SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City Council gathered Monday morning to set a public hearing for the proposed amended 2024 City Budget. 

That hearing, which enables the public to express opinions directly to councilmembers regarding the proposed $61.27 million spending plan, will take place 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28. 

By rule, the council must vote to approve the budget by Nov. 30, or the $60.5 million spending plan previously submitted by the finance commissioner will become law.   

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city Land Use Boards will hold a joint meeting Nov. 15 regarding a Special Use Permit and Architectural Review of a proposal to site the micro-production of alcohol and a new eating and drinking establishment on a 10-acre parcel on South Broadway. 

The proposal for “Tree House Saratoga Springs” comes via the Tree House Brewing Company - founded in 2011 and currently operating six facilities – five in Massachusetts and a farm in Connecticut. According to the company, it is “the largest direct-to-consumer on-premises brewer in the country,” and says this proposed project will be their only expansion in New York. 

The land where Tree House would be located - 3376 Route 9/ South Broadway - is currently vacant and from 1945 to 2013 operated as Murphy’s Driving Range and Mini-Golf. Today it is a mostly flat, open field with its immediate Route 9 facing neighbors being Saratoga Honda to the north, and Homewood Suites to the south. 

Current owners MCJack LLC, have contracted to sell the property to Treehouse Brewing Company (THBC NY, LLC,) of Charlton, Massachusetts. 

The project space is approximately 10 acres, and would encompass 4 structures, the largest being approximately 200 feet – by – 210-feet and rising to a height of about 30 feet.  Plans call for a 22,680-square foot brewery and taproom building.

The outdoor areas would include three pavilions, picnic tables, small gathering areas and walking paths. 

The project also calls for a 390-car parking lot, and a “beer to go” area for the pickup of online orders. 

The company anticipates its siting would add more than 60 jobs of varying skill sets - production, restaurant and hospitality staff among them – and estimates its economic impact to the region as $30 to $40 million based on siting a Saratoga Springs location, according to documents filed with the city. 

A joint Planning Board-Design Review Board discussion is slated to take place at 6 p.m., on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at City Hall. A public hearing is anticipated to take place on or around Nov. 30. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —All five City Council seats – one mayor and four commissioners - as well as both city Supervision positions are up for vote to new, two-year terms that will take effect in January. 

City Council

Three of the five council positions are uncontested, and each of the currently sitting commissioners - Jason Golub (Public Safety), Dillon Moran (Accounts), and Minita Sanghvi (Finance) - are expected to return. All three are Democrats. 

The contested seats are for city Mayor, and for Commissioner of Public Safety.

Incumbent Mayor Ron Kim and incumbent Public Safety Commissioner Jim Montagnino are both seeking re-election. Each is facing a contested three-person race. Both incumbents are Democrats, but unlike the political polarization that prevails in many elections across the U.S., party lines and political divisions in the Spa City are somewhat blurred.

Mayor

Ron Kim – running on the Democratic line, is facing a challenge for the mayoral seat from Republican candidate John Safford, and One Saratoga independent party candidate Chris Mathiesen. Mathiesen previously sat the council table as city Public Safety Commissioner, from 2012 to 2017. 

Public Safety Commissioner

Jim Montagnino – running on the Democratic line, faces a challenge for Public Safety Commissioner from Timothy Coll – who is running on the Republican, and One Saratoga line, and Kristen Dart – who is running on the independent Community First line. 

A Parting of Party Lines

In the city of Saratoga Springs, there are just over 20,000 voters actively registered. 

Registered Democrats account for approximately 40% of voters, registered Republicans about 28%, and Blanks – that is, those registered to vote but purposely unaffiliated with any party, count for about 26.5%. The remaining 5.5% balance of voters are comprised of those registered with either the Conservative Party, Working Families Party, or a variety of independent lines. Overall, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in 21 of 25 city voting districts, according to the state Board of Elections’ latest available enrollment figures. 

Despite that sitting Public Safety Commissioner Montagnino is a Democrat, city Mayor Ron Kim and three other incumbent Democrat council members have expressed their backing of independent Kristen Dart for the seat. 

Tim Coll, who is a registered Democrat, has been endorsed by the city Republican committee and is running on the Republican line as a candidate of choice for Public Safety Commissioner. 

And this week, on a rain-soaked Monday afternoon in front of City Hall, Democrat ballot candidate Montagnino held a press conference to announce he would be crossing party lines to endorse Republican Party candidate John Safford for Mayor in the election. When asked about his support for Safford, Montagnino denied that his endorsement was of any retaliatory nature against Mayor Kim’s endorsing of Kirsten Dart, instead citing “discord and chaos” at recent City Council meetings as a motivator. 

“This IS an unusual endorsement,” Safford said, acknowledging the crossing of party lines during Monday’s 20-minute presser, “but I’m grateful for it.”

This Year’s Contested City Seats - The Last Time Around 

In 2021, nearly 9,000 city votes were counted in the mayoral race. Democrat Ron Kim was elected after securing 4,319 votes to the 3,943 cast for Republican candidate Heidi West and 632 voted for other party challengers. 

Democrat Jim Montagnino was elected Public Safety Commissioner after besting Republican candidate Tracey LaBelle 4,783 to 3,859, with an additional 95 votes cast for a third-party challenger.

In the race for the two Supervisor seats, Democrat Tara Gaston (4,460) and Republican Matthew Veitch (4,334 votes) were elected. Democrat Shaun Wiggins received 3,828 votes, and Republican John Safford – this year’s mayoral challenger – received 3,775 votes.

This year in Saratoga Springs, voters have a choice of three candidates from which to select two supervisors to represent the city at the county level. 

They are: Gordon Boyd (D, WF); Michele Madigan (D, One Saratoga), and incumbent Supervisor Matthew Veitch (R, One Saratoga). Madigan previously served five two-year terms as city Finance Commissioner, from 2012-2021; Veitch, who is seeking re-election, has served as supervisor since 2008. 

For more information about county supervisor races, please see last week’s edition of Saratoga TODAY, which may be viewed at: https://saratogatodaynewspaper.com/home/item/20476-election-primer-saratoga-county-five-contested-supervisor-races-early-voting-begins-oct-28. 

Party Registration Breakdown

Countywide, active registered voter numbers have grown from 169,756 in November 2021 to 174,991 actively registered in 2023 – an increase of 5,235.

Specific to active voter party affiliation across Saratoga County: Conservative Party registration is up 281 compared to year 2021, Republican Party registration is up 934, and Democratic Party registration is up 1,456. The largest increase - up 3,203 – are those registered to vote but unaffiliated with any party, or “blank.” Working Families Party and other/ independent parties each have less active registered voters this time around.       

Statewide Ballot Proposals

Proposal One: Removal Of Small City School Districts From Special Constitutional Debt Limitation. The proposed amendment to Article 8, section 4 of the Constitution seeks to remove the special constitutional debt limitation now placed on small city school districts, so they will be treated the same as all other school districts.

Proposal Two: Extending Sewage Project Debt Exclusion From Debt Limit. The proposed amendment to Article 8, section 5 of the Constitution seeks to extends for 10 years the authority of counties, cities, towns, and villages to remove from their constitutional debt limits debt for the construction of sewage facilities.

For full text of the two ballot proposals, go to the state BOE website at: https://www.elections.ny.gov/2023BallotProposals.html.

BALLSTON SPA — There are 21 municipalities contained within Saratoga County. Five of them will have contested supervisor races on Nov. 7. 

There are 23 Supervisors representing Saratoga County’s 21 municipalities; 19 municipalities are each represented by 1 supervisor. Two municipalities - Saratoga Springs and Clifton Park - are each represented by 2 supervisors.  Supervisors represent their municipality at the county level and are elected to that seat by voters in their own specific municipality. 

Political Party Affiliation Breakdown

• 21 of the 23 current Supervisors are affiliated with the Republican Party, while 2 current Supervisors are affiliated with the Democratic Party. 

• 1 Democrat and 16 Republican supervisors (in a total of 16 county municipalities) are either running unopposed or have no election taking place this year and so are expected to return to the seat in 2024. The remaining five county municipalities will be hosting contested races for six total seats. 

• There are approximately 175,000 registered active voters across the entirety of Saratoga County. Registered Republicans account for 35.8% of those voters, 29.6% are registered as Democrats, and 27.6% are registered to vote as unaffiliated with any party. The remaining 7% are comprised of those registered with the Conservative, Working Families or other party lines. 

Contested county Supervisor races: 

James Sullivan (D) vs. Ian Murray (R,C) – town of Saratoga; 

Cynthia Young (D) vs. Mark Hammond (R,C) – Malta; 

Jessie Fish, Jr. (D, M.U.) vs. Theodore Kusnierz, Jr. (R,C) – Moreau; 

Toni Sturm (D) vs. John Lant (R, C) – Wilton. 

In Saratoga Springs, voters have a choice of three candidates from which to select two supervisors to represent the city at the county level. 

They are: 

Gordon Boyd (D, WF); Matthew Veitch (R, One Saratoga); Michele Madigan (D, One Saratoga). 

Running unopposed 

- Supervisor races: 

Eric Connolly, R-Ballston; Diana Edwards, R-Day; Kevin Tollisen, R,C – Halfmoon; Scott Ostrander, R,C – Milton; Jean Raymond, R-Edinburg; Joe Grasso , R,C – Charlton; Willard Peck, R,C – Northumberland; Clifton Park Town/County Supervisor Philip Barrett R,C, Clifton Park County Supervisor Angela Thompson R,C; Kevin Veitch  R-Greenfield; Thomas Richardson D-Mechanicville; David Ball R,C – Waterford; C. Eric Butler R-Corinth; Arthur Wright R-Hadley.   

There are no supervisor races on the ballot in the towns of Stillwater, Galway and Providence – although those towns do have other votable seats on the ballot, as well as ballot proposals. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” goes the old joke which first appeared in print during the 1950s. It offers up the punch line: “Practice, practice, practice.” 

Conversely, how do you get from Carnegie Hall to Saratoga Springs?  Head northwest on W. 57th St. toward 7th Ave. using the Hudson River as your guide on the 183-or-so-mile journey.

This week, the Wesley Community welcomed Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect to its campus for an afternoon program of classical music at Wesley’s Woodlawn Commons. 

The performance was staged in recognition of the intergenerational connection of classical music between the young musicians and the senior residents to showcase how intergenerational connections allow youth and seniors to share experiences through mutually beneficial activities.

“We’re always thrilled to bring cultural events to our residents,” said Wesley Community CEO J. Brian Nealon, as the five-piece ensemble glided their bows across their respective string instruments or performed with hands across the piano keys of the room’s baby grand. 

The musicians are based out of Carnegie Hall and are part of a fellowship program in partnership with Julliard School, The Weill Music Institute, the New York City Department of Education. They are currently engaged in a five-day residency at Skidmore College. It is a local residency first established in the fall of 2007. 

“We had the opportunity through a board member who works at Skidmore to make this connection for us,” Nealon said. “Our residents love these types of programs and over the years we have been able to avail ourselves of Skidmore’s friendship and help to provide those types of services.” 

Ensemble Connect is a two-year fellowship program that prepares extraordinary young professional classical musicians for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership, according to the Carnegie Hall guidebook. 

The group performs its own series at Carnegie Hall and has regularly appeared at The Juilliard School’s Paul Hall and other venues throughout New York City, as well as presenting dozens of interactive performances in schools. Ensemble Connect alums have gone on to perform, teach, and engage with communities in 53 countries around the world. 

While on campus at Skidmore, the fellows offer master classes, lessons, and class demonstrations, as well as play side by side with students of the Skidmore College Orchestra, read student compositions, and stage a live performance. Their concert programs include world premieres commissioned by Carnegie Hall. They perform Friday, Oct. 27 at Zankel Music Center.   

“It works both ways. Our residents also go over to Skidmore and avail themselves of the programming that Skidmore has,“ Nealon said Wednesday afternoon, as the ensemble performed 18th century works of Austrian composer Franz Schubert and Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, and George Gershwin’s 20th century jazz standard “Embraceable You,”  as a group of about 40 Wesley Community residents looked on. 

The Wesley Community is a 37-acre, not-for-profit agency which serves the needs of the elderly, as well as active seniors, adults and pediatrics. Eleven buildings dot the campus that more than 600 residents call home; about 125 independent living and assisted living residents are at Woodlawn Commons - where this week’s performance was held – another 225 are at Embury Apartments and approximately 250 at Wesley Health Care Center – the campus the nursing home.