SARATOGA SPRINGS >> A mixed-use development proposed in the footprint of the former Ellsworth Ice Cream factory on Division Street was approved by the Planning Board Wednesday night.

The project, known as Ellsworth Square, has been working through the city’s Planning Board for more than a year and seeks to transform the now empty site of the former factory into a solid block of townhouses, houses, apartments and commercial space that will occupy the entire block between Division and Cherry streets and Walworth Street and Marvin Alley.

“We knew you would eventually get tired of seeing us,” Peter Belmonte, one of the local developers on the project, laughed after the project was approved.

He is working on another local developer, Steve Ethier, on the mixed-use development, their first collaboration.

“We bought it out of foreclosure. Instead of bidding against each other we decided to join up,” Ethier said.

The Planning Board worked through particular details of the project with the two Wednesday before approving the site plan and subdivision of site.

The plan is comprised of 24 townhouses, four single-family homes, 20 apartments and 4,000 square feet of commercial space.

Plans call for a three-story building at the corner of Division and Walworth streets with commercial space on the ground floor and apartments on the upper two. Next to that building will be a two-story apartment building on the corner of Cherry and Walworth streets.

 “We want low-impact, low-density, low turnover establishments,” Ethier said, agreeing to restrictions to keep out restaurants, barber shops and other uses.

A private, internal street will provide access to the townhouses’ attached two-car garages.

Ethier said they hope to move forward with construction in the fall. Belmonte said, depending on market conditions, the build out should take about 18 months.

Public Works Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco doesn’t want a casino in the Spa City.

In a Reader’s View submitted to The Saratogian, the city council member argues that the casino would threaten downtown businesses, the City Center as an event space and the Saratoga Racecourse through competition.

“Our racetrack charges admissions and patrons pay to park; how will the racetrack fare against the free admission, parking and beverages that the casino offers?” he asked, and though I’m sure no one was ever kept out by the $3 admission, his point is taken.

“By allowing a casino resort into our city we are giving up any say or control and we are inviting subsidized competition to unfairly challenge our historic racetrack, downtown, and city center and will likely disrupt the quality of life and uniqueness that we are charged with protecting as elected officials.”

He isn’t the first City Council member to submit Reader’s Views on the subject. In January, both Michele Madigan and Christian Mathiesen submitted their views, though neither took as definite a stance as Scirocco did.

Two common themes flow through all three of their arguments: more development at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway create a small, manufactured casino complex with shops, restaurants and a hotel for downtown establishments to compete with; and the city needs more control over what goes on at the casino.

“Without some control and oversight over what could eventually be built in our city, it will be difficult to support expanded casino gambling within our boundaries,” Madigan wrote in her letter.

Mathiesen wrote something a little more firm, and also invoked the need for guaranteed money from the state as a hosting community.

“Without ironclad guarantees of annual income for the city and county, consistency with our comprehensive plan and city council and land-use board control to limit the Saratoga Casino and Raceway to a moderately expanded stand-alone facility, I cannot support their proposal.”

Mathiesen and Scirocco’s thinking was the same on that point too.

Scirocco said, basically, that the money that the city could take in as a host community can’t be counted on, pointing to state money for hosting Video Lottery Terminals the city saw evaporate in 2009 and with it, funding for 10 cops and as many firefighters.

Of course, all of their discussion of whether to allow a casino may be a moot point, regardless, since as he points out: “Unlike Massachusetts, the New York State Gaming and Development Act was written without home rule; meaning that the Massachusetts voters have the power to veto any proposed casino resort in their community and we do not.”

Commissioner Scirocco's letter

I meant to post this yesterday when I put the article in for the newspaper. Here is the S&P report outlining the reasons for the city's AA+ Bond rating. 

SP Saratoga Springs NY Report

And why not, I'll post Michele Madigan's press release about it. See below.

Press Release 06-06-13-City Bond Rating

Mayor Johnson took exception to some of her language in the statement, particularly the use of the word "languishing" when referring to the union contracts. He (and PBA President Paul Veitch) both said it was somewhat standard to have the contracts expire and be renegotiated in the following year (they all expired at the close of 2012).

Madigan was also not pleased with the time it took me to write the article. I told her I was going to do something with it, but it wasn't particularly newsworthy since the rating hadn't changed, it was a reaffirmation of the already good credit rating.

I said something to the effect of: "'Everything is still good in Saratoga' doesn't make for the best headline.'"

Here was her response the other night:

When we spoke earlier today you gave me the impression that you think the recent news from S&P isn't actually news, because "there was no change". This belies a fundamental misunderstanding of how rating agencies communicate with the public.  To say there is "No Change" means there was no communication. It sounds as though you are saying the Yankess winning the Series is not news because they won it last year. S&P actually issued a rating of AA+ for Saratoga Springs, the fact that this is the same rating they gave us last year does not diminish the fact that this is a stellar credit rating and that it was based on current information.  If you look at any trade press or investment press, you will see that every single utterance from any of the main four rating agencies is reported ad nauseum. The Saratogian is the "trade press" for local politics, so I would expect, at the very least, that you would see fit to mention this latest rating action from S&P.  The only way investors of our bonds can find out about our current rating is through the press or a subscription to S&P.  The Gazette did publish our rating for this year so it can be located easily, but sometimes they are fee based.  It's the Saratogian that really needs to publish our rating for this year.

Thanks, Michele

I disagree with her fundamental concept here. Trade press covers it because the people who read trade press care about bond ratings. She uses the analogy of the Yankess, but I would compare it more to the India team winning the Cricket's World Cup.

That might make the news in places that care about the cricket world cup, not here.

She also said to me "when I see stories about compost" that she thought the bond rating was more important. 

I'm not saying the city's bond rating isn't important, but it wasn't so important to the everyday people of the city unless it actually affected their daily lives.

Thus, we waited to run the story until I could pair it with an update on the city's union contracts, which as the report points out “could put some downward pressure on Saratoga Springs’ finances in the next few years.”

The compost story, for example, may not have impacted Saratogians' daily lives, but it was certainly a talker.

For instance, it generated 23 comments on the website. As of 11:37 Thursday, the bond rating story generated one, and it was about the union contracts.  

I think Commissioner Madigan's perception of the newsworthiness of the city's bond rating may be somewhat skewed, since, let's face it, she reads trade journals.

**Update**

I spoke to Michele Madigan today and it seems we may have had a breakdown of communication over the article and possibly have misconstrued one another's points of view.

She emphasized that she was just trying to get across the importance of the bond rating because she knew it wasn't the sexiest news story.


Also, she said cricket IS very important in some places (with a laugh, of course).

And next week she will be bringing up some of the Housing Authority salary questions at the City Council. We'll see how that goes.

That was the headline in the print version of the story in Friday's Saratogian. It ran on the second page, but for whatever reason never made it online so I figured we could put it here (where I could have a little more control over the comments, too).

Here is the story:

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs Public Works Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco has hired his son, Mark, as a city water meter reader. 

Mark Scirocco was third on the list of eligible candidates who took the civil service test for the position, which pays $15.71 an hour — $32,771 a year. 

Skip Scirocco said the position does not pay benefits because it is a temporary position at this point.

“He’s a very good worker and he’ll do a good job,” he said. 

The commissioner did not interview the top two candidates, a Saratoga Springs resident who scored 95 and a Ballston Spa resident who scored 90. Mark Scirocco’s score was 85. 

Commissioner Scirocco said he eliminated the second-highest scorer because he was not a city resident. He did not explain why he did not consider the highest-scoring candidate. Civil service law allows the employer to choose from among the top three candidates.

The position is considered a temporary, three-month position to fill in for a meter reader who is out on disability, but the possibility exists for longer employment. 

— By Barbara Lombardo and Lucian McCarty

Barb wrote most of it, but I did the reporting on it (I was in the middle of something else so she took it up). 

Anyway, the story actually came from Skip Scirocco who volunteered the information to me in a conversation about something totally unrelated saying: "I just want to come clean about this, since I'm sure you'll hear it somewhere else." 

Obviously in this city there is some precedent for this (Skip's predecessor, for example) and he followed all of the rules for this hire. Skip said he worked for the city before and that he's working out well. 

The guy who is out with a medical condition may not be back because it seems like it may be long-term, in which case this position will likely become permanent. 

Anyway, I'm sure there will be some comments, so let's keep them civil. I won't publish any personal attacks so don't bother.

I sent a FOIL yesterday to the city, requesting the Letter of Intent (Which I guess is also referred to as a Notice of Claim) sent from Lee Kindlon to the city, putting them on notice that he and his client, Jeffrey Bennett, are pursuing a civil case against it.

For those who haven't read the stories, three officers were suspended after a fight at Dango Fitzgerald's Irish Pub on Caroline Street.  The off-duty officers were later identified as John Guzek, Mark Leffler and Ed Braim, the later allegedly being the instigator in the altercation and the one who was eventually charged with third-degree assault. Braim was forced to resign  and the charge was ACOD'd, but that doesn't appear to have been the end of his troubles.

Last week, the city was put on notice that it may be the target of an upcoming lawsuit, also targeting Braim and possibly the other two off-duty officers.

It came in today, so I figured I'd put it up, as well as the press release issued by Kindlon yesterday morning.

Notice of Claim for Ed Braim lawsuit by

As I said in the story in today's paper, Kindlon and Bennett paint a different picture than the police did of that altercation. 

Police Chief Chris Cole said after the investigation that the police don't believe a single punch was thrown, whereas this letter states that the THREE officers "physically forced him against a parked vehicle" and then Braim "physically assaulted" Bennett while "Officers Mark Leffler and John Guzek stood by and watched...."

Here is the press release put out by Kindlon yesterday morning, as well:

 Victim of Former Saratoga Springs Police Officer Ed Braim to file suit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lee Kindlon, the attorney for Jeffrey Bennett, is moving forward with plans to file a civil suit against the City of Saratoga Springs and a now-former member of its Police Department.  Jeffrey Bennett was the victim of former Saratoga Springs Police Officer Edward Braim, who, as a result of this assault, was forced to resign from his position as a police officer.   

Last week, Kindlon filed notice on behalf of his client signaling that he intends to seek damages against Mr. Braim and the City of Saratoga for an assault that occurred November 12, 2012.  Ed Braim and two other Saratoga Springs police officers viciously attacked and beat Mr. Bennett outside Dango Fitzgerald’s Pub on November 12, 2012.  Criminal charges were later filed against Braim, who was represented by Andrew Safranko. 

According to witnesses and court documents, while two other off-duty police officers stood by, Braim, who had not known the victim prior to that night, slammed Mr. Bennett into the side of a vehicle parked outside the bar causing injuries that included difficulty breathing, redness, swelling and contusions to his torso, neck and wrist.  The fight began between Braim and another man; Bennett had intervened to defuse the situation.   Braim, instead, focused his anger upon the peace-maker.

             This is not Mr. Braim’s first allegation of assault.  Back in 2009, Skidmore student John Capitani was accused of assaulting Mr. Braim, only to have the charges dropped on the day of trial.  Six different witnesses came forward to state that then-Officer Braim had, in fact, assaulted the student.  Because of this proof, those charges were dropped.  Questions remained, however, about what, if anything, the City of Saratoga did following these disclosures to rein-in Officer Braim. 

             “Ed Braim had been a problem in Saratoga Springs for a while.  The City of Saratoga has known this for years.  We are asking for accountability, not just from Ed Braim but from the City of Saratoga,” said Lee Kindlon of Kindlon Shanks & Associates.

 ***

Remember the days when I used to blog? For those of you who don't, I think I'm with you-- it seems like a lifetime ago.

Believe you-me, it's not because I don't like to blog. Indeed, it's a lot easier than writing a story — unfortunately, lately if I want to blog that would mean a story does not get written.

For those who don't know, we've been down a reporter ever since Suzanna Lourie left us. Add to that another reporter's January schedule which seems to have more vacation days than working days and you get an equation that equals a dead blog (and an unprecedented amount of overtime at The Saratogian).

What is particularly terrible about that situation, is there has been a lot to blog about.

For instance, I started a blog post (which will appear at the bottom of this blog post) two weeks ago and didn't finish it. In fact, I stopped in the middle of a sentence. I don't remember why. Undoubtedly I had to run off to a meeting, accident, fire, scandal, investigate an anonymous tip, etc.

But I want to ensure the world wide web out there, I will return to cyberspace with a vengeance whenever my workload slows enough to allow it.

But here, to at least give the loyal dozen or so people who still check in on the blog from time to time a little something to read, here is a two-week old blog I finally found time to finish.

11:39 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 17. City Hall.
Mayor Scott Johnson sat in his desk, loosened his tie and said "If I heard it once I heard it 1,000 times about the need for transparency in government. Is that what happened here tonight?"

Johnson seemed to be the last person in the City Council chambers earlier that night to know that the vote was coming on assigning the Fire Department to take over ambulance transport service in the city.

"I haven't decided that yet," the mayor said moments before the vote. "Am I the alone here in terms of not understanding this was going to be the vote this evening? We have a lot of unresolved issues that have been raised even tonight."

After a pregnant silence, Accounts Commissioner John Franck responded. "It was my understanding, going into tonight, that it wasn't a definite answer that we were going to vote on this this evening, but after the workshop I feel that the votes are there and that isn't going to change.

Franck said "I think everyone has some unanswered questions," but voted for the measure provided there was a "sunset clause" that would require the City Council to vote to continue with the program after a two-year trial period.

And despite the mayor's opposition to the plan, (here's where I stopped) the council passed the fire department's takeover of EMS service at a vote that came after deadline (11 p.m. — our print story said the vote was coming).

Mathiesen, days later, responded to Johnson's claims. "There was nothing opaque about the vote," he said. He pointed out it had been on the agenda. It wasn't a late add.

However, I will point out that in a conversation the day before with Deputy Commissioner Eileen Finneran, she said the vote was "just to get the ball rolling," on the fire department taking EMS over.

"The ball is rolling," Johnson said. "In fact the ball is gone."

"It seems very blatantly political -- it's the last City Council meeting and the contracts would not be renewed until after the next election," said Finance Commissioner-elect Michele Madigan leaving the City Council meeting Tuesday night.

She had just watched four contracts with law firms and one contract with the city's human resource company, Pinnacle Human Resources, LLC. extended to two-year contracts, something sources in City Hall said is unprecedented.

Accounts Commissioner John Franck spoke out on the city council about just that.

"We've never done this as far as I can remember," he said.

"I think they are good services, but this is bad government" Franck said of the contracts with the HR company as well as the law firms of Harris Beach which handles labor and collective bargaining and Fitzgerald, Morris, Baker and Firth PC which is currently litigating lawsuits on charter challenge and civil service. "I don't think these contracts should go more than a year," Franck said.

He was the sole council member to vote no on all of the contracts except the contract to continue litigating the appeal of the Saratoga Citizen petition, which Kenneth Ivins Jr. also voted against.

Mayor Scott Johnson said the rationale behind extending the contracts is that they locked in the price for the next two years and could avoid any cost increase (something Franck said hasn't happened since 2006), but Madigan saw a different motivation.

"It appears that the rationale behind these amendments may be to solidify them until after the next election so that the incoming council members will have no say in them," she said in a prepared statement she read to the council during public comment.

Franck said that if the City Council were going to award extended contracts to the law firms and Pinnacle, they should put out requests for proposals. "It doesn't make sense to me, I don't see the prices going up dramatically," he said, adding he would expect even better prices if the city put out a request for bids.

It was the last council meeting for two of the men around the table Tuesday. Madigan will replace Finance Commissioner Ivins and Christian Mathiesen will replace Public Safety Commissioner Richard Wirth in less than two weeks and the remaining members offered their praise and farewells to their two departing comrades.

Franck said Wirth has "always been a gentleman who looked past party lines," and he thanked him for his "tireless service" running the city's largest department seven days a week, something Franck knew he did because he frequently saw Wirth coming and going from City Hall on the weekends while he hung out at Compton's.

He said Ivins was dealt a tough hand over the last few fiscal years but said "in your four year period you have brought us back."

Scirocco thanked the both of them as well, though made eye-contact with Ivins (whom he has publicly disagreed with on frequent occasions) when he said "You both in your heart made the right decisions I'm sure."

Johnson commended them for their community service and "dedication to our city."

"Those of us who serve in these capacities know it is no easy chore to undertake," he said. And while he hoped they would continue to be involved in city politics and service, he had one parting lighthearted(?) request:

"Don't come to public comment please."

To drive that point home, here's Madigan's comments to the council in full:
I see that this evening's agenda includes discussions and votes on the Pinnacle Human Resources contract and the Harris Beach contracts. It is my understanding that the current Pinnacle HR contract runs until May 2012 and the amendment seems to merely extend the contract to December 2013. The Harris Beach contracts are also being amended tonight to extend from December 2012 to December 2013. All of these contracts are being amended until after the next election. Absent a pressing need to amend these contracts, it seems premature to even discuss these tonight. Again, a new council will be seated in 12 days, and there are 5 months remaining in the current Pinnacle HR contract and a full 12 months remaining in the Harris Beach contracts. It appears that the rationale behind these amendments may be to solidify them until after the next election so that the incoming council members will have no say in them.
While I have briefly reviewed the specifics of the proposed amendments, and must wait to find out more in tonight’s discussion and possible vote, I must point out the possibility that a majority of the new council may not agree with the wishes of the majority of the current council on such important matters. If this is the case, what will it cost the city to once again change, amend or terminate these contracts? I would respectfully request, in the interests of good governance, fiscal prudence, and transparency, that this council postpone discussion of these items until the next meeting, when the new council will be seated.
Of particular concern to me is the contract being amended that relates to Human Resources. Local governments are facing unprecedented challenges; whether we are addressing fiscal challenges, environmental issues, public safety, or a crisis, having the right people in the right jobs will pay off for our city. It is not clear to me, especially since I have been unable to review the contract in question, that outsourcing Human Resources – in violation of the City Charter - is in the best interest of our city. Since this is such an important issue, I believe it is unreasonable for the current council to take any action on this contract, thereby encumbering the new council which will be seated in 12 short days. We can take this matter up in just a few weeks, and I humbly ask you to allow us to do so.
Thank you,
Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance-elect

While adopting the budget Tuesday night at the City Council meeting, Finance Commissioner Ken Ivins Jr. laughed that it was the first time in a "long, long time," that he was going to see his property taxes actually go down.

But it seems, in actuality, they won't.

Not because of the city, as is traditionally the case, but rather because of a tax increase at the county that is likely to happen - the first county tax increase in eight years.

Read Michael Cignoli's preview about the public hearing, which he said he hears will be lively, in The Saratogian tomorrow (Dec. 1) or go see for yourself at the public hearing at 5:30 p.m. at the county offices.

It's a little funny, actually. The comprehensive budget originally proposed at the city had a .54 percent increase - which would mean an $8 increase in taxes on a $200,000 house. Now city residents are looking at a $8 decrease in their city taxes.

But-- and here is the (sort of) funny part -- the first year in recent memory that taxes are going down in the city, the county manages to erase that and residents still end up with an $8 increase on a $200,000 home.

Saratogians just can't win.

The City Council decided not to vote on a measure to add the Woodlawn Avenue Parking Deck to the 2011 Capital Improvement budget Tuesday night citing a lack of time to review the proposal.
Mayor Scott Johnson withdrew the discussion and vote from his agenda. “I want to give people more time to absorb it and vote Dec. 6,” he said.
Johnson said adding it to the 2011 Capital Budget is necessary because "the process is unfolding and the bids are coming in. The goal here is to not interfere with a tight timeline.”
A public hearing was held on the parking deck, which will be located on the city-owned Woodlawn Avenue parking lot. It will start as a single additional floor of parking above the ground floor but will be designed to accommodate a third level.
Requests for bids for the design/build project were put out Nov. 16 and are due to be opened Monday. The projected timeline has the parking deck being open before racing season.
The decision to put off the vote to Tuesday came a week after a meeting of potential bidders on the project complained about too little time to work on the project and only moments before a series of people speaking at the public hearing on the topic said the overall timeline is too rushed.
“The rush this is being put under has a lot of implications,” said Pat Kane, who said it could be inadequately planned out. He said it is a “winner of an idea,” but that it was on too accelerated a timeline. “August will be August with or without this parking deck.”
Public Safety Commissioner-Elect Christian Mathiesen echoed Kane’s concerns. He said it would not be his first priority and would like to see a more mixed-use proposal, though he admitted parking is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Both men said construction should be delayed until September. “I think it will have less of an impact on our tourist season,” he said. Mathiesen said he is concerned about the potential for the project to be delayed into racing season. “Take time for the design process,” he said.
Others in the audience at the public hearing had an alternative opinion.
“If you look back in the Chambers’ file on parking decks, this has been talked about for 30 years,” said President of the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce Todd Shimkus. “I think it has been delayed enough.”
He said getting the lot complete to be used during racing season “makes the most sense.”
Bids will be opened in the City Council Chambers Monday, Dec. 5, a deadline that was extended to allow designers an additional weekend to work on the project.

County GOP Committee Chairman Jasper Nolan thinks the city election went south for Republicans because their constituents just didn't show up.

He said early reports he has seen indicate 1,000 fewer Republicans made the trip to the polls than in 2009.

"It was a tough year in some respects," he said.

He said some of the problem might have been an "overconfidence" in the Republican's seats in office.

But he suspects one of the biggest things that cost the city Republicans their elections was a feeling of "anyone but incumbents," in voters. "People wanted a change."

Next week after the final numbers are released on campaign expenses I'll be putting together a story about how much each candidate spent.

At this point it looks like it was an election on the cheap. In 2009 Mayor Scott Johnson spent about $50,000 for his seat at the city council table. This year, the figure is less than half of that.

No TV and no radio ads.

Paraphrasing what he said just before the election, Johnson said if he thought the election were going to be close he would have sprung for the TV and radio but he didn't want to spend money "unnecessarily."

The night of the election, too, Johnson was confident.

I don't think he or many others -- at least in the Republican camp -- thought it was going to be as close as it was.

DEM 10:18 "Everybody, join us at the bar for champagne!" announced Thilo Ullmann, city Democratic Party chair.

"Thank you all for the support you've given me over the past few months - it's been fantastic. Now the real hard work starts, we're going to do very good things for the city of Saratoga Springs," Madigan addresses the crowd.

DEM 10:09

Madigan wins by a landslide. "I worked really hard for this, I'm so excited and I plan to do great things for this city." Mathiesen an upset in a win for public safety.

DEM 9:56

"Mom YOU WON!!" called Michele Madigan's son (enter. Cheers erupting as Dems pull ahead across the board. "Oh my god, my heart is racing," said another woman. Candidates hugging - absentee ballots foreshadowing big things for the Saratoga Springs Dems. Could this be the night they take back the city?

GOP 9:52
"This is horrible," one woman said. One tied-in Republican floated rumors of skullduggery on the part of one candidate. A rumor I have heard elsewhere in the last few days. I'll report it if I can confirm it. More on that later. For now, it doesn't look good for the men-in-red. Mayor up, others down. Ivins significantly so. "It all depends on what happens in districts 20 and 17," one said, hoping for the best.

DEM 9:51

Spotted: Two Dem ladies sneaking back with frozen martinis after crossing the street for a visit to the Holiday Inn bar...

DEM 9:45

"This is so exciting!" Heard round the board from energetic Dems. Lots of celebrating, but tensions are still high. One woman is smiling and biting her nails at the same time. Michele Madigan's husband getting boisterous.

GOP 9:41
With every district they put up on the big board, more Republicans walk away dejected. "This isn't good," said one as the numbers for Wirth continued to slip and the numbers for Madigan pulled away from Ivins. Lots of worried faces.

DEM 9:37

Screaming ladies (and gents) celebrate as Wilkes looks pretty darn good in district 2...

DEM 9:33

Madigan is the lady of the hour over here - just barely below Ivins in district 25. The Wilkes-Johnson race is neck and neck. Hearing some boo's from the crowd... Wish I could see the projection screen from this corner of the room.

DEM 9:29

Cheers rising from the crowd over here by the projector. Looking good so far...

GOP 9:25
Well it's a mixed bag for the few districts reporting now. "This isn't good," said one woman in the GOP crowd. Early reports show Johnson ahead by about 44 votes. Wirth and Ivins, though, are not doing so great. Still, it's early.

GOP 9:23
Everyone is gathering at the projector. I'll update with unofficial numbers soon.

DEM 9:18 p.m.
"M-A-D-I-G-A-N, that spells Madigan, Madigan," a spontaneous song erupts in support of Michele Madigan, up for Commissioner of Finance.
The room is filling up quick. Wilkes, staying true to his open government policy, is mingling, answering questions and enjoying himself despite being "a little bit anxious."

GOP 9 p.m.
And pens down! Polls are closed.
Also, according to GOP chair Jasper Nolan, Skidmore, district 24, had 40 votes as of a few hours ago. "I talked to them around 3 and they had 9 votes cast. They only come out for the national elections."

GOP 8:53
The room is slowly filling with politicians and supporters alike. The bar is working with two tenders and dishing out drinks as fast as they can. Meanwhile tech-savvy GOP members are setting up for poll closing with a projector to post results.

8:53 p.m.
Wilkes enters the room to a round of applause. His drink of choice? Red wine.

8:52 p.m.
Lauren Carpenter reports the crowd of Republicans at the Vista restaurant in Clifton Park is growing as polls are about to close. GOP chairman Brian Telesh and incumbent Town Clerk Pat O'Donnell just arrived.

8:33 p.m.
Good evening fellow patriots. Happy election day from the Inn at Saratoga. People just starting to gather in the ballroom (after stopping at the bar, of course). Plenty of blue and yellow Wilkes signs decorating the walls.

8:25 p.m.
Jim Tedisco just entered the room carrying a Mayor Johnson sign on a six-foot pole. Things are getting rolling.

8:20 p.m.
Well it's here again folks. Time to choose your elected officials. At this point most people should have voted and according to reports one Republican heard it will be a good year for voter turnout.
Finance Commissioner Kenneth Ivins Jr. said he heard it may be as high as 50 percent-- something he believes will help the Republicans.

Stay tuned for election coverage throughout the night. We have reporter Suzanna Lourie at the Democratic headquarters and Lucian McCarty at the Republicans'.

7:30 p.m.

Happy Election Night folks! Our election night pizza has arrived (thanks D'Andrea's) and we are ready to give you some live coverage.

We'll have reporters Lucian McCarty and Suzanna Lourie live-blogging the city's Democratic and Republican election night parties tonight and Michael Cignoli and I will be blogging from the office, updating results from across the county as they come in. Be sure to check back often.

It could be a big night for city politics -- any predictions for tonight's races?

Our southern Saratoga County team -- Community News reporter Glenn Griffith and photographer Lauren Carpenter -- are out covering races for town supervisor and town council in Clifton Park and Halfmoon.

Lauren reports from Clifton Park Town Hall:
A woman working the polls says there has been a steady stream of voters all day without a lull. Republicans are gathering at the Vista restaurant to await returns.

It's been a pretty uneventful day of voting in Saratoga County, not quite as exciting as some other local municipalities.

In Melrose, a town board candidate helped delivery a baby at a polling place after he cast his vote. (TU)

At Schenectady High School, the school day and voting were disrupted when a student reported that a classmate had two grenades (they turned out not be live) and a fire broke out in a bathroom.

Here in Saratoga we were with Mayor Scott Johnson and challenger Brent Wilkes when they cast their votes this morning.(Photos by Erica Miller)

Reporters are heading out in about a half hour, check back here for more updates or follow them on twitter @MCSaratogian @SuzannaKLourie @SaratogianCDesk and @TogianPhotog

— Emily Donohue

GOP 8:20 p.m.
Well it's here again folks. Time to choose your elected officials. At this point most people should have voted and according to reports one Republican heard it will be a good year for voter turnout.
Finance Commissioner Kenneth Ivins Jr. said he heard it may be as high as 50 percent-- something he believes will help the Republicans.

GOP 8:25 p.m.
Jim Tedisco just entered the room carrying a Mayor Johnson sign on a six-foot pole. Things are getting rolling.

GOP/DEM 8:33 p.m.
The stark contrast between the size of the ballroom in the Holiday Inn-- GOP headquarters-- and the size of the ballroom at the Inn at Saratoga-- Dem headquarters-- illustrates the hill the Democrats have to climb to win. Small "C" conservatives in the city outnumber liberals by a couple thousand registered voters. I heard Brent Wilkes on one of the news channels saying a good turnout would benefit him and the other Dems. We'll see.

DEM 8:45
It's Linda Wilkes in the bow-tie tonight. The candidate's wife was wearing gold bow tie at the Democratic headquarters.
If you have noticed Brent Wilkes sans the trademark bow tie lately its no mistake. Brent said a couple of weeks ago at a campaign speech that political research and polls show people have a generally negative first impression of anyone they see with a bow tie. "After the first impression it doesn't matter," he said. But that first impression is obviously an important one in politics. "After I'm elected I'll wear it again."

GOP 8:53
The room is slowly filling with politicians and supporters alike. The bar is working with two tenders and dishing out drinks as fast as they can. Meanwhile tech-savvy GOP members are setting up for poll closing with a projector to post results.

GOP 9 p.m.
And pens down! Polls are closed.
Also, according to GOP chair Jasper Nolan, Skidmore, district 24, had 40 votes as of a few hours ago. "I talked to them around 3 and they had 9 votes cast. They only come out for the national elections."

DEM 9 p.m.

Aaaaand the waiting begins!

DEM 9:18 p.m.

"M-A-D-I-G-A-N, that spells Madigan, Madigan," a spontaneous song erupts in support of Michele Madigan, up for Commissioner of Finance.

The room is filling up quick. Wilkes, staying true to his open government policy, is mingling, answering questions and enjoying himself despite being "a little bit anxious."

Here are all of the reports on Taser use in the state prepared by the NY Civil Liberties Union. Of course, they conclude the results are shocking (I had to).

As one police officer I spoke to offhandedly said, "When you set out looking for a problem, you'll find it."

Of course some of the statistics the NYCLU point out are somewhat "disturbing" to quote the author of the report. 75 percent of people tased weren't warned first, 15 percent of taser use is "clearly inappropriate" and 60 percent of people tased were essentially not a threat to officers or the general public.

Really, though, there were very few incidents from Saratoga Springs. Six incidents with seven people tased over a 22 month period.

If you take the time to read through the reports, it seems the police were dealing with some VERY drunk and belligerent people when deploying the tasers, at least according to their reports.

The NYCLU condemned all use of Tasers where someone was already handcuffed. Chief Chris Cole said the one incident in Saratoga Springs where that happened would have to be "extreme" for it to be deemed appropriate, but the use of force report vindicates the officers.

Well, anyone who wants 150 pages of reading here are the police reports.

02.26.10 Saratoga UOF Reports

Then here is the Saratoga Springs Policy on taser use. It's been redacted. I have seen the un-redacted version and compared the two. The blacked-out spots outline general situations where tasers cannot be used.

Cole worried that someone who knows some of the general situations where the police cannot use the tasers could use those to his or her advantage by creating those situations and limiting officers' ability to tase them.

That, to me, gives the criminal mind a lot of credit, but going with the journalismhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif mantra of "Do no harm" I'll ere on the side of caution, so I posted the redacted.

02.26.10 Taser Uof Policy-redacted

And finally, here is the NYCLU report. It mentions Saratoga Springs in the body of the report twice, both times in a more complimentary way than most other cities/departments mentioned in the report. It is also found in the footnotes several times.

NYCLU Taser Final

The Saratoga Springs Police Department released this statement Wednesday following up on the report's release.
NYCLUTaserPress

Here is a link to the comprehensive budget. It is on the city's website at Saratoga-Springs.org.

Earlier I wrote that the budget was online "as of this morning," but I was informed by Ivins' deputy commissioner that the budget was actually posted as of about 4 p.m. Wednesday.

For days now the two sides in the title of this post have been waging a war in my brain.

When Mayor Scott Johnson first announced he was going to build a... parking structure on Woodlawn Avenue he continuously used the term "Parking deck" and seemed to be avoiding the alternative "parking garage" (I seem to remember him correcting me once when I referred to it as a parking garage, but that may be a dream-- I've been dwelling on this).

Googling it didn't much help. Some websites said the two terms were synonymous. Others said it was a regional difference — the Southeast uses the term deck, the Midwest uses "Parking ramp" (which just seems foolish) etc.

I put the question to people in my office, working out the key piece of each term Deck vs. Garage.

Deck seems to imply a more open space, a single story and is generally less imposing. "Deck just sounds prettier," said Business and Education Reporter Suzanna Lourie, something I agree with. It seems like Saratoga Springs to have parking decks, not garages (at least in its own mind).

On the other hand, both she and Assistant Managing Editor Betsy DeMars said a garage is more enclosed with full walls. DeMars also said she thinks of a parking garage as having a basement level. I don't necessarily think that, but I do think multiple levels.

Then both of them told me I was being too nit-picky and splitting hairs and while they didn't necessarily tell me to go away, I got the hint.

But it seems our thoughts weren't entirely off-base.

"My opinion, of a parking garage is considered a "building" is somewhat enclosed, usually multiple levels and has a more intricate design, detail and structure and is governed strictly under the building code of NYS," said Wayne Williams, an engineer for U.T. Marx Construction which has built numerous parking garages in the area (I don't know if anyone cares to know which ones, but here they are anyway).

"To me," he continued, "the term parking deck on the other hand refers to a more liberal design typically not enclosed on any sides and typically only one
level."

And then he voiced the issue that sent me down this path. "Of course as always semantics comes in to play, along with agenda."

That hits the nail on the head. The reason it has held me up for days is because A) I expect to write about it semi-frequently and want to be consistent with my terminology, but more importantly B) It's a slippery slope to let politicians and other newsmakers frame the conversation about anything, even when it is as innocuous as Parking deck Vs. Garage.

Then what's next? Torture becomes enhanced interrogation, rebels become insurgents, layoffs become extended vacations?

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but it all starts somewhere.

But I guess in this case, Johnson has been right all along and I will start referring to it — accurately — as a parking deck. That is, until the next level is added on top-- then it will become a parking garage.

The combination of skateboarders and the city budget at last night's (Oct. 4) city council meeting was somewhat surreal. But I guess it makes sense, because by the end of Ivins' budget presentation I was as tired as if I had dug out the skate bowl myself.

It was long, mostly dry (as these things often are) and I should have left breadcrumbs through it because by the end I was pretty lost.

From what I gleaned, the city is better off than it was a year ago. Through some financial gymnastics (a term I got from DA James Murphy to describe white collar crime -- though I'm not implying anything by using it here) Ivins and Christine Gillmett-Brown explained how the tax cap doesn't mean 2 percent for Saratoga Springs, but actually means 4.8 percent.

All you need to know is:

(Courtesy of the New York State Office of the Comptroller. For a better view, click it.)

Regardless, the tax rate is only proposed to raise about .54 percent, on average. District by district that could vary slightly, but for the most part it means that the $6.07 per $1,000 of property owned tax rate won't be changing.

Of course, as has been pointed out in the comments of the story and in a press release from finance commissioner candidate Michele Madigan, the comprehensive budget itself wasn't presented, only a synopsis of it, something she said violates the charter.

"Those of us who attended the Council Meeting last night were expecting
the Commissioner to fulfill the duties of his office and lead a presentation on our city’s finances and his proposed 2012 budget," Madigan said in a statement released today. "His failure to submit the Proposed 2012 Comprehensive Budget last night, as required by the Charter, further illustrates that he is not fit for the position he holds and should not be reelected.”

Her release also includes the various components that are required to be in the comprehensive budget.

I will point out, though, that the charter only requires that the commissioner submit the budget to the city council at the first October meeting, not present the full budget at the meeting.

It is on file in the Accounts Department for anyone's reading pleasure (or lack thereof). And I keep being assured it should be online as early as tonight.

Also at the meeting, Saratoga Citizen organizer Pat Kane took advantage of the public comment, which first he lambasted for its brevity. Each member of the public is only allotted two minutes (something that is rarely enforced but always hanging over commenters heads). "I think it's a shame a citizen can only get two minutes in front of you people," he told the council, going on to say its "embarrassing."

Then he challenged the city council to pass the budget before election day. "You have the legal capability to approve the 2012 budget before then," he said, adding "shenanigans" can happen when budgets and elections mix. "There will always be a period of time where if you wait you could have more numbers," he said, undercutting Ivins' primary reason for advocating against that strategy.

Later, Ivins' responded during his presentation. "That is just not good financial planning," he said.

Finally, Kane also reminded the city council that thousands of Saratogians filled out a petition for the opportunity to vote on charter change.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Finance Commissioner Kenneth Ivins will debut the city’s 2012 comprehensive budget at the City Council meeting tonight. Ahead of that, Ivins released some of the preliminary details of the budget—including the proposed tax increase of .54 percent at a kind of Preview Presser (You read that term here first folks).
“It’s essentially one-half of 1 percent property tax increase and my goal is by the end of November we can get the number even lower,” Ivins said, explaining as the year comes to a close, more solid numbers for revenues in the city will come in. “The further you get into the year the better numbers you get for preparing a budget.”
He also distributed a sheet showing the dollar-amount tax increase for homes valued at $200,000, 300,000 and $400,000 (see below, and please excuse the foolish dashes, Blogger isn't cooperating with me).

Home Value===== 2011=====2011==== Increase
$200,000--------$1,212.80----$1,221.41----$8.61
$300,000--------$1,819.20----$1,832.12----$12.92
$400,000--------$2,425.60----$2,442.82----$17.22


Last year’s budget passed with a 4.45 percent tax increase, more than eight times the 20112 proposal.
Ivins attributed the change to better-than-expected sales tax revenues, Video Lottery Terminal funds coming into the city which had been absent for years and health insurance costs which increased, but not by as much as previous years.
One thing that is not driving up the cost was Ivins’ decision not to include the position of reservation coordinator in the budget—a position requested by Public Works Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco that created debate and a split vote at the Sept. 20 city council meeting. (the comments in the story are not so split)
"I voted for creating the position," Ivins said. "I've voted to create a number of positions over the years I don't necessarily fund. I felt this was not the right time to fund that position," though he did not rule it out in the future.
Michele Madigan was also on-hand for Ivins' brief press conference. She asked him about the sale of the Lillians' lot on Broadway to contractor Sonny Bonacio and whether the money would be in the budget again. (It was in both 2010 and 2011, though not used).
Ivins said it would be as part of the Woodlawn Avenue parking garage-- since the revenue from the sale is being used for that project.
Madigan, too, said she was pleased to see the "pretty low rate. But I think we could do 0 percent, but I wouldn't want to see that at the cost of any layoffs."
Check in on The Saratogian for full coverage of tonight's presentation on the budget and further in-depth coverage in the days to come (We can't do it all tonight -- damn deadlines).

I think Michele Madigan got the message that I will post most everything I receive from candidates on this blog, because I have been inundated with regular faxes with the letterhead: "Michele Madigan for Finance; The Clear Choice."
Her latest was a response to Ken Ivins' response to one of her first.
“Just because I voted to create the positions does not mean I voted to fund the positions,” Ivins said Thursday in response to criticism from Madigan.
Ivins recently voted to create a position of "Reservation coordinator" to handle reservations for city owned property. The position pays $20.39 an hour plus benefits. (Also check out Managing Editor Barbara Lombardo's editorial on the position)
“Mr. Scirocco made a good argument for creating the position,” he said. adding that he has been meeting with the commissioners this week, going over requests for each department and “crunching the numbers.”
Ivins said that was on the table as a potential cut.
Madigan's latest letter, dated Oct. 3, includes Ivins' first statement above. She said she wants to be finance commissioner "because the incumbent cannot seem to communicate clearly with his fellow citizens and, frankly, does not seem to understand our city's finances. His response to me is a prime example. He votes for staffing changes, but then says he didn't vote to pay for them."
Ivins explained to me that he created the position but didn't know if it was in the 2012 budget yet. "I'm in negotiations with Mr. Scirocco," he said, something he does before every comprehensive budget comes out.
He gets a "Wish List" (Accounts Commissioner John Franck's words) from every commissioner, meets with each department head and then decides which ones the city can afford to pay for.
The comprehensive budget is due out at the Oct. 4 City Council meeting.
"I expect Ivins to propose a small property tax increase and will be looking very closely at his revenue and expense projections for the coming year. Hopefully they will bear some resemblance to reality but based on his past performance I'm not holding my breath," Madigan said and called for a debate.
We'll see how her predictions pan out at tomorrow's meeting.

It's funny that after years in this business I still can't always predict what stories are going to get people all hot and bothered.

We have been getting calls on the Sound Off line, comments on the website (or Web site if you follow AP style) and I have received calls at my desk-- all about this smell down Excelsior Avenue.

Some might say, as, ZYXW did on the original SeeClickFix story about the issue: "Frankly, I'm surprised this is considered news."

I felt like Toucan Sam the other day when I wrote the follow up about the DEC investigating the smell, wandering the area, following my nose wherever it goes trying to determine the source of any smell. I caught a couple whiffs on the breeze but never could figure out where it was coming from.

But it certainly has people talking. Everyone has a theory. One man in my office said the woods there used to be called the "Ten Spring Woods" because springs run throughout it-- springs that can be sulfuric and nasty-smelling.

I got a call saying it was the amount of rain we got from Irene. It pushed the manhole covers up, spread sewage all around and receded.

"The whole area smelled like your basic septic tank," said Ray Nichols, a nearby resident. He said he witnessed the manhole covers on Excelsior and East avenues lift and water spew out, along with everything else you might expect in a sewer. "There was toilet paper around the area afterward. The next day you could see the stuff on the ground and you could smell it horribly."

One man I spoke to near the site said recent construction probably hit a sewer line.

Others have dismissed the smell altogether. "It's smelled for years," they say, and the only reason you hear about it more now is because of the Spring Run Trail cut through the woods that brings more people to the area-- more people to complain that is.

Everyone, though, smells the smell, it's just a matter of the source.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation spokesperson Dave Winchell said Water Quality crews took samples of water from "seepage" seeming to come out of the ground and run into the creek along the Spring Run Trail.

"The first thing we do when we have a possible pollution problem is to find out where the problem is coming from and stop it," Winchell said.

He said the discharge is being tested to determine whether it is sewage and the results will be returned within a few days.

When one is found, I'll be sure to let everyone know.

If anyone has any theories, feel free to let us know in the comments.

Monday, Saratoga Arts (Or the artists formerly known as the "Arts Council") Executive Director Joel Reed sent a mass e-mail that "went viral" according to the person who sent it to me Tuesday morning.
In it he accuses both parties of playing politics with 9/11 and the memorial.

"Democrats attacking a community arts project created by a rainbow coalition of artists, unions, small and large businesses, and individuals from all walks of life? Republicans minimizing the significance of the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001 and shunting aside a project that deeply resonates with veterans and first responders? And both throwing Saratoga Arts and the chance for community unity on 9/11 under the bus in the hope of picking up a few votes?"

I posted it at the bottom of the previous blog post, thinking of it as just another blip on the political radar. (Read the full e-mail at the bottom of the post here) Of course all of this is political -- it involves politicians, committees, city property and DECISIONS.

However, I have seen not personally seen and party or parties using it as political fodder, and Tuesday night the Democrats (who are singled out as specifically "exploiting those reasonable grounds for debate into a wedge issue and identifying this as the Mayor's project") reacted to Reed's e-mail.

"As Chair of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee I state categorically that neither the Committee nor the Executive Committee have even discussed the sculpture, its merit, its opportunity or its placement," stated Thilo Ullmann in a letter read Tuesday night by Jeff Partridge during public comment at City Council (see the full message below).

Partridge then added his own comments.

"I worked as a volunteer rescuer at that site. I dug through steel, rocks and garbage looking for survivors, or pieces of bodies which when found were placed in a five gallon bucket. I was among about 3,000 construction workers, cops, and firemen doing the same thing.
So I guess I can speak firsthand about this situation.
I can state categorically that no one within the Saratoga Springs Democratic Executive committee or the standing committee has ever raised an objection to honoring our brothers and sisters who were murdered at the World Trade Center.
You can rest assured that I would be the first one to reeducate anyone in our midst who tried to make political hay out of our national tragedy.
Mr. Reed, you've made a dreadful error and I demand an apology on behalf of all the resident of Saratoga Springs, Democrats and Republicans alike."

Next up in line for public comment was the man of the hour -- Joel Reed -- with his apology.

Later, Commissioner John Franck, the sole Democrat on the city council, also laid into Reed for his comments. "This is not politically driven," he said.

Executive Chair of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee's statement:
"Joel: I must take strong exception to your interpretation of individual (his italics) opinions as representing the Democratic Party of Saratoga Springs.
Surely all citizens of Saratoga Springs have a right to express personal opinions on any public exhibit and its placement. That so many have done so only points to insufficient outreach on your part.
As Chair of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee I state categorically that neither the Committee nor the Executive Committee have even discussed the sculpture, its merit, its opportunity or its placement.
We are not in a position to support it or oppose it.
We have not received any information beyond what each one of us has been able to glean from the public streams and media.
As I discussed with Carrie Woerner last week my PERSONAL concern is that all the necessary legal consultations have been completed and exhausted.
I do not know what the sculpture looks like, I have not searched any websites nor requisitioned any information on it or its artistic merit.
I only know it is very big.
The final decision on its citing does not rest with me or with the Democratic Committee, but squarely with the City Council.
Whatever they decide will no doubt give rise to controversy.
Remember the citing of the Carousel?
That you should decide to launch such a diatribe at this point seems to signal your surprise at the opposition that has arisen.
Any public manifestation meant to represent the feelings of all the citizens will logically bring out everybody's reaction, in favor or against.
You should have expected that, and given more time for discussion and more information to the public.

Cordially.
Thilo Ullmann, Chair "