SARATOGA SPRINGS — A generation’s worth of false starts and hard stops, public discourse at City Hall, attempted council negotiations, floated land-swaps and a lawsuit were all tossed like dirt-mottled memories on a shovel’s blade Tuesday morning when local officials staged a ceremonial groundbreaking of the city’s new fire station.      

“Today marks a milestone,” city Fire Chief Joseph Dolan told city council members present and past, public safety officials and regional political leaders gathered at the Aug. 16 event on Henning Road.  “It’s been over 20 years in the making – and some would argue it’s been over 30.” 

The station – the city’s third – will improve emergency response to the eastern plateau in Saratoga Springs specifically, as well as provide added coverage for the city in general. 

Dolan traced the history of the city’s two existing stations - one located in the downtown district and one on the west side. Station 1 was built in the 1930s; Station 2 in the 1970s.  A group of fire-fighting locals first organized as a group of volunteers in 1823, shortly after the then-Village of Saratoga Springs was formed.   

“Now here we are in 2022. It shows the growth, the investment the city has in its fire and emergency services and the delivery of service we can improve on by adding this third station,” Dolan said. “We’ve had higher incidences of overlapping calls that require more service, more apparatus, more personnel to provide the quality of service this city deserves. This station is going to improve overall services to the community, as a whole.” 

The efforts to develop Station 3 date back several city councils. Dolan who has been chief since 2019, recognized previous chiefs - Robert Cogan (1995-2009) and Robert Williams (2009-2019), among them – as the “predecessors to me who worked very diligently to get this third station going. Thank you, Chiefs, for all the work you did.”

The location of the station provides rapid access to the north-and-south running Northway at exit 14, and the east-west running state Route 29. As such, the station will also house the county hazmat team and include both, vehicle and personnel. 

“This is also a place where we’re going to have an emergency operations center. In the event of disaster within the city of Saratoga Springs, key figures will be able to operate in an environment conducive to making good and important decisions to mitigate anything that’s brought to this city – whether it be natural, or man-made,” Dolan said. 

Saratoga Fire Station No. 3 will be developed at 16 Henning Road and is anticipated to be operational by late spring 2023. 

Saratoga County Monkeypox Clinics Highest in Upstate; Prepping for new COVID-19 Booster This Fall 

BALLSTON SPA — Last week, Saratoga County hosted its seventh first-dose Monkeypox clinic, counting for more clinics than any other health department in the state outside New York City, said Saratoga County Commissioner of Health Daniel Kuhles. 

“We were asked to do this by the state Health Department because of the very large number of tourists we have this time of year,” Dr. Kuhles said. 

On July 28, New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary T. Bassett declared monkeypox an Imminent Threat to Public Health (ITPH) in New York State, and The Biden administration declared monkeypox a public health emergency on Aug. 4. 

Approximately 525 people had been vaccinated through the county clinics, with nearly 450 of those who had received their first dose residing outside the county. Second-dose clinics were due to get underway this week. “The recommended period of time between the first and second dose is four weeks. Importantly, we remain without any reported cases among Saratoga County residents.” 

While Kuhles did not discuss specific costs-to-date to the county, he said it is anticipated the county health department will recoup 50% of its costs through state reimbursement. Local clinics are held at Paul E. Lent Public Safety Building, 6012 County Farm Road in Ballston Spa. Clinic days, times and appointment schedules may be found at saratogacounty.ny.gov. 

According to the NY State Department of Health, two cases were reported in Albany County. No cases have been reported to date in Saratoga, Washington or Warren counties. As of Aug. 12, a total of 2,295 confirmed monkeypox cases have been reported across the state. For the most current updates, go here:  health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/zoonoses/monkeypox/.

“For the foreseeable future, we’ll be receiving more doses and getting them out to people who want them; that’s not going to stop any time soon,” said county Health & Human Services Chairman Phil Barrett. 

New, Potentially Improved COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters Anticipated This Fall 

Regarding COVID-19, Dr. Kuhles said the county is preparing to offer mass vaccination booster clinics heading into the fall. 

“We’ll be using many of the same outreach methods, the same kind of registration (as prior COVID vaccination offerings), not only here in the public safety building but as we did previously – we’ll be going out to communities and bringing it to those who choose to get themselves boosted with the newly formulated vaccine,” he said. 

The new vaccine formulation takes pieces of the omicron virus currently circulating (different subvariants). With the new boosters, “the thinking, the science, the theory of it is that it will provide a little better protection against infection and certainly even strengthen the very good protection against severe illness and death,” said Dr. Kuhles. 

The Biden administration announced on July 29 it reached an agreement to purchase 66 million doses of Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster candidate. That is in addition to the 105 million bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster doses the U.S. government previously agreed to purchase from Pfizer. 

The new “bivalent” boosters follow the early summer recommendation by the FDA that vaccine manufacturers update their existing COVID-19 vaccines to create a bivalent booster that can target BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants.

Pending FDA authorization and a recommendation by CDC, the first deliveries of the new Moderna and Pfizer vaccine booster doses are anticipated “in early fall,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

What is monkeypox? 

Monkeypox is a rare, viral infection that does not usually cause serious illness. However, it can result in hospitalization or death. 

What are the symptoms? 

Symptoms of monkeypox can include: Rashes, bumps, or blisters on or around the genitals or in other areas like your hands, feet, chest, or face. Flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, and fatigue. These symptoms may occur before or after the rash appears, or not at all.

How Does Monkeypox spread? 

Monkeypox is spread through close, physical contact between individuals. This includes:

Direct contact with monkeypox sores or rashes on an individual who has monkeypox.

Respiratory droplets or oral fluids from someone with monkeypox, particularly for those who have close contact with someone or are around them for a long period of time.

It can also be spread through contact with objects or fabrics (e.g., clothing, bedding, towels) that have been used by someone with monkeypox.

Who is at risk for contracting monkeypox?

Monkeypox spreads through close, physical contact between people. This means anyone can get monkeypox. However, based on the current outbreak, certain populations are being affected by monkeypox more than others, including men who have sex with men (MSM).

Based on previous outbreaks of monkeypox around the world, some groups may also be at heightened risk for severe outcomes if they contract monkeypox. This includes people with weakened immune systems, elderly New Yorkers, young children under 8 years of age, and pregnant people.

Are there treatments available?

Antiviral medications exist to treat monkeypox, which may be appropriate for some people. Vaccines exist that can help reduce the chance and severity of infection in those who have been exposed.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A long-standing city practice that normally passes smoothly and without incident screeched to a halt this week during a 30-minute, at-times heated discussion among members of the City Council. 

At issue: a $25,000 cost allegedly “hidden” among several other items of a “Consent Agenda” for the council to simply pay and approve without knowledge or discussion.

That one item aside, council members expressed even greater concern when questioning whether the practice had similarly occurred in other instances, and over a longer period of time.    

“It seems like somebody purposely tried to hide it... this decision to spend $25,000 of taxpayer money without our knowledge,” city Mayor Ron Kim said.

The “Consent Agenda” is typically part of the City Council meeting agenda tended to near the start of the twice-a-month meetings.

Robert’s Rules of Order refer to the “Consent Calendar” as one which allows for the grouping of items together. It is usually comprised of miscellaneous payments and non-controversial routine matters which may be approved in its entirety as a time-saving feature by a board. 

A deep-dive into two decades-worth of City Council meetings seems to indicate those routine matters used to appear on council members’ individual agendas as separate entries. At some point during the summer of 2006, and specifically beginning with the Aug. 1, 2006 council meeting, a grouped “Consent Agenda” appears on its own at the meeting start and includes notice of accepted donations, the approval of previous meeting minutes, budget amendments and budget transfers.

Public Safety Commissioner Jim Montagnino said he learned of the $25,000 payment cost - which is related to an insurance deductible settlement of a long-pending lawsuit against the city - after aggressively seeking answers to many questions the evening before this week’s council meeting.

“I made a number of phone calls and inquiries and I didn’t find out until seven o’clock last night (Aug. 1) that this $25,000 deductible was a part of the settlement of the case – and it appeared tucked in on page 52 of an 80-page consent agenda,” he said.

“It seems to me, if this kind of thing is occurring, it’s now incumbent of me as a member of the City Council to have to comb through the thousand-or-more items on individual lines of the consent agenda just to make sure that somebody’s not pulling a fast one and slipping something by us,” Montagnino said.

“If I hadn’t asked those questions yesterday, this consent agenda would have been passed without discussion and I would have found out later that I’m now roped into a problem (and having to explain) how I as a City Council member could have allowed that to slip by without discussion, without transparency and by not even knowing,” Montagnino said. “This is totally reprehensible; this is unacceptable.”

“The way this issue came up… this was not even known to us, and was (simply) placed on the consent agenda,” Mayor Kim said.

There are a variety of people who work for the city - not just council members - who have the authority to place bill-paying items on the consent agenda.

During the meeting, the council moved to remove the item from the Consent Agenda. It also authorized the mayor to send letters to the insurance carrier, the court and to counselors ausking for a detailed explanation of how the deductable arose and why the City Council wasn’t informed it is to pay $25,000.

Questioning whether there had been previous settlements similarly placed on the consent agenda in the past, the council additionally requested a detailed report from the city’s Risk and Safety Department as to “how many times this kind of activity has occurred in the consent agenda.” The remaining items on the consent agenda were approved.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city’s Department of Public Works alongside the local LA Group design firm have collaborated on a plan that would turn an existing paved lot immediately adjacent to the City Center parking garage into a community park featuring stone-dust walking paths, newly planted trees, and an amphitheater “where artists and musicians could gather,” city DPW Commissioner Jason Golub said this week. 

“For a number of years there has been a community discussion about the development of Flat Rock Park… but since that time it has remained a land-locked parking lot and an unusable piece of city-owned property offering no benefit to the community,” Golub said, explaining the workings of a plan that would, in a reversal of the popular Joni Mitchell tune: un-pave a parking lot and put up a piece of paradise in its place. 

“Much of the (previous) discussion centered on the City Center parking garage. The two remaining city-owned parcels were left for later phases of the project,” Golub said. “Part of the City Center agreement included that the center lot would remain a green space when construction was completed.” 

The two parcels sit between the newly developed parking garage and the Lake Avenue corner. The newly released DPW design features the re-development of one of those lots into a park. 

In May 2018, then-city Mayor Meg Kelly created the Flat Rock Working Group. Comprised of area residents, City Center Authority representatives, county leaders, city officials and other community members, the group was tasked with developing a Concept Plan for the 2.6-acre city-owned parcel. A subsequent July 2018 La Group presentation conceptualized the land bordering Lake Avenue as the site to be developed as “Flat Rock Park.” 

By August 2019 the project plan was broken into multiple phases, with the development of a multi-level parking garage, a “pedestrian connector” between the City Center and the parking structure, and an extension of the Green Belt Trail along High Rock Avenue targeted as priority one. Specific park design plans for the remaining two lots subsequently varied, and it is unclear whether the previous administration had identified either of the lots for inclusion in projected future phases.   

“The park will allow folks to come from the Farmers’ Market and have a picnic at Flat Rock, or let their kids run around on the big open lawn. Musicians can play and people working downtown can eat their lunch at the tables,” Golub says. “Our downtown needs more green space for families and Flat Rock Park will be a great addition.” 

The Department of Public Works will pay for the project, and all material costs are covered in the 2022 operating budget, says Golub, adding that all construction work will be performed in-house. So far, the only fixed cost is $12,000 to CT Male for conducting soil tests to ensure there are no contaminates. Those findings will determine the overall project cost. A high-end project estimate points to a cost range between $30,000 and $40,000, but some of that may potentially be offset by grant opportunities.

“We, along with the community, will evaluate future potential uses for this area,” Golub says. “The great thing is that we will take a space that has been an unused eyesore in our downtown for years, and make it into a beautiful park that will serve our community.”

Public input is sought regarding the proposal. Comments may be offered via DPW social media channels, or by contacting the department directly by phone at 518-587-3550, ext. 2561, or via email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Construction is anticipated to begin late summer or early fall. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — In an effort to help curb “aggressive” panhandling in Saratoga Springs, the City Council this week is expected to stage a public dialogue session regarding a proposed measure to prohibit “aggressive solicitation.” 

The purpose of the measure is to protect people from threatening, intimidating or harassing behavior by persons soliciting money or other valuables in public places, according to a draft copy of the proposed ordinance. A public hearing is anticipated to take place in advance of the 7 p.m. start of the council’s Tuesday, Aug. 2 meeting at City Hall. A vote on the measure could also potentially take place later that same night, although the council has yet to release its agenda. 

“The purpose of the ordinance is not punitive, to not take away from the poor, but rather intended to serve a two -fold purpose,” said city Public Safety Commissioner Jim Montagnino. 

The first is to provide mechanisms for those with mental health issues to access services needed, Montagnino explained. This would be achieved by issuing court appearance tickets for “homeless court” sessions – held every other Tuesday. Those sessions are attended by service providers who can offer guidance of available services to those appearing in court. 

“The secondary purpose (addresses) an aggressive minority of panhandlers in the city who don’t take ‘no’ for an answer and become an annoyance to people…this ordinance will limit the means by which an individual can ask for money,” Montagnino said. 

The draft is based on a similar model in effect in Rochester, N.Y. for nearly 20 years. “It is an ordinance that has withstood constitutional challenges,” Montagnino said. 

Melanie Trimble, regional director for the NYCLU Capital Region office, says the New York Civil Liberties Union strongly opposes the anti-panhandling ordinance proposed by the Saratoga Springs’ City Council. 

“Begging and use of public sidewalks for non-criminal activities are First Amendment rights protected by the United States and New York Constitutions,” Trimble said in response to a Saratoga TODAY inquiry seeking comment from the organization regarding the city’s proposal.  “This ordinance is antithetical to the values of generosity and compassion that are a notable part of New York life. While no one condones intimidation, the mean-spirited nature of this ordinance that criminalizes poverty can be lost on no one.”

The Rochester law prohibiting aggressive panhandling went into effect in July 2004 with fines ranging from $25 to $250. Repeat offenders potentially face up to 15 days in jail, if convicted twice withing 12 months. 

“It’s a city code, but they don’t give tickets. They choose not to,” explained Bettie McBride, responding this week to an inquiry requesting information about the effectiveness of the law. McBride works as a clerk in the office of the Rochester chief of police. “What we do is we try to help out; offer resources to get shelter, get clothing and food.” 

In 2020, the town of Colonie crafted a resolution to curb aggressive panhandling similarly based on the Rochester ordinance. Police reported they had answered 95 calls for aggressive panhandling in 2019, and 110 complaints through the first part of 2020. 

During public hearings regarding the Colonie proposal, residents raised concerns that such a Local Law could open the town up to a lawsuit, that it discriminated against the poor, addressed just one symptom of broader issues related to poverty, drug addiction and mental illness, and violated a person’s freedom of speech, according to a report by Jim Franco of the Spotlight News. The resolution was adjourned without vote during the board’s meeting in late August 2020 and seems to have since fallen off the town’s radar. Messages requesting information about the current status of the resolution were left with two of the board’s past and present members, but no response was immediately received. 

With the Saratoga Springs measure, both the city Police Department and the Department of Code Administration would have the authority to enforce and to issue appearance tickets for violations of the provision. 

The described intent of the measure is to protect people from threatening, intimidating or harassing behavior in connection with solicitation in public places, provide for the free flow of pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and to promote tourism and business and preserve the quality of urban life. “Aggressive acts can cause persons to avoid public places and lead to declining patronage of commercial establishments and tourism,” reads the draft. 

Solicitation is prohibited outright in proximity to bank entrances or ATMs, as is making physical contact with a person in the course of the solicitation. Behavior that causes intimidation or fear by following someone in an act of solicitation, or continued solicitation in close proximity after a person has provided a negative verbal or non-verbal response is also not allowed.  Additionally, no person shall solicit in an “aggressive manner” in a public place, or when it is directed at an occupant of a vehicle while standing on a sidewalk.