelly said.

City Center Parking Garage Hearing Scheduled

A Public Hearing was scheduled to also take place Sept. 3 regarding the crafting of a lease between the City and the City Center Authority that will potentially see the City Center develop and operate a 600-space parking garage near High Rock Park.

The project proposal includes two phases of development along the city-owned 2-1/2-acre parcel that runs from High Rock Park to Lake Avenue, and Maple Avenue to High Rock Avenue, one block east of Broadway. The City Center Authority has applied for a building permit, and if the lease agreement is approved, the project may begin development this fall and be partially completed by next summer, according to a spokesman for the City Center. 

Current plans involve only Phase 1 of the project – on 1.75 acres directly east of the City Center and the Algonquin lot.

Phase 1 call for a multi-level, 600-space parking garage, a “pedestrian connector” atop Maple Avenue to run between the City Center and the parking structure, and an extension of the Green Belt Trail along High Rock Avenue, where there is 50 feet of space between the potential structure and the curb line. A small “pocket park” has also recently been added to the plans and will sit at the southeast corner of Phase 1 plans.

Capital Plan – Announcement on Code Blue Coming Oct. 1

City Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan will bring the proposed 2020 comprehensive city budget to the council Oct. 1 and “will include a financial plan to move the city forward with a permanent Code Blue Shelter,” Mayor Kelly said this week. “Commissioner Madigan and I have been working very hard to find land for a permanent location and we are making great progress.” The city is working with Shelters of Saratoga on the emergency homeless shelter. 

A separate, six-year proposed capital plan totaling just under $17 million was also announced this week. The plan ranks 36 city projects according to importance. The highest ticket item is $6.6 million for an Eastside Fire/EMS Facility. The city currently has two stations – one just off Broadway and one on the west side. The potential of an east side facility has been discussed for several years. At present, no land where the station would specifically be sited has been determined. The fire/ems station ranks third highest in order of importance.

Other high-cost items include a Loughberry Lake Dam Embankment stabilization and spillway project – ranked 2nd overall and carrying a cost of $1.75 million, and the Geyser Road Trail construction – specifically related to the area in and around Route 50. The project would ultimately connect the Geyser Crest neighborhood with the Saratoga Spa State Park and Railroad Run.  The council will likely vote on the Capital Budget at its next meeting, Sept. 3.

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Members of the design team involved in the development of a 600-space parking garage project near High Rock Park made the rounds of the city Land Use boards and the City Council last week. The Goal: to provide project updates and secure additional feedback regarding the Phase 1 proposal of a construction project to take place adjacent to the Saratoga Springs City Center.  

“Our hope is to break ground this fall and have occupancy next year,” Mike Ingersoll, of the LA Group - which is part of the team advancing the project – told the Planning Board late last week. The Design Review Commission and City Council were also each provided with an in-person update by a group that included Ingersoll, Saratoga Springs City Center Executive Director Ryan McMahon, and City Center Authority Chairman Tom Roohan.

The project proposal includes two phases of development along a city-owned 2-1/2-acre parcel that runs from High Rock Park to Lake Avenue, and Maple Avenue to High Rock Avenue, one block east of Broadway.     

The city owns the land and a lease agreement between the city of Saratoga Springs and the City Center Authority regarding the parking structure is currently being negotiated. It is expected to be completed in short order. City Mayor Meg Kelly said she anticipates two public hearings will be held at upcoming City Council meetings in September – those meetings will take place Tuesday, Sept. 3 and Tuesday, Sept. 17, after which the City Council is expected to vote on the lease agreement.

The City Center Authority has applied for a building permit, and if all goes well the project may begin development this fall, and be partially completed by next summer, explained City Center Executive Director Ryan McMahon. The center will oversee management of the structure. That partial completion may allow drivers of vehicles to be capable of parking their vehicles on the new structure’s new first level, should it be completed in time, he added. 

Discussions regarding a parking garage behind the City Center initially began in 2013 and has been at times contentious.

Current plans involve only Phase 1 of the project – on 1.75 acres directly east of the City Center and the Algonquin lot.

Phase 1 call for a multi-level, 600-space parking garage, a “pedestrian connector” atop Maple Avenue to run between the City Center and the parking structure, and an extension of the Green Belt Trail along High Rock Avenue, where there is 50 feet of space between the potential structure and the curb line. A small “pocket park” has also recently been added to the plans,  and will sit at the southeast corner of Phase 1 plans.

The 600 spaces in the parking garage represent a net gain of about 380 spaces overall, as some currently existing spaces will require removal to make space for the structure and the trail. Vehicle access points to and from the structure will be on High Rock and Ellsworth Jones Place

The structure’s “facades respect the streetscape,” and the pedestrian connector bridge has been altered since initial plans to feature “a more transparent, open element (and) not as obtrusive and blocking as it was before,” Ingersoll said.  The pedestrian bridge will be closed when the City Center is not in use, although the parking garage will remain open.

The garage will house “flat” floors rather than “ramp” incline floors, so re-utilization is possible, and the lower level specifically may be used as an extension of the Farmers’ Market, or as an exhibition space for vendors. City Council member John Franck inquired whether a traffic light would be installed in conjunction with the increased activity anticipated with a new parking garage, but was told there are no plans for a traffic light at this time.

The remaining .85 acres of the lot will be part of Phase Two of the project – plans for which have not yet been determined, but will likely be addressed “over the next year or two,” Ingersoll said.

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Several members of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee staged a walk-out last week, voicing their opposition to a candidate chosen by city voters for a seat on the City Council.

In this summer’s Democratic Primary for the party’s representation for Commissioner of Finance. challenger Patty Morrison defeated incumbent Michele Madigan by a 736-705 vote count. The city Democratic Committee (SSDC) had endorsed Madigan prior to the primary.

“We are resigning because we are unable to support Ms. Morrison for the position of Commissioner of Finance,” announced Charles Brown during an Aug. 1 press conference at High Rock Park, flanked by nearly a dozen others who presented themselves as resigning members of the SSDC. 

“We cannot support Patty Morrison for this position and stay on in the Committee,” Brown said, adding the resigning members believe Morrison “unqualified and ill-suited” for the office. “We’re all strong lifelong Democrats and plan to be Democrats, but we are Democrats that are independent of party (now), meaning therefore we can support a candidate without crossing the dictate of the party.”

The resignations follow last month’s walk-out of five members who served on the SSDC Executive Committee.  

Morrison countered that what matters most is the voice of resident city voters.  “Saratoga Springs citizens have spoken and the message is clear -- from what was said at the doors and most importantly at the ballot box in the recent election -- we are not happy with the current Commissioner of Finance, poor decisions at the Council table and we ultimately voted for change,” Morrison said in a statement.  

Morrison - on the Democratic line, and Madigan – who will appear on the Independence Party and Working Families Party lines, will face one another in the citywide general election on Nov. 5 when all five City Council positions, as well as two Saratoga Springs Supervisor seats, will be up for vote.

There is no Republican candidate challenging for the seat of Commissioner of Finance. 

“The June primary was about whose name will appear on the Democratic line for the office of Finance Commissioner this fall. But in November, every voter will be able to take part in choosing who actually wins this office,” Madigan said. 

“I have a strong record of achievement and a well-earned reputation for integrity, ethics, and transparency,” said Madigan, announcing the launch of a non-partisan coalition called One Saratoga, “to unite voters from across the political spectrum who share a common purpose of sustaining and enhancing the vibrancy of our great city.”

The Democratic Primary on June 25 returned 1,447 total ballots - there were 6 non-named write-in ballot votes - representing about 21.5 percent of the 6,730 registered city Democrats. The 1,447 number of votes represents an increase over the last Democratic Primary in Saratoga Springs, where a total of 913 voters participated in the 2015 vote for Public Safety Commissioner. 

The SSDC elected Sarah J. Burger as its new chair at an Aug. 7 meeting. A native of Saratoga Springs, Burger is founding partner at Burger Law Group PLLC and has been a longtime committee member. The committee also elected Cassandra Bagramian as its new treasurer. Bagramian is the Democratic deputy commissioner for Saratoga County Board of Elections.

Brown said the resigning members made a concerted effort to announce their departure as soon as was possible to allow remaining committee members “to follow through with the work that they needed to do. We’ve left them with $10,000 that we have earned over the years, we’ve left them with ramp-up manuals for procedures, and procedures for sub-committees.”   

Todd Kerner, chairman of the Saratoga County Democratic Committee, said “the Democratic Committee is like a family, we sometimes argue and disagree due to the passion we bring to public service. We want to thank those who are leaving for their hard work and dedication.  We continue to move ahead with an excellent slate of candidates and look forward to the November elections.”  

"There are a number of citizens eagerly waiting to join the committee and work in accordance to the will of the voters we are elected to serve,” Morrison said. “It is not unusual for there to be a change when leadership and the will of the electorate are misaligned. Our City Democratic Committee will be stronger going forward.