Marissa Gonzalez

Marissa Gonzalez

Thursday, 29 November 2018 14:17

Fish at 30 Lake Restaurant Bought by New Owners

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Fish at 30 Lake Restaurant, owned and operated by Angelo Mazzone along with Managing Partners Mark Delos and Jullie Delos, has been sold to Ron Farber and Jodi Leuchten of R and R Kitchen and Bar. The restaurant will remain a seafood restaurant and will re-open under the new ownership on Dec. 1. The name will remain the same.

Fish at 30 Lake closed for five days, between Nov. 26 and Nov. 30, to undergo décor changes and will begin accepting reservations on Dec. 1.

Mark Delos and Jullie Delos, will remain with Mazzone Hospitality as VP of Culinary and Operations, and Director of Restaurants.

“Fish at 30 Lake has become a great part of the community and it will offer the same high-quality flavorful cuisine coupled with the great service experience, that the restaurant has become known for over the past two years,” said Delos.

Ron Farber and Jodi Leuchten have purchased Fish at 30 Lake Restaurant, as they grow their restaurant portfolio including, R and R Restaurant and Bar and Upstairs at 43 Phila.

“I look forward to operating another restaurant in Saratoga Springs,” said Jodi Leuchten.

“It is such a wonderful town with many regular patrons and a constant influx of visitors that makes the restaurant business exciting,” she added.

Chef Brian Bowden, Managing Partner/Executive Chef, will become Executive Chef over both locations and will bring some of his favorite seafood recipes to Fish at 30 Lake exclusively as well as some new menu items. The restaurant will continue to offer day-boat caught fresh fish and fresh oysters.

“This is an exciting time for our company and we are thrilled to have Fish at 30 Lake as part of our restaurant lineup” said Ron Farber, Owner/Partner R and R Restaurant and Bar.

“We look forward to enhancing this already successful restaurant with our flare for flavor and décor along with a high level of culinary service for our guests.”

Located at 30 Lake Avenue and on the main floor of Pavilion Grand Hotel, the restaurant caters to a local and regional audience as well as guests from around the world, staying at Pavilion Grand Hotel.

“We are excited to work with the new owners of Fish at 30 Lake and have enjoyed having this restaurant be a part of our guest experience,” said Susanne Simpson, General Manager of Pavilion Grand Hotel.

“It will offer a new level of fresh and flavor coupled with the great service and experience the restaurant has been known for.”

SARATOGA COUNTY — Over the past year, a growing number Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Ambulance Corps in the county have been struggling due to finances. A common solution for the EMS’ financial woes is creating an ambulance tax district for funding.

Most recently the Town of Malta has begun the research to assess whether or not a tax district should be created. Right now Malta Ambulance Corps is funded through municipal funding.

However, Vincent DeLucia, Supervisor for the Town of Malta, says creating a tax district will not happen this year but sometime in the future. DeLucia noted that the town board did decide that if the idea of a tax district were to go forward, it would be up to the citizens of Malta in a public referendum. Having an EMS tax district would also allow more room in the municipal fund to fulfill other needs of the town.

Causes for these strained financial conditions have to do with providing uncompensated care, high deductibles and the addition of Advance Life Support (ALS), which allows trained technicians to administer invasive treatments. During the 2018 General Election, the Town of Charlton’s ballot had a referendum so citizens could choose whether or not the EMS would have its own tax district. The referendum read, “That a Special Ambulance District be established in the town of Charlton according to Town Board Resolution No. 154, approved on Sept. 10 2018, authorizing a town-wide vote as to whether or not to establish the Town of Charlton Ambulance District as described in said resolution. If approved, the District will be funded by a town- wide tax levy set annually by the Charlton Town Board.”

Citizens voted in favor of the creation of the tax district 1,084 to 873. The town of Charlton uses three different Emergency services; Galway, Ballston Lake and Community, which responds to roughly 40 households according to Councilman David Robbins.

Robbins believes that EMS and Fire Departments are leaning more towards the professionals because the shift requirements are more demanding than volunteers. Charlton’s emergency district also provides ALS to patients.

“The tax district really doesn’t change anything in terms of any service. It’s just a mechanism for the town to collect the money that they have to pay out of their budget to the emergency companies. So the benefit of having it as a tax district is that it’s a dedicated incoming funds and it’s guaranteed. It doesn’t get cut down the road; there wouldn’t be any haggling over what amount they get. It’s just a way to guarantee that amount of funding comes in,” Robbins said.

The three EMS companies will submit their budget every year and the town will have to approve it. For 2019, the three companies requested to collect a total of $78,000. Residents will pay 23 cents per $1,000 property assessment value so a household valued at $200,000 will pay $46 a year.

On Oct. 17, the town of Galway voted in favor of creating an ambulance tax district as well as to fund Galway EMS. The referendum was approved with 424 voting yes and 118 voting no. According to Margaret DeFoe, Town Clerk of Galway, residents will be prorated based on their property assessment. Yearly, a one family residence valued at $300,000 that would be assessed at $159,000 for the parcel would pay $88.91.

Thursday, 29 November 2018 13:35

164-Year-Old Church Transformed

Photos provided.

WILTON — State Farm Insurance agent Dione Ramsdill celebrated a ribbon cutting ceremony on Nov. 28 at her new office location at 4285 Route 50 in Wilton. However, the new office is actually the oldest church in Wilton. The former Methodist Episcopal Church was erected in 1854.

Ramsdill purchased the building in an auction and paid $148,500. Ramsdill and her team made the move on Oct. 19, her previous office was located in The Shoppes at Wilton.

“I had my eye on this building for several years. It was going though a foreclosure process and unfortunately it’s been vacant and not being maintained because of that. So I had been watching the status of it for a while,” Ramsdill said.

Changes to the church are mostly cosmetic. Ramsdill did make changes to the floor, ceiling and painted the surfaces. The building did have to be brought up to code but according to Ramsdill, it just needed some TLC and to be made more homey.

“I’m a genealogy buff so the fact that this has been here as long as it has, being able to preserve a building like this and hopefully improve on it to keep it for future generations to still be able to appreciate it, is really neat,” she added.

While transforming the church Ramsdill found artifacts in the building such as hymnals that date back to 1914 and newspaper articles that were used for insulation. The church remained active until 1988, according to Ramsdill. An architect and a friend of hers then purchased it.

Ramsdill has lived in Wilton her whole life and has even attended church at this building growing  up. She says her team members’ parents were married there as well. Ramsdill has worked with State Farm for 22 years and began her career at the State Farm Operations Center in Malta. On Dec. 1 she will celebrate 12 years at her own office.

An open house will be held at her new office on Dec. 8 beginning at 10 a.m. and ending at 2 p.m. with free photos with Santa from noon to end. All are welcome and no insurance with State Farm is required.

Tuesday, 20 November 2018 15:09

Local Entrepreneur Invests in Team

Photos provided.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — In 2017, Lifestyles of Saratoga saw their net sales increase by 31 percent. Heidi Owen West has owned Lifestyles of Saratoga for nearly 30 years, and recently decided to invest in her customer service and in-store experience. Located at 436 Broadway in Saratoga Springs, Lifestyles of Saratoga sells clothing, accessories and footwear. West also owns Caroline and Main, a women’s boutique that opened in 2016.

“I mean coming off of the 31 percent is still really aggressive, so I’m really excited about that,” West said.

West attributes a large portion of 2017 success to a training program created by Bob Phibbs, also known as the ‘Retail Doc’. She happened upon Bob Phibbs at a conference and says she liked his no non-sense approach to retail. According to West, the program focused on the sales team and was virtual.

“One biggest lessons for me was, was that there’s a direct path on how to relate to the customers, how to create a rapport with them, how we connect with them and how we create a community so that they rely and trust us,” West said.

“We’re not just going to sell you that shirt, we’re going to help you if you want to figure out how that works into your wardrobe or how many different ways you can wear that. We’re gonna be honest... We’re here to create that relationship and that trust and take the long term view,” West added.

West is on track for a seven to 10 percent increase in net sales for 2018. The store usually falls between five and 10 percent every year.

Tuesday, 20 November 2018 15:05

B'Spa Begins to Regain Financial Footing

BALLSTON SPA — After the reveal of the financial state in Ballston Spa in October, the village has begun taking the initial steps to remedy the problem. At a Nov. 13 Village Board meeting the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to allow an external accounting firm, BST Accounting, to assess Ballston Spa’s financial situation. The assessment will cost $1,400.

According to Mayor John Romano BST Accounting was one of two accounting firms that responded to the request for proposal (RFP) of many that the village sent.

“We received this proposal from them on Oct. 9, it strikes me that we could have moved forward with this scope a long time ago,” said Noah Shaw, Trustee for the Village of Ballston Spa. He says, “the general concern with respect to any firm for this work is whether the scope of services and hourly rates are appropriate and acceptable,” and adds that contingencies are still being worked through and no decision has been finalized.

At the same meeting the Citizen’s Budget Advisory Committee made its first initial report. The committee, made up of town members, were chosen based on discussions with Romano and village residents. Committee members were then proposed to the board and then approved by the mayor. Members include Paul Farnan, Liz Kormos, Pete Martin, Rory O’Connor and chairman Larry Woolbright.

Recommendations made by the committee included retaining an external accounting firm by Dec. 15 to complete an audit of the village finances for fiscal year 2015 through 2018 and provide training for clerks, department heads and a new treasurer in the budget process. The committees also recommended to have the village treasurer attend board meetings, create a monthly analysis and attend all budget workshops.

The committee urged the board toactontheirrecommendationsas soon as possible and before 2019’s budgeting process begins.

An audit conducted by the New York State Comptroller’s office pointed the finger at the treasurer for not maintaining adequate accounting records in a timely manner and failure to file required annual financial reports for the lastfourfiscalyears.Anotherkey findinginthereportnotedthatthe general fund’s unrestricted fund balance decreased from $213,327 as of fiscal year-end 2014 to $30,487 as of fiscal year- end 2018.

The town is still in search for a new treasurer since it was announced on Sept. 6 that the Village Treasurer, Christopher Hickey had resigned. The next day, the village’s deputy treasurer, internal control officer, personnel officer, and compliance officer, Darryl Purinton resigned as well, from all of those titles except internal controls officer, the salary being $68,000. According to a spokesperson from the Comptroller’s office, the office questioned the value of that position given the audit findings.

Thursday, 15 November 2018 13:16

Saratoga Eagle Plans for $4 million Expansion

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Eagle Sales and Service is adding 35,000 square-feet of space to the 150,000 square- feet distribution center in Saratoga Springs.

According to President of Saratoga Eagle Sales and Service, Jeff Vukelic the expansion could cost up to $4 million. Plans call for a 29,000 square foot expansion to the warehouse and a 5,000 square foot expansion to the office. The project also proposes to increase parking on site for employees and trailers. When asked if the parking was to accommodate more jobs, Vukelic said, “I can’t comment on that right now.”

Vukelic said the company’s business climate has been steady as the company continues to attract new business partners and suppliers. The expansion allows for more space for these new suppliers bringing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Plans have been in motion since early summer, according to Vukelic who is also aiming to break ground in the spring. Saratoga Eagle will go before the city planning board on Nov. 15 to seek approval for the warehouse expansion.

Saratoga Eagle sells andtransports 5,000,000 cases every year to customers in Albany, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schoharie, Schenectady, Washington and Warren Counties. Saratoga Eagle tapped The LA Group and Scheid Architectural as the architects and Munter Enterprises as the building entity.

Photos courtesy of the Discovery Channel.

ROUND LAKE — Colin Roy of Round Lake was the winning contestant on the second episode of the new series “Master of Arms” which aired on the Discovery Channel on Nov. 9. The grand prize: $10,000. On Master of Arms, three builders battle it out in a head-to- head competition to re-create the armaments that have changed the course of history. Weapons are tested by a decorated military marksman and judged by three experts.

“The challenging part wasn’t making the things with the time constraints, yea that was difficult but I was able to wrap my head around it. The challenging stuff was the one-on-one interviews, every day with the producers for hours, and that was more tiring than actually blacksmithing for 10 hours straight,” Roy said.

While he is excellent at crafting historical weaponry, it’s not his day job. Roy is a mechanical and controls engineer at Wunderlich- Malec located at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta. One has to wonder how does someone get into the trade of blacksmithing era-specific weaponry. Roy professes that he did grow up making things with his hands.

“I grew up doing woodwork with my dad and my grandfather, my mom is a teacher and a potter. When I went to high school, I was on the robotics team over at Shenendehowa and that’s where I learned to weld and run machining equipment for working metal,” Roy said.

Roy credits the popularity of his work and shows like this to the demand for handmade and quality items.

“It’s attracting a younger generation to show that you can still work with your hands and create things. You don’t need to go out and buy everything,” he added.

Roy was first contacted by a casting company for another show on the History Channel. However, he needed an apprentice, one that he didn’t have. The same casting company reached out again for Master of Arms, and this time Roy said yes. The Village of Round Lake even held a viewing party for Roy, “at the end of episode when they said ‘Colin, you’re going home with $10,000,’ everyone just went crazy,” he said.

Roy hopes that one day he can do this full-time, though weapons aren’t the only things he can build. Roy also does architectural work for homes. He says since the show premiered he’s had people requesting custom knives and swords. With the prize money, Roy is planning to outfit his new workshop and home.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — On Nov. 15 the Saratoga Builders Association presented the proceeds totaling $63,000 from the 2018 Saratoga Showcase of Homes to Rebuilding Together Saratoga County and Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties. The Saratoga Builders Association has now contributed nearly over $1.2 million to local charities from this area’s premiere new home tour event.

The 2018 edition of the Saratoga Showcase of Homes, just concluded its 23rd year, and was another spectacular event with 12 award-winning builders presenting 13 homes. This year’s tour had approximately 3,800 visitors touring these new homes on display over three weekends.

The builder’s artistry along with the many talented designers who helped showcase their fine work gave the community an opportunity to preview current trends in building, landscaping, decorating and interior design. In what has become an autumn tradition, the Saratoga Builders Association is dedicated to this long running show being an integral part of the fabric in our fall season.

The 2018 Saratoga Showcase of Homes “People’s Choice” award winners were also announced - Congratulations to Kodiak Construction for the Classic Home category, Malta Development for the Executive Home category and The Form Collaborative for the Luxury Home category.

SCHUYLERVILLE — On Dec. 15 volunteers will place holiday wreaths on more than 12,000 graves at Gerald B. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery (NYGSNS) to honor and remember veterans as part of the annual Wreaths Across America event.

Located at 200 Duell Rd. in Schuylerville, NYGSNS is currently looking for sponsors for 8,431 more wreaths as well as volunteers to place and remove the wreaths for the wreath laying ceremony.

The ceremony will begin at noon EST and simultaneously at 1,440 cemeteries across the country and internationally. The ceremony lasts 30 minutes. At last year’s remembrance ceremony at Gerald B. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, 3,000 volunteers showed up to place wreaths and honor those that served.

The Patriot Guard Riders of Eastern New York is a major group sponsor of this event. For every two wreaths ordered using their fundraiser group code, Wreaths Across America will donate an additional wreath. The group fundraiser code is NY0057. The Civil Air Patrol and more than 45 other fundraising groups are also making efforts to help reach the 12,000 wreath goal. Wreaths are $15 each.

Wreaths Across America is in its 13th year and every year since 135 VA national cemeteries receive at least seven wreaths, to include one for each of the five branches of the military, one for the Merchant Marines and one for Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action. Additionally, community and Veterans service organizations as well as local businesses have raised money for additional “remembrance wreaths” for gravesites.

Wreaths Across America began in 1992, Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Co. shipped a surplus of wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery. In 2005 photos of his efforts were discovered on the Internet and has since gained national attention.

Friday, 09 November 2018 10:26

The Annual Snow Ball

Photos provided.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Mark your calendars because there is still time to buy tickets to the annual Snow Ball. The Snow Ball, will take place on Dec. 1 and will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Canfield Casino.

Tickets are $150 per person and typically sell out prior to the event. The Adirondack Trust Company is a presenting sponsor.

The Snow Ball hosted by the Flower and Fruit Mission has been a tradition with the hospital that dates back to the 1950’s. Founded in 1904, the mission has been committed to supporting the maternity unit and women’s health services of Saratoga Hospital. Made up of 35 women, the mission has supported the hospital for over a century. Through the years, the Mission has sewn thousands of blankets, caps and clothing items for the infants born at Saratoga Hospital. They’ve also provided flowers and fruit for new mothers, and made countless jars of homemade jam for hospital meals and fundraisers.

Now the Mission provides fund for nursing education, warmers for hospital rooms, a NOELLE birthing simulator to train doctors and nurses, and nitrous oxide as a pain management option during childbirth. Most recently the Flower and Fruit Mission pledged $50,000 every year for five years, totaling in $250,000, to help with renovations of the William J. Hickey Women’s Health Services of Saratoga Hospital. This is more than what the mission usually gives on a yearly basis.

The Flower and Fruit mission has only two funding raising events a year; the Spring Luncheon and the Snow Ball. Last year, the Snow Ball raised $54,000.

“I think we’re on track to have another really great year... It’s always a really fun event and that part of it is the comradery and celebration and the kicking off of the holiday season,” said Susan Halstead the President of the Flower and Fruit Mission.

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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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