Gideon Putnam Hotel renovation project underway by Delaware North, Post Star, 3/24/09

With all the fancy renovations going on to the Gideon Putnam Hotel we're sure their guests would enjoy swimming at the Victoria Pool on the many hot days in June as well as July and August.


SARATOGA SPRINGS - The New Deal has a fresh coat of paint.The first phase of a multi-million dollar renovation project in the Saratoga Spa State Park is nearing completion, with the Gideon Putnam Hotel getting ready to celebrate its 75th birthday with a number of improvements."Basically, the work will be done in four phases," said Tim Smith, general manager of the Gideon Putnam Hotel and Conference Center.The first phase of renovations includes improvements to the hotel lobby, guest rooms, the spa, the gift shop and the Georgian Room Restaurant -- which has been renamed "Putnam's" in honor of the 18th century Saratoga Springs town planner.
The first phase of improvements cost about $1 million and is part of a 20-year plan that will see nearly $20 million spent on refurbishing the 120-room hotel, conference center and Roosevelt Bath.Delaware North Companies was awarded a 20-year lease to operate the buildings on the state-owned 2,300-acre Saratoga Spa State Park in January 2008.
The park buildings were constructed in the 1930s and signified one of the first major projects completed under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.Roosevelt, who served four years as governor of New York prior to his 12 years in The White House, targeted the park as a location to create a European-style spa in America.The Roosevelt Spa received national notoriety in 2007 when New York Post reporter Fred Dicker reported the baths, which were thought to be drawn from pure mineral water, were actually being diluted with city tap water.Due to the corrosive nature of the mineral water, the heating units were unable to function properly, and it was revealed the bathhouse was using heated tap water to bring the mineral water up to bath temperatures.
After then-Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno called the dilution of the mineral water "a serious fraud," a $55,000 engineering study was performed, and two of the 42 baths are now served by a $98,000 customized heating system.Water for the remaining tubs is still warmed to 97 degrees with tap water, but Smith said there are discussions under way to try and provide more tubs with warm, pure mineral water."We haven't made any long-term decisions yet, but we are working with the state," Smith said. "My understanding is we're looking at two more (tubs) that I believe will be installed within the next couple of months," he said.
The next phase of improvements will begin in late 2009 or early 2010 and will focus on the Gideon Putnam Hotel infrastructure, including boiler systems and plumbing."Typically, with a historical hotel, you have to go back in and replace the inner workings of the property," Smith said.

SPAC Board meets and more on ceiling paint fiasco, Saratogian,3/21/09

SPAC board talks finance
Saturday, March 21, 2009 5:15 AM EDT
By PAUL POST, The Saratogian
SARATOGA SPRINGS —Saratoga Performing Arts Center investments have dropped 26 percent, but its financial picture remains strong considering the economy, officials said Friday.SPAC has not dipped into investments — totaling $3.1 million — for operations since deciding to pay its debts off three years ago.The center has an $885,000 operating surplus and current assets of $1.5 million versus liabilities of just under $500,000. SPAC posted a modest year-end surplus for the fourth straight year in 2008.“We will be the last man standing in many respects in the area arts community,” board chairman William Dake said. “We started being pretty hard-nosed on this issue six months ago.”Among other things, SPAC has instituted a salary and hiring freeze and is relying heavily on interns who possess electronic, technology and contemporary media skills. “To get an intern who knows more than you do is quite an asset,” Dake said.SPAC announced a new cross-promotional marketing effort with The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls and Saratoga ArtsFest. However, there was no discussion at Friday’s board meeting about negotiations with Live Nation, which books and promotes SPAC’s popular music events. Live Nation’s contract expires at the end of the 2009 summer season.Under the current pact, Live Nation pays SPAC $1 million per year plus a share of ticket revenue once attendance hits a certain threshold. SPAC President Marcia White has said it’s important to get as close to those terms as possible in the next contract.Citing different reports, Dake said the economy has taken its toll on arts groups nationwide. Donations have dropped off significantly and 10 percent of the 10,000 arts organizations in America might go out of business this year, he said.“It’s not just affecting the arts,” board member Heather Mabee said. She said attendance is off significantly at this month’s basketball tournaments around the country.Marketing Committee Chairman Ed Lewi said NASCAR has been hit hard, too, and is lowering ticket prices to bring crowds back. Among this year’s promotions, SPAC will again have an American Girl Night and Girls Night out along with Date Nights and Family Nights every Thursday and Friday, respectively.The main new initiative is a partnership with The Hyde that is planning an upcoming summer exhibit, “Degas & Music,” based on the work of French Impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917).“Instead of being at cross purposes, we’re cross-promoting,” said David Setford, The Hyde’s executive director. “This is certainly the way for the future. Instead of being isolated in our attempt to reach audiences, we’re joining forces.“Music rather than painting was the underpinning of Degas’ artistic life.”The cross between those art forms will be emphasized in several scheduled events. They are:- Friday, Aug. 7 — Young chamber musicians will play at The Hyde, including featured pianist Jean-Frederic Neuberger of Paris. This fundraiser will have pre- and post-performance receptions.- Monday, Aug. 10 — A full-length chamber music program at Spa Little Theater also featuring Neuberger.- Saturday, Aug. 15 — A special Philadelphia Orchestra performance called “An Evening with Degas.” The concert will be accompanied by images of Degas’ works on SPAC’s large cinema screens.Chief Operating Officer Richard Geary said memberships are currently down 10 to 12 percent versus 2008. But 2009 season programs are just being mailed out. Typically, this boosts memberships when people get to see the program first-hand.SPAC’s annual meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 13 at Saratoga Spa State Park’s Hall of Springs.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPAC Paint-job repairs to beat season opening
Saturday, March 21, 2009 5:15 AM EDT
By PAUL POST, The Saratogian
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A peeling paint problem is only cosmetic and will be resolved before Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s season begins, officials said Friday.The amphitheater’s ceiling was painted three years ago as part of a major interior renovation that included the installation of 5,200 new padded seats.Working within budget constraints, crews scraped off and painted over old paint rather than sand-blasting the entire ceiling down to its plaster surface. Now, sections of old paint have started to peel.“You have so much to spend,” SPAC Facilities Committee Chairman John Nigro said. “Instead of sandblasting, which was probably costlier, they sanded. It’ll be repaired.“It’s purely cosmetic.”The amphitheater, which SPAC leases, is owned by the state that maintains and pays for its upkeep. But the state is facing a more than $14 billion budget deficit. For the time being, at least, the ceiling will be touched up with new paint instead of removing all the old layers.The amphitheater was originally targeted for a three-phase renovation — heating and mechanical, followed by interior work and finally the exterior. The first and second phases totaling roughly $4 million have already been done.Last year, a new façade was supposed to be built along with redesigned lighting, exterior balcony ramps and rest room improvements. Those projects, however, have been put on hold because state funding simply isn’t available.SPAC has asked state parks officials if rest rooms, at least, could be upgraded for the current season.“We haven’t heard back,” Nigro said.He said the parks system has assured him that SPAC’s exterior renovations will be done once money becomes available, but not this year.

oh, my, SPAC needs a paint job already?

SPAC’s 2006 coat of paint already peeling
Friday, March 20, 2009
By Tatiana Zarnowski (Contact)
Gazette Reporter



Photographer: Marc Schultz

Paint work done in 2006 has begun to peel at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.Text Size: A A A
SARATOGA SPRINGS — It was just three years ago that the interior of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center was repainted as part of a $1.6 million upgrade.

But visit the empty amphitheater now and you’ll notice big chunks of peeling cream-colored paint hanging from the underside of the balcony.

The state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is working with the Mechanicville painter that did the 2006 project to spruce it up for this season.

Paint applied before W.W. Patenaude and Sons arrived on the scene in 2006 is the culprit, said Alane Ball Chinian, regional parks director.

“It’s not his paint that’s failing. It’s the previous paint,” Chinian said.

The area will have to be scraped and retouched each year unless the state gets enough money to sandblast the whole ceiling and start over, said Andrew Patenaude, one of the owners of the painting company.

“They would have to fully remove that paint, and probably by the time they fully removed it, the plaster would be disturbed,” Patenaude said.

As part of the $270,000 painting contract in 2006, the state asked Patenaude and Sons to scrape off loose paint and paint over the old paint rather than sandblast the plaster ceiling above the floor seats.

Patenaude said his paint stuck to the plaster where the old paint was scraped off.

The state office, which is responsible for facility upkeep for nonprofit tenant SPAC, can’t afford to get the area sandblasted and repainted now.

With its budget next year a big question mark, the parks office will spend its money on more important projects, such as a fire alarm system at the Hall of Springs and replacing portions of the Lincoln Baths roof, Chinian said.

“We have situations where something is presenting a health hazard or truly a dangerous situation,” she said.

That means that other work that was slated to happen at SPAC this year is still on hold as well, Chinian said.

A $2.5 million renovation planned for last fall and this year would have updated the look of the exterior and added new lighting, a new sound system and new bathrooms.

“No contracts are being advanced right now,” Chinian said.


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SPAC executive salary is questioned, Daily Gazette, 3/18/09

SPAC exec's salary leads pack for arts
Ballet supporters unhappy with season
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By Wendy Liberatore (Contact)
Gazette Reporter



Text Size: A | A | A
SARATOGA SPRINGS — When it comes to compensation for directors of performing arts venues, Marcia White’s salary at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center is well ahead of the pack.




White’s salary is coming under criticism following the winter decision to trim the ballet season to two weeks, though she has the vocal support of the SPAC chairman.

White, who replaced Herb Chesbrough as SPAC’s president and executive director in March 2005, received a salary of $205,170 in her first year and $244,865 in 2006. More recent figures are not yet available, SPAC salaries have been frozen since the end of last summer.




By comparison, executive directors of other area arts venues have not topped the $200,000 mark. For example, Philip Morris, who runs the year-round Proctors in Schenectady, was paid $140,000 in 2007. At The Egg in Albany, another year-round venue, Executive Director Peter Lesser is paid $94,000 annually.




Patricia DiBenedetto Snyder, the founder and producing director of the New York State Theatre Institute in Troy, is paid $125,792 annually. And Ella Baff, the executive director of Jacob’s Pillow, a 10-week summer dance venue in Becket, Mass., was paid $159,713 in 2006. All of these directors have had many years, often several decades, of experience working in arts management. The salary levels are reported on federal tax filings for nonprofit organizations.




White, a former nurse and then spokeswoman for retired state senator and majority leader Joseph Bruno, had never worked in the arts before being tapped to head SPAC.




“We are an $8 million business,” said William Dake, chairman of the SPAC board of directors. “We interface with national organizations and it’s complicated. We have to deal with five different groups who we have to beat to death to get them to focus on the programming. And she started in a complex time. We didn’t have a lot of staff. She works her tail off.”




Dake also mentioned that SPAC has a $10 million contract with Live Nation, the group that books and manages the pop music concerts.




However, other area arts groups have large budgets as well. Proctors stands at $14.8 million; the New York State Theatre Institute’s budget is $3.6 million a year while The Egg works on a $2.1 million annual budget.




Louise Goldstein, a former member of the Save the Ballet committee, which worked to keep the New York City Ballet dancing at SPAC, said she felt White’s salary was “totally shocking and an outrage.” That organization disbanded after White was appointed.




“We fought so hard to keep the ballet, and now we have a high-paid executive, who had no experience in the arts, making this kind of money. I think SPAC should cut her salary in half and use the money to hire someone with an arts background.”




In hiring White, then-board chairman Dr. Stephen Serlin said the board was impressed with her marketing and fundraising potential. In her first year at SPAC, the then-financially ailing venue ended the year with a small surplus. It has operated without a deficit since.




“Fifty percent of the job is fundraising and Marcia has done incredibly well with fundraising,” said Dake.




However, SPAC has been struggling with attendance, particularly at the ballet, which has continued to decline since White began. And this summer, the ballet, the amphitheater’s flagship company, has reduced its stay from three weeks to two.




“Marcia did a good job getting SPAC in the black,” said John DeMarco, owner of Lyrical Ballad bookstore and a member of SPAC. “But there hasn’t been growth in promoting the ballet, getting a capital campaign going and attendance. We are going backwards. It doesn’t bode well for the arts.”




Goldstein agreed, lamenting, “We have a week less of the ballet.”




Chesbrough resigned in 2005 in the wake of a controversy swirling around New York City Ballet. He announced he made plans to cancel the ballet, saying it was too expensive. That led to a state audit, which criticized Chesbrough’s $317,301 salary. When White has hired, the SPAC board reported that her salary would range from $150,000 to $175,000. Dake said SPAC settled on $205,170 instead after “doing an extensive survey” on what others are paid.

City Center expansion looks like good news? What do you think of the design? check saratogian.com

City Center expansion unveiled

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 5:15 AM EDT

By MAREESA NICOSIA, The Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Officials are hailing it as a “new vision” and the “economic engine” of downtown.

The City Center expansion project that has been in the planning stage for a decade and marks the center’s 25th year of operation was unveiled Monday evening at a presentation by Authority Chairman Michael J. Toohey and City Center President Mark E. Baker, along with Mayor Scott Johnson.

From the glass-paneled front to the “grand” staircase down to the color of the new carpeting, Baker and Toohey said the 22,000-square-foot expansion project will heighten the city’s ability to compete in the tourism industry and boost business by 40 percent over the next three years — all at no cost to taxpayers, since the $16 million project is primarily funded by New York state.

According to Johnson, $12 million from a state appropriation was secured in the last two years, and the remaining $4 million was provided by the hotel tax charged to overnight visitors to the city.

Toohey said the project was important because more conventions equal more visitors to the city, which means increased revenue and a stronger economy.

“The community must recognize that we are at the start of a new century,” Toohey said, adding that the City Center’s new design will reflect the times with a modern, iconic look while “melding with the current and future masonry construction” of the building, which is located at 522 Broadway, and borders Ellsworth Jones Place to the south and Maple Avenue to the east.

The major change to the structure will be the enclosure of the current atrium that faces Broadway, which will add 22,000 square feet to the already existing 52,000-square-foot space. The expansion will allow for a first floor with a 5,000-square-foot meeting room, an expanded lobby, a large, side-by-side staircase and escalator, handicap-accessible restrooms and entrances and new carpeting. The second floor will house about 6,200 square feet of meeting space in two “breakout” activity rooms and back entries for catering services, among other amenities. The entire facility will comply with standards set by the Americans With Disabilities Act, otherwise known as ADA mandate compliance.

Toohey and Baker said the project would help the City Center expand its reach into the community and beyond by allowing multiple events to go on simultaneously because of the increased meeting room space. The new center could handle 172 events a year and welcome more than 25,000 visitors. Since each overnight guest spends an average of $885 during a two- to three-day stay, the city could see a substantial increase in revenue.

Retailers, restaurateurs and hotel owners expect to benefit from the increased flow of customers as a result of the center’s expansion. Marianne Barker of Impressions of Saratoga said the project would affect her business tremendously.

“We see the impact on a daily basis,” Barker said, referring to her customers’ response to plans for expansion.

Groundbreaking is expected in late spring and construction will last 14 months, officials said, stressing the City Center will remain open and continue to host conventions and conferences.

Baker said every effort will be made to lessen the impact of construction noise and disruption on neighboring businesses and residents, with extra sensitivity taken during racing season.

He added that parking was not part of the $16 million budgeted for the expansion, but said the City Center Authority was in discussions with the City Council to find a solution to the need for parking when some spaces are eliminated by the building’s expansion.

Baker said contractor bids for the project would most likely be made next month.

Ci

Scary times for racing

Delaware North pulls out of VLT deal

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 5:16 AM EDT

By PAUL POST, The Saratogian


Racing put in jeopardy

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The firm slated to build a racino at Aqueduct Racetrack has withdrawn its offer, possibly jeopardizing the future of thoroughbred racing in New York state.

Gov. David Paterson tabbed Buffalo-based Delaware North Companies on Oct. 10, 2008, to operate 4,500 video lottery terminals at Aqueduct, generating an estimated $450 million per year. But the state and Delaware North never reached a final agreement on the deal.

Now the firm says it can’t secure the financing needed for such an undertaking, a result of the nation’s deepening economic crisis. The move also means that the cash-strapped state won’t get the $370 million Delaware North pledged for the gaming contract.

More importantly, however, without gaming revenues, New York Racing Association won’t have the funds it needs to run Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.

"NYRA can’t exist without VLTs," said Edward Bogdan, a lobbyist for Saratoga Springs-based New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. "They’re going to have to come back to the state (for more money)."

But with a projected $14 billion deficit, the state doesn’t have anything left to give.

NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward was tied up with meetings in New York City on Tuesday and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last September, when awarding NYRA a new 25-year contract, the state gave NYRA

$30 million to keep operating until VLTs come on line. Hayward has said that should tide his firm over until the second half of 2010. Recently, he warned about the possibility of falling short of funds if VLT money doesn’t become available.

Now that scenario appears to be playing itself out.

Delaware North President William Bissett says the state plans to rebid the whole project. But that would take months and some bidders, soured by the state’s poor handling of the last selection process, might not want to get involved at all.

There’s a growing belief that major gaming corporations, wearied by the state’s political quandary, are focusing their efforts elsewhere and want nothing more to do with New York.

In addition to the financial crisis, Delaware North was unhappy by Paterson’s recent call for VLTs at Belmont Park, too, a short distance from Aqueduct. The firm said it wouldn’t pay the $370 million pledged to the state unless it was given a greater share of Aqueduct VLT revenues, because of competition from Belmont.

Now, it would be almost impossible to expect racino construction at either track to begin this year — if ever.

Paterson’s office offered no immediate comment, but the development is sure to cause him major political damage with the state already in disastrous fiscal shape. In addition to gaming revenues, Aqueduct was expected to create hundreds of jobs for communities surrounding the track, and without Delaware North’s $370 payment the already-troubled budget faces another gaping hole.

Bogdan’s firm has been lobbying on behalf of breeders for 15 years and for VLTs specifically since 1999. The state approved legislation allowing for VLTs at New York racetracks in 2001. Saratoga Gaming & Raceway was the first track to get gaming in 2004. Six other harness tracks and one thoroughbred track — Finger Lakes near Rochester — have VLTs now, too.

But not Aqueduct.

Delaware North’s partners in the venture included Saratoga Harness Racing Inc., which owns Saratoga Gaming & Raceway. Delaware North operates the raceway’s VLTs and manages Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs.

This must be why all these trees have been cut down next to the Gideon?

Renovation of Gideon Putnam Resort and Roosevelt Baths & Spa Begins
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Delaware North Companies Making $1.8 Million in Updates
and Improvements to Historic Saratoga Springs Inn and Spa
Renovation of Gideon Putnam Resort and Roosevelt Baths & Spa Begins
Buffalo, NY – March 2009 – Delaware North Companies has begun a $1.8 million renovation of the historic Gideon Putnam Resort, including the Roosevelt Baths & Spa, at Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs.
The renovations are part of a planned 20-year, $18 million investment program that will include improvements to the hotel’s guest accommodations, lobby, corridors and dining room, as well as the storied mineral baths and spa.

Delaware North Companies’ parks and resorts subsidiary manages the property on behalf of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

“The hotel was constructed in the 1930s and is now included as a member of the Historic Hotels of America by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The historic significance and the importance of creating the ultimate guest experience were both carefully considered in the renovation plan,” said Tim Smith, general manager of Gideon Putnam Resort.

Delaware North has partnered on the project with Buffalo-based architectural firm Hamilton Houston Lownie Architects (HHL), interior designers Roche & Co. and M/E Engineers. The first phase of renovations and improvements to Gideon Putnam (www.GideonPutnam.com) is expected to be completed by mid-April.

“All renovation stages will be completed with minimal disruption to guests and visitors at the resort,” Smith said.

The lobby will be enhanced with the restoration of marble floors, the addition of sophisticated color themes, new custom period rugs and plush, comfortable furniture. The gift shop will be moved back to its original location in the lobby, and south-facing glass French doors will be restored.

“The concept behind the lobby renovation is to make this active space welcoming and comfortable so guests can gather to relax and chat or simply utilize it as a meeting space for large groups,” said Matthew Meier, the partner at HHL Architects in charge of the project.

In addition, to highlight the importance of the performing arts, mineral springs, historic park and other treasures that tell the Gideon Putnam and Saratoga Springs story, a series of carved panels will be installed in a prominent location seen from the lobby.
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In addition to structural changes, guests will be greeted with luxurious new bed linens and blankets in all 120 rooms, Smith said. The historic Georgian Dining room will also be upgraded with the addition of a new walnut bar, creating a more relaxed “lobby bar” setting for diners.
As part of the project, the Roosevelt Baths & Spa at Gideon Putnam will be refreshed and renovated to provide a modern spa experience for guests while also staying true to its storied past as protector of the historic mineral springs located there.

The spa’s entrance will be refreshed with the addition of large plants, bright colors and natural lighting to create a calm, greenhouse-like space. A transition “relaxation” room will be added as a place for guests to wait for treatments, relax following a treatment, or wait for other guests throughout the day. Meier said the feel for the transition room will be supplied by a fireplace, lounge chairs and central waterfall.

“All of this is grown directly out of the healing and rejuvenating powers of the water that have so long been the central focus at the Roosevelt Baths,” said Meier. “The waterfall will bring the expression of water and fluidity to the room to enhance the guest experience.”

Delaware North’s long-term commitment will include multiple building repair and system upgrade phases, including new and restored windows, that will be historically appropriate and eco-friendly, Smith said.

About Delaware North Companies
Delaware North Companies is one of the world’s leading hospitality and food service providers. Its family of companies includes Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment, Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services, Delaware North Companies Sportservice, Delaware North Companies International and Delaware North Companies Boston, owner of TD Banknorth Garden. Delaware North Companies is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States with revenues exceeding $2 billion annually and 50,000 associates serving half a billion customers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. For more information, visit www.DelawareNorth.com.

About Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts
Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts is a subsidiary of Delaware North Companies, a leading hospitality provider with significant experience in hotel, retail, food service, recreation and transportation operations. The company’s portfolio includes historic properties in North America, such as Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex; Yosemite, Sequoia, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon national parks; Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds; Tenaya Lodge; Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa; Niagara Falls State Park; Jones Beach; The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake; The Balsams Grand Resort; and The Gideon Putnam Resort. To learn more about Delaware North Companies’ expertise in the hospitality industry, visit www.ExperienceDNC.com.

About HHL Architects
Hamilton Houston Lownie Architects, LLC (HHL), originally established in 1969, is a professional services limited liability company for the practice of architecture. Ted Lownie, Matt Meier, Ken Riter, Jerry Strickland and Chris Guerra continue to lead HHL Architects using the basic principles established 40 years ago of striving to create quality architecture and a better built environment. Delaware North Companies has partnered with HHL Architects on many projects, including the construction of its corporate world headquarters in Buffalo, N.Y. Top of the Falls restaurant in Niagara Falls, NY, multiple food and beverage venues at Buffalo’s HSBC Arena, as well as several design concepts for concessions and restaurants in all areas of Delaware North’s operations. HHL Architects is also known for its nearly two-decade-long restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin Martin House Complex in Buffalo, NY, the design of the Erie Community College Burt P. Flickinger Athletic Center, and restoration and renovation of the Saarinen-designed Kleinhan’s Music Hall in Buffalo.

Contact:
Kerry Hassen
Corporate Communications
Delaware North Companies
716-858-5016

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Hospitality Newsmaker Alert™
Placement Dates: 03/10/09 – 05/10/09
Press-News Index

"Money goes down drain", Post Star 3/3/09

Devices to heat mineral baths go cold, as expected
By DREW KERR
dkerr@poststar.com
Updated: Tuesday, March 3, 2009 10:31 AM EST

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SARATOGA SPRINGS - We had to do something.

That, in essence, is the sentiment from state officials who installed a pair of conventional water heaters at the Roosevelt Bathhouse in an effort to provide visitors with warm soaks in pure mineral water last summer -- an endeavor they say was undertaken even though they knew the heaters would fail.

The facility was prompted by the state to come up with a way to provide heated, pure mineral water baths after it was publicly revealed in 2007 that the bathhouse was using heated tap water to warm the icy, effervescent fluid that emerges from the springs at Saratoga Spa State Park.

After the tap water issue came to light, then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, then-state Sen. Joseph Bruno and current Attorney General Andrew Cuomo accused spa staff of failing to disclose the practice, which had persisted for nearly two decades following a boiler break at the facility.


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Under scrutiny to remedy the situation quickly, parks staff announced last June that two of the roughly 40 tubs at the historic bathhouse had been retrofitted with water heaters that could bring the 52 degree mineral water to a more comfortable temperature in two of the baths.

But rushed to complete the work, crews installed a pair of off-the-shelf, domestic water heaters they knew would not withstand the corrosive effects of the minerals flowing through them for long.

The heaters failed shortly after the end of the 2008 tourist season and have not been replaced since, said Alane Ball Chinian, the regional director for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

"It was a quick and dirty job and, with normal water heaters, we knew they would fail because of the corrosive nature of the mineral water," she said.

The two heaters cost the state a total of $5,974, she said.

For Louise Goldstein, a persistent critic of the park's management, any money that was put into the fruitless effort is disappointing, given the financial crunch the parks department is facing.

"To spend that money for nothing is just astounding," she said.

A second pair of baths was retrofitted with heating units soon after the first units were installed -- these with a customized system designed to keep the water in perpetual motion to prevent the minerals from eating into the pipes.

That system cost nearly $98,000 and remains functional.

But there are no plans to install such a system on other tubs because, staff members say, the consumer demand simply isn't there.

"There hasn't been a single time when we have had to turn someone away," Michelle Calzada, the spa's manager, said of the two heated pure mineral water tubs.

There are nearly 40 baths at the famed spa, which opened at the state park in 1935.

Water for the remaining tubs is warmed to 97 degrees with tap water, a fact that is now denoted prominently in the spa's advertising.

Sessions cost $25 for 40 minutes -- pure or mixed -- and are described as "the cornerstone of our luxury spa experience."

The bathhouse is now operated by Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts Inc., which began leasing the facility in 2008.

The company is putting $450,000 of its own money into updates, including new furniture, a refurbished lobby and a new "relaxation room."










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"ave of pines" little trees anyone?

Publication:Schenectady Daily Gazette; Date:Mar 2, 2009; Section:Local News; Page:7


SARATOGA SPRINGS

Museum celebrates history of car scents

Company develops ‘Avenue of Pines’ product for show

BY LEE COLEMAN Gazette Reporter



You won’t have to travel to Saratoga Springs to get a whiff of the Avenue of the Pines anymore.

The company that has manufactured the bright green Little Trees car fresheners that have dangled from cars’ rearview mirrors since the early 1950s is about to create a new scent for your car called “Avenue of the Pines.”

The Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Spa State Park will open a special exhibit this spring focusing on the Car-Freshner Corp. in Watertown that has produced the familiar Little Trees car air fresheners.

The “Avenue of the Pines” freshener tree is being created specially for the exhibit, which will run from May 16 through November, said Dawn Cole, marketing manager for Car-Freshner Corp.

“It will only be available at the museum,” Cole said.

Cole said when people tour the exhibit at the museum, which is located on the historic Avenue of the Pines, they will be able to purchase at a nominal charge an Avenue of the Pines freshener to put in their cars. The scent of the new freshener is still being developed, Cole said. She said the cost of the souvenir is also still in the discussion stage.

“We are excited to be working with the museum,” Cole said. She said the new exhibit will “walk the visitor through the history of the Little Tree.”

Car-Freshner Corp. employs 600 people at its plants in Watertown, Dewitt, Iowa, and Berlin, N.H.

Cole said business at Car-Freshner continues to be strong despite the current economic crisis.

She said some people may hold off on buying a new car, but they can get that new-car smell by buying a Little Trees “New Car” scent freshener.

“The Saratoga Automobile Museum is thrilled with this opportunity to celebrate ‘Little Trees,’ an automotive icon manufactured in New York state,” said Alan Edstrom, the museum’s director of programs and events.

“Car models may come and go, but over 50 years ‘Little Trees’ have held a rock-steady place in pop culture, becoming part of the automotive industry,” Edstrom said in a statement.

Edstrom said he understood the Avenue of the Pines fragrance would be similar to the company's first product, which was called “Royal Pine.”

Cole said the Little Trees freshener was created by Julius Samann, a chemist who had experimented with extracting essential oils from pine trees in Canada.

A milk-truck driver in Watertown had complained to the local chemist about the smell of spilled, sour milk in his truck, she said.

Samann found that putting highquality fragrance on porous card stock was very effective in creating a vehicle air freshener, according to the company’s Web site: www. little-trees.com.

Samann also sketched the shape of the freshener and injected it with the Royal Pine scent.

Car-Freshner Corp. currently has more than 50 fragrances and sells its products around the world. The company also produces scented household products and has its own line of clothing with the Little Trees symbol on many of the items.

“It’s amazing to realize that ‘Little Trees’ have made such an impact on pop culture, having been featured in numerous movies, television programs and magazines,” Cole said.

For more information about the Saratoga Automobile Museum go to www.saratogaautomuseum.org.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY CAR-FRESHNER CORP. A car air freshener called “Avenue of the Pines” will be developed for a Saratoga Automobile Museum exhibit.

Modern Dance at SPAC amphitheater instead of New York City Ballet is Not a good idea.

Fans react to SPAC’s modern dance

Thursday, February 26, 2009 5:17 AM EST

By PAUL POST, The Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Modern dance is a welcome addition, but Saratoga Performing Arts Center should find other ways to strengthen its summer program, too, dance enthusiasts said Wednesday.

SPAC will host Mark Morris Dance Group on July 20 and 21 and Paul Taylor Dance Company on June 11 to fill the void from New York City Ballet’s shortened season, down from three weeks to two.

"These are two very important dance companies," said Denise Warner Limoli, a Skidmore College associate professor of dance. "It’s good to know SPAC is branching out. If you’re going to bring it, it’s good to draw from the top of the list."

The Morris group will have three performances, two evenings and one matinee, after city ballet’s two-week residency concludes. But it’s only two days.

"That’s awkward," Warner Limoli said. "It’s important that the public knows SPAC is committed to dance. I’d love to see them fill the schedule. Two-and-a-half weeks is less than three."

She said SPAC should try to get another ballet company to supplement New York City Ballet, even if it’s for a limited engagement or with a smaller number of dancers. She previously danced with American Ballet Theater, also based in New York.

"It would be spectacular," she said. "They’ve got some of the best dancers in the world. A small group of them is nothing to sneeze at."

Morris and Taylor have both visited Skidmore before and have performed at the Spa Little Theater. This will be their first time at SPAC’s amphitheater.

"It’s marvelous to have the opportunity to present modern dance on the main stage," said Mary DiSanto-Rose, Skidmore’s dance department chair. "I like the diversity. I hope they (SPAC) offer even more."

She expressed concern, however, that the 5,000-seat amphitheater might be overwhelming, because a crowd of 1,000 is considered good for a typical modern dance performance.

DiSanto-Rose said she doesn’t think two ballet companies, city ballet plus another, would pose a conflict at all. With proper planning, fans could spend several days in Saratoga Springs, watching one company perform and then the other.

"I don’t think one would take away from the other," she said. "It makes a nice package."

City ballet and SPAC reached a mutual agreement for a shortened 2009 season. SPAC typically lost about $1 million per year during the ballet’s three-week season. Likewise, the ballet is facing a $5.5 million deficit this season and announced recently that 11 dancers’ contracts won’t be renewed next year.

Avid ballet fan Louise Goldstein of Saratoga Springs said she’s disappointed about the reduced number of performances overall.

"Instead of another week of dance, it’s going to be two nights and one matinee," she said. "What’s going to happen on those other nights in July? It’s a loss for SPAC in a year when we should be trying to attract all the tourists we can. I have nothing against modern dance. I think they should be in the Little Theater. I hope the house sells out, but I would be shocked."

Spa City resident John DeMarco said, "I would prefer to have a three-week ballet season, but I understand the circumstances in this economy."

SPAC needs to grow beyond regional marketing and try to sell itself internationally, such as the famed Spoleto Music Festival in Italy, he said, perhaps partnering with other venues such as Tanglewood.

"You’ve got to advertise in Europe," he said. "It would be expensive. But then people would come from all over. That would draw the numbers."

Roosevelt Baths debacle to continue

We understand that only one or two out of four of the baths at Roosevelt Baths with redone pipes is often operational even though a great deal of money has been spent on this already. More information on this latest mess will be posted soon.

$300,000 of your tax dollars going down the drain at the Roosevelt Baths.

Rumor has it $300,000 of our money has been poured down the drain into the tubs at the Roosevelt Baths and they are not all being used. Seems to us letting children use the water slide and zero depth pool at the Peerless Pool and the beach at Moreau 7 days a week should be a higher priority. Not raising the fee to swim at Victoria Pool from $6 to $8 should also be a better way to spend our money.

Saratoga State Park cutting back on beach at Moreau and Peerless Pool but has money to cut down more wonderful trees and hire a Park naturalist?

Saturday, February 14, 2009 5:16 AM EST
By PAUL POST, The Saratogian

MOREAU —Local moms are concerned about possible cutbacks at Moreau Lake State Park’s swimming beach this summer.

Parks officials are considering a proposal to keep the beach closed Thursdays and Fridays to save money in the midst of a state fiscal crisis.

The move would reduce the amount of funding needed for lifeguards.

“The agency is re-evaluating our schedule in light of these difficult economic times we’re in,” said assistant director for the Saratoga-Capital Region Robert Kuhn. “Everything is under consideration.

“No decisions have been made.”

But a fact sheet distributed by the state sounds more definite.

Amy Cantor, owner of Omelette King Catering in Saratoga Springs, learned about the possible beach cutbacks when responding to an advertisement seeking bids for park concessions.

She was sent a packet of information.

“Prospective bidders are advised that current operations for 2009 include a reduced schedule for the swimming beach at Moreau Lake,” the state said. “The beach is expected to be closed on Thursdays and Fridays throughout the summer.”

The state is facing a possible $1 billion deficit this year and Gov. David Paterson has called on all state agencies to make reductions wherever possible. Cantor said the possibility of reduced Moreau Lake scheduling is an unwelcome development.

“It’s terrible news just from a personal standpoint,” she said. “I take my son there all the time. There’s the pool at Spa State Park, but there’s no place as fun and so close as Moreau Lake. It’s the only place to go.

“The court of public opinion should weigh pretty heavily here.”

Cantor said she has several friends with young children who frequent the park regularly.

The Saratoga-Capital Region consists of 10 state parks and 10 historic sites. In December, parks officials reported that shorter seasons, reduced hours and staff cuts were among possible cost-saving measures.

In addition, state parks gets most of its revenue from golf, camping and vehicle use fees, which might all be going up.

Regional Director Alane Ball Chinian has already said that parks will do less lawn mowing in 2009 to save on fuel, labor and equipment maintenance costs.

Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of saratogian.com.

Teresa wrote on Feb 14, 2009 6:25 AM:

" I bring my children there a lot over the summer and go camping there each summer. What do they plan on doing for the individuals camping there that look forward to walking to the beach each day? This is a real bad idea. I think they ought to cut staff and pay rates not take away from the people. "


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anna wrote on Feb 14, 2009 7:19 AM:

" Closing the Moreau beach two days a week seems really mean..as where else are we to go? Does that mean seniors can use the park free on weekends. This is really the only summer pleasure I know...Please do not limit. "


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mallory wrote on Feb 14, 2009 7:32 AM:

" seems to be alot of the beach goers at Moreau do NOT seem to be wealthy. This beach is most important to local families. Cut back in area where people can afford alternative recreatiion.
We NEED this beach all summer..every day. "


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modest income person wrote on Feb 14, 2009 7:36 AM:

" consider closing cement pools but keep the natural beach open every day. "


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ANN GREGG wrote on Feb 14, 2009 7:40 AM:

" There is not many places where a family can go anymore that doesn't cost a lot of money. A lot of towns don't have public pools and some families just can't afford to have a pool in their yard so where else do they go but to the beach. Closing on a thursday / friday is crazy. When do families go camping. End of the week, right? So this means on long weekends. So if a family goes camping on a thursday in the summer they can't go swimming till saturday. What kind of a impact will this have on the campgrounds or the picinic grounds that the people come in to use. This could result in tragedies of maybe sneaking into the lake swimming without lifeguards or will it be posted on thursdays and fridays as a swim at own risk. At least this way a parent could be responsible for their children. "


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carole ann wrote on Feb 14, 2009 8:13 AM:

" how much pay do lifeguards earn? perhaps that could be posted and maybe some of our local busineses would be willing to chip in for the pay "

Saratoga Spa State Park officials show contempt to the tax-paying dog lovers who pay for the 2500 acres of the Park.

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Butterflies may oust canines from select state park space
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A sign in the dog park indicates the presence of Karner Blue Butterflies. (RICK GARGIULO/The Saratogian)

Friday, February 13, 2009 11:33 AM EST
By ANDREW J. BERNSTEIN, The Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A proactive approach to resource management in Spa State Park will help create a better habitat for Karner Blue Butterflies, but it might come at some cost to dog owners.

In an effort to better manage natural resources in the park, there will be changes to the landscaping in a parcel on the corner of South Broadway and Crescent Ave, said Alane Ball-Chinian, regional director with the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation .

“Commissioner Ash planned a new emphasis on management of resources that are under the stewardship of the Park’s Department,” she said. “She helped get us some staff, so we now have a natural resources person on staff.”

Following the recommendations of the park’s new staff member, the park will make changes along the parcel’s eastern edge, which is out of view from South Broadway.

New landscaping will involve removing some trees and existing topsoil to provide a better growing environment for Wild Blue Lupin, a butterfly-friendly plant. The topsoil will be used to create berms.

“We’re going to reorient the trail system, so that people can walk through there, but there will be a better delineation between where people can walk and the habitat,” she said. “It’ll almost be like a viewing area.”

The parcel in question is currently the site of a popular dog park, where canines are allowed to wander off-leash.

Chinian said the future of the dog park is being contemplated under the park’s master plan, which will be available for public review and comment some time later this spring.

“Changes in that area have nothing to do with development of the master plan. This is driven by our desire to take care of an endangered species,” she said.

While she declined to discuss any specifics in the master plan, she did say that an area for dogs to walk off-leash would be included.

This should allay the concerns of some dog park users, who worry that there are few places where dogs are allowed to be off-leash.

“We all feel that why can’t we come to the middle of the road here. This area, half of it could be strictly just for butterflies. The dogs that go there and their owners are very responsible, the dogs get along well and are happy to be off leashes,” said Sue Sporko, who visits the park regularly with her two dogs, a golden retriever and an American Eskimo.

“It’s a nice interaction to be able to walk through a part of the woods a little bit. It makes them happier pets and when you socialize them like that, they behave better and don’t bite,” Sporko said.

Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Finance Kenneth Ivins Jr., who also regularly visits the park with his dog and who held a meeting in the spring to discuss the proposed plans for the park, said he hadn’t yet been made privy to any firm plans for the park, other than that some portion would be retained for the butterflies.

“At least it’s a compromise, instead of kicking us out. At least we have an area for dogs,” he said.

Poll question: What do you think of the proposed plans to remake the landscape in Spa State Park to be more habitable to Blue Karner butterflies? To answer, go to www.saratogian.com/news and look for the poll in the left column.

Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of saratogian.com.

Suzanne wrote on Feb 13, 2009 8:50 AM:

" I have owned dogs my entire life and not one has eaten or even disturbed a butterfly! Come on - I think the city of Saratoga is ust going too far if they eliminate dogs from the park because of some insect (yes, a buttlefly is still an insect). What is next - elimination of cats if they find a spotted owl? Good luck with that! "


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Dog Lover wrote on Feb 13, 2009 9:31 AM:

" I really hope the new area for dogs includes a fence. Otherwise don't even bother. "


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Matt wrote on Feb 13, 2009 10:21 AM:

" I support the proactivity of the State Park. I am proud to live in an area that tries hard to balance development, open space and, in this case, endangered species protection.

And in response to Suzanne, the city has nothing to do with this decision. This is state park land, paid for by you an I and given the mandate to protect land, and provide recreation opportunities - not so much to build free dog parks. "


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Xtraspatial wrote on Feb 13, 2009 10:58 AM:

" I think the parcel is on the SE corner of Crescent St and South Broadway, not Circular.

Also, Regional Park director's name is Alane Ball Chinian. "


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Web editor wrote on Feb 13, 2009 11:34 AM:

" Right you are on both counts, Xtraspatial. They have been corrected above. Thanks for pointing out the errors. "


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Bassman wrote on Feb 13, 2009 12:41 PM:

" Sue-zanne: GI Rights, Lake Rights, Dog Rights? It's NYS Land. Go Sue the State. "


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Don wrote on Feb 13, 2009 1:38 PM:

" Has there ever been a carner blue butterfly sighting in the last century and a half? All this creature has done is kill many projects due to its alleged existence. "


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Muddy Boots wrote on Feb 13, 2009 2:13 PM:

" Don,

There is an axiom in wildlife biology: "An absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." Your position has been used to downplay the existence of Canada Lynx in Colorado.

Karner Blues have been sighted in the past, their habitat and lifecycle is well-documented, and from this information, there are logical places to protect if we deem such protection a worthwhile proposition (which, apparently, you do not). Karner Blues had a viable population in the Pine Bush that extended for thousands of acres in the mid-Hudson prior to accelerated development without knowledge of consequences.

Perhaps you are right: in our rush to develop the area for our own thneeds, we've probably destroyed all potentially suitable habitat for the Karner Blue butterfly. Who or what is to be lost next? the Bald Eagle (threatend in NYS), the Cougar (endangered in NYS), fresh water, ecosystem services, clean air?

Suzanne, while you are correct that the K B Butterfly is an insect, it plays an important part in the interconnected "web of life" where no species exists in isolation from its community. Too often reductionists ignore the inter-species interactions to the peril of so-called nuisance species. Exterminate the pest and endanger its predator. "


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Dale Ordes wrote on Feb 13, 2009 5:15 PM:

" According to Muddy Boots above, lack of evidence is not evidence of lack of existence. I suppose that means that dragons are might still be lurking in Saratoga Park, even though they haven't been seen in quite a while.

Don above questions how many Karner Blues have been seen. Based on my daily observation, the answer is: not many. Someone should make a cost-benefit analysis of tieing up hundreds of acres of public land in the unlikely hope of possibly seeing one or two Karner Blues in a season. In 15 years of dog walking there, I have seen exactly two of the little blue creatures, but I have seen hundreds of happy dogs and their owners, most of whom (the owners) pay taxes, both local and State.

To answer Matt above, this is not a "free" dog park. Almost every dog walker has already paid for it through taxes.

Ever notice how "preservation" of our public lands initially calls for the destruction of those lands? The "improvers" will cut down more trees and scrape off the top soil in order to plant the lupine which the finicky Karner Blue uses as its almost sole source of nutrition. There currently are plowed and scraped fields located in the park left over from previous planting efforts. Nothing grows there.

One critical endangered specie in the Saratoga Springs area is the Tree. With any more "improvement" that cuts down trees, we will have to go to a Tree Museum just to see'um, as Joanie Mitchell once said.

We thankfully have new political administrations at all levels of government. One of the promises of of the new politicians is transparency in governmental operations. Well, actions about the dog park are shrouded in bureaucratic mystery. Open meetings were a joke, with most of the public's input being dismissed out of hand.
This new wave of government is supposed to reflect the will of those who are affected by governmental decisions. I challenge the parks administration to take a poll or have an election concerning use of the park lands in Saratoga Springs and just see what the public feels on this subject. Want to bet that the public prefers dogs to blue bugs?

The eco-fascists who are trying to expel our dogs from public land are quick to tell the rest of us what we should want and how we are supposed to behave. No one ever elected them for that task.

There is some Federal guilt money that underwrites the Karner Blue. The State parks administration wants this money -- public be damned. That little bit of Federal subsidy is not worth excluding the public from its own parks.

We need a true open and honest forum on how these park lands are to be used.

Dale "


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A.Walker wrote on Feb 13, 2009 5:35 PM:

" I agree with the above writer - there is more to this than meets the eye... and it is probably money. The dogs and the butterflies have co- existed for many years and will probably continue to do so if left on their own.

The issue is not have to chose between endangered species or dogs - it is far more political than any of us has been told.

I thought that the State was having a financial crisis - don't they have really important things to do with the money that they do have?

A taxpayer "


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Huh wrote on Feb 13, 2009 5:38 PM:

" The fact that they want to cut down trees and start modifying the environment to better suit the butterflies pretty much says it all. What an absolute joke. If the butterflies can't live there as it is then that should be their tough luck. To go and start cutting down trees and splitting the atom for them is about as dumb a plan as I have heard yet. If the place is so unsuitable for them then that might explain why their notable absence. 4 years of going there and zero sightings.
I wonder what Darwin would say about this butterfly. "


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Huh wrote on Feb 13, 2009 5:41 PM:

" And what is it about dogs that the butterflies find so offensive? How come they can co-exist with deer, rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, BIRDS and every other animal in the woods, but the mere sight of a dog sends them to their doom?

Maybe they should be relocated? You could employ a bunch of stoner college students to run around all summer with nets and round them up. "


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Jackson wrote on Feb 13, 2009 5:48 PM:

" This should be provided by the City of Saratoga Springs. Plenty of municipalities have this. It is not the state that should provide it. This is land that is nice to walk on, has an endangered species using it and is natural area that is a buffer for the entry into town. If this is a dog park it will probably be fenced in and will look worse than it does now with the lawn torn up. Tell the city that they should build us a dog park not the state. "


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Huh wrote on Feb 13, 2009 5:55 PM:

" "Adult Karner blues usually live about 5-7 days"
"Karner blues are small, with a wingspan of about one inch."
"Most Karner blues stay within about 200 meters of their home lupine patch."

So they live a week, have a wingspan of an inch, which explains why people without an electron microscope don't see them and are finicky eaters.
You know what would be a better use of tax payer dollars? NOT WASTING MONEY ON THESE THINGS!

"Most Karner blues stay within about 200 meters of their home lupine patch."

Which means the home they have is where they live. Now they want to cut down a section of the woods and try and create another suitable growing area for the butterflies. What if they don't move there? Nature has a way of being able to identify real from man made.

You know what folks? Given the economic situation we are in I think the butterfly ranks somewhere around dead last for any tax payer dollars, whether it be from state, federal or local sources.

This is so ridiculous. "


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z wrote on Feb 13, 2009 6:13 PM:

" Please save our butterflys!!!!!!! "


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Saratoga-Capital District region Park lowers its entry fee

We understand that Mine Kill NYS Park has lowered its entry fee to $3 from $6 to enter the park and assume Saratoga Spa State Park will also lower its fee since it is in the same region--Saratoga-Capital District. The swimming Pool at Mine Kill charges $3 for admission and we hope the Victoria and Peerless Pool will be charging the same.

Mine Kill NYS Park lowers Park entry fee to $3

Stop the nonsense and get a grip, folks!

Lately some of the comments on this blog have gotten so silly it is ridiculous. Save the Victoria Pool Society is a grass-roots group of very ordinary hard-working and lately unemployed people in some cases. In these tough economic times our only agenda as always is to preserve and maintain the most beautiful swimming pool and NYS park in America, Victoria Pool and Saratoga Spa State Park. This is a public park paid for with our hard-earned tax-dollars. With the help of the public and the Press, Save the Victoria Pool Society was able to get State and Federal Officials to agree to rehabilitate the Victoria Pool from certain demise in 2003. Thanks to great support from the entire upstate region and beyond the Victoria Pool obtained $1.5 million of our(public) money to preserve it in 2003. All we want is to have the Victoria Pool opened for a reasonable amount of the summer, June, July and August at a price people can afford, $6, since we all pay already for Saratoga Spa State Park. Millions of dollars of our public money have also been poured into the Peerless Pool to build a water slide and repair it recently and it would be disastrous to close the Peerless two days a wk.
We have no political or financial aspirations and our only concern is to enhance the quality of life in upstate NY where no other State pool exists within 100+miles.
The distracting comments on this blog only make those that write them appear idiotic.

Yet another historic treasure long ignored by Saratoga Spa State Park

Rotting in the park
By DREW KERR
dkerr@poststar.com
Updated: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 1:22 AM EST

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SARATOGA SPRINGS - The snow-white paint is falling, flake by flake, from the facade, exposing the gray hue of worn wood beneath.

Windows devoid of glass panes are either covered in thin sheets of plywood or have become a point of entry for vines and animals.

Small overhangs above the doors sag, standing only with the assistance of a pair of two-by-fours used as makeshift props.

Inside, the smell of dust and mold is pervasive. Wallpaper is peeling from the drywall, and nothing more than a mustard yellow oven and a small potted plant on a haphazard shelf can be found.

This is the collective aesthetic of the single-story home situated between the Saratoga Tree Nursery's fields and the third hole of the Saratoga Spa State Park's golf course.

Unless state officials alter course, the picture is likely to get worse.

Vacant for more than three decades, the state has tried and failed over the years to solicit private investment in the structure. They've also considered demolition and, now, say they've got no plans for the building whatsoever.

"Even demolition is expensive, so it still just sits there waiting for an answer," said Robert Kuhn, the assistant regional director for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The building does have its share of history, though.

According to documents provided by the Library of Congress, the one-story structure was built sometime around 1835 by Charles Patrick, who used it as the centerpiece of his 150-acre farmstead.

At that time, the surrounding Saratoga Spa State Park had not been developed.

Diana Armstrong's grandparents, Daniel and Norah Ronan, and her mother, Florence, lived in the building during the early 1900s and farmed the surrounding area. The house then was split into a duplex and was shared by two school teachers, Armstrong said.

She said she has never been in the house but has visited to take pictures in recent years.

"Whenever I drive down South Broadway, I always look down between the trees to see if it's still there," she said.

In 1928, as efforts to expand the park were underway, the state assumed ownership of the building.

It was used to house managers for the tree nursery until 1976, when the final occupant, Hank LaTour, died and his family moved out.

Robert Macica, who lived in a nearby house that the state eventually took through eminent domain, said he worked for LaTour but never had the chance to enter the house.

"It was well maintained, but it looked old even then," he said.

Efforts to find an alternative use for the building have thusfar been unsuccessful.

In 1997, state officials attempted to attract developers who would build a golf course on land adjacent to the park and included a 20-year lease for the house in the deal.

But its awkward placement -- the building can't be reached by road -- spoiled any chance of its potential revitalization.

Defeated, state officials suggested several years ago that it be torn down, a proposal that never came to fruition. The suggestion was made again last year, but it was put off again because of the state budget crunch, officials said.

Now, Alane Ball Chinian, the parks department's regional director, said she'd like to see something done with the building.

"It needs to be preserved and re-purposed," she said. "It's a historic building without a use."

But Dan Keefe, a spokesman for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said there are no plans to do anything with the house.

Officials are creating a master plan for the entire state park now, and ideas for the building could be included in that document, Keefe said.

The plan may also propose new uses for other, smaller abandoned structures in the park, as well as the now-vacant Roosevelt bathhouse.

Victoria Pool, February 1, 2009-countdown to the pool opening can begin!

Free Lifeguard training at Saratoga YMCA, 2/15-2/20

lifeguards needed:

A 40 hour FREE Red Cross couse will be held at the Saratoga YMCA, 290 West Ave., Feb. 16-Feb. 20 from 8:30am-5 pm.
participants must be in attendance the FULL Five Days.
A pre-test will be conducted Feb.15 to qualify candidates to take the course.
Candidates must have 20/40 uncorrected vision in each eye. The course is open to individuals age 16 and older.
At the end of the course the NYS lifeguard exam will be offered. There are 60 positions available.
Starting salary is $10.35 an hour for first-year lifeguards, and up to $15.93 an hour for supervising lifeguards.

For an information packet and to register for the course:
Call: Patricia Forward at 584-2000, ext. 120
email: patricia.forward@OPRHP.state.ny.us.

Does anyone know how the State Seal Water Pavilion in the State Park got named the Joe Bruno Pavilion?

Signs urge polite use of spring
Wednesday, January 28, 2009

By Lee Coleman (Contact)
Gazette Reporter




Photographer: Bruce Squiers

Signs placed along corners of the State Seal water pavilion in Saratoga Spa State Park remind users to share the available spigots.
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SARATOGA SPRINGS — The State Seal water flowing day and night at an outdoor pavilion in the Saratoga Spa State Park has become so popular that park officials have been forced to post a new, informal guideline at the spring.

“Share Spigots, Don’t Be a Water Hog,” say the signs posted inside the Joseph L. Bruno Pavilion on the Avenue of the Pines.

“This morning I stood here one hour,” said John Salmon of Glens Falls, who had come Tuesday to get some of the water.

He said a man was filling up large, 20-gallon containers with the free spring water and wouldn’t share one of the spigots with Salmon.

Salmon said the man told him: “I got here first.”

So Salmon left and came back Tuesday afternoon to fill his two small jugs.

Mike Greenslade, manager of the state park, said that in recent months his office has received complaints from spring-water lovers who say some people don’t share the six spigots at the Bruno pavilion.

“We are asking people not to be a spigot hog,” Greenslade said. He said the little signs with a pig on them are meant to be “humorous.”

“We want to keep it lighthearted,” Greenslade said. He said that so far, there have been no physical altercations spilling over at the spring.

Roberta Abramo of Stillwater said Tuesday that she comes to the State Seal spring every two months and fills up dozens of gallon water bottles for herself and her daughter.

“Sometimes there are a lot of people here,” Abramo said. She said when many people want to use the spigots, as was the case Tuesday afternoon, she makes sure to use only one of the spigots.

Mike Hitchcock of Galway said he comes to fill up his two big blue water containers once a week. “The water has a nice taste to it,” he said.

Hitchcock said he has never had a problem with people hogging the spigots. “If it’s busy, you come back later. This is Saratoga; it’s very peaceful,” he said.

People filling up containers at the spring Tuesday said they like to use the State Seal water for drinking as well as for brewing tea and coffee.

“It’s clear, good water,” said Salmon. He said he has been coming to Saratoga Springs for 50 years to take home jugs of the water.

Unlike many mineral springs in the Saratoga Spa State Park and in Saratoga Springs, the State Seal water is not carbonated and does not have a sulfur taste to it. There is one spigot of real mineral water running in the Bruno pavilion, but people seldom use it.

Greenslade said the Bruno pavilion is probably the most popular place in the park on a daily basis.

He said his staff has done occasional car counts and they estimated that between 300 and 400 cars per day stop at the spring year-round.

He said there is another State Seal spring running in the park’s Geyser picnic area, but it's hard to access during the winter months.

Alli Schweizer, the park’s naturalist, said that the reason the water is so clean and uncarbonated is because it runs through sand and not limestone, through which many of the other mineral springs flow.

“The limestone gives the other springs carbonation,” Schweizer said.

State Seal is “recommended by physicians where mineral-free water is indicated,” says a statement from the park on its mineral waters. The statements says the water is “fresh, non-carbonated” and ideal for general use.

Greenslade said the park has had State Seal water tested recently and the tests indicated that it is “very good water” with no significant levels of any harmful substance or bacteria in it.

Despite the water hog signs, there is no shortage of State Seal water, Greenslade said.

Making waves, times union, 1/16/09

State's plan for pools, beaches makes waves
Fees and hours could change because of New York's budget problems

By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Friday, January 16, 2009

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The state is considering changing fees and schedules for all pools and beaches at Capital Region state parks due to budget shortfalls, a regional director said Thursday.
Under a tentative plan, the state would increase fees at the Victoria Pool at Saratoga Spa State Park by $2 per day for adults and close the park's Peerless Pool two days a week this summer, said Alane Ball Chinian, regional director for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. She made the comments after Saratoga Springs resident Louise Goldstein obtained a copy of the Spa park's 2009 fee schedule.

Swimming operations also could be revised at Moreau, Grafton, Thacher and Thompson Lake state parks under budget cuts, Chinian said.

"The budget isn't near complete," Chinian said. "We're not sure what we're working with yet, so when we know, we'll make those decisions."

Goldstein, a city resident, has fought for improvements and more seasonal swimming days at the outdoor Victoria Pool.

The 2009 fee schedule for pools at the park shows admission for Victoria Pool would rise 25 percent for adults and children. Entry fees would be $8 for adults and $4 for children; the Peerless Pool would close Mondays and Tuesdays. The pools used to open on Memorial Day, but recently have opened later. Both pools will be open June 27 to Sept. 7 this year, according to the state. That, and potential changes to the pools, are unacceptable, Goldstein said.

"We're upset and we intend on protesting," said Goldstein. "Contrary to public opinion, everybody in Saratoga is not rich enough to have their own swimming pool."




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Bulletin!

An anonymous rumor sent on the blog was confirmed today that the Victoria Pool fee is being raised from $6-$8 a day with no season tickets this year. The Peerless Pool will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays and the Pools are not scheduled to open until June 27,2009.
Victoria Pool was already the most expensive pool in the NYS Park system at $6.

We have already protested to NYS Parks in albany who claim to know nothing about such plans. Stay tuned.

Save the Victoria Pool Society

A very snowy icy Victoria Pool, January 13,2009

who says Saratoga is the "real world" & can't open the Victoria Pool on Memorial Day?

Foreign investors smile on Saratoga
Arab investments, high-technology hopes putting international focus on county that still has rural feel

By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Saturday, January 10, 2009

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Arab executives looking to invest billions in high-technology and horses have discovered a welcoming haven in Saratoga County.
The still-rural area offers an environment that values foreign investment and its horse-racing history, important factors in making it attractive to investors in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, said Robert Wages, executive director of private equity at the Abu Dhabi Investment Co.

United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven states, including the wealthy cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and it borders Saudi Arabia and Oman. Those areas are trying to supplement their energy-based economies with new business models and equine holdings, Wages said.

"A lot of countries and regions are not very welcoming," Wages said, in an interview from his Saratoga Springs residence, while home for the holidays. "I think New York, other than its taxes, has made a conscious decision to welcome foreign investment. And Saratoga, with its racing and equestrian activities, is very unique in the world."

That wealth from abroad could remake parts of Saratoga County:

• The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has committed up to $9.6 billion in Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Company officials say that will allow a joint venture, The Foundry Co., to build a $4.6 billion computer chip factory in Malta and Stillwater. The project could begin as soon as March.

• In May, a Dubai company purchased the Fasig-Tipton Co. and is now making millions of dollars in renovations to the historic four-acre horse auction site in Saratoga Springs. The company hopes to have the work done by August's annual yearling sales.

• Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is renovating a 106-acre horse farm adjoining Saratoga Race Course. He bought the property for $17.5 million two years ago.

The private development arrives during a recession and credit crisis. Local leaders point to thousands of jobs that AMD says the chip fab factory would generate in the 215,000-person county, and additional tax revenues created by the horse-related renovations.

"Where else is the money coming from these days," Saratoga Springs Mayor Scott Johnson said. "In the state of the economy, I welcome any kind of reliable investor. Just because you're a foreigner doesn't mean you can't be a good community investor."

But a handful of county residents who have opposed the AMD deal question the reliability of the foreign investment, especially amid declining oil profits. At a recent Empire State Development Corp. hearing, Kyle York of Saratoga Springs and Bob Radliff of Stillwater criticized the project's $1.2 billion in state subsidies to build on what is mostly forest land.

"About $1 million per job is an excessively high cost for taxpayers," Radliff said. "We are highly dependent on one company, on one business model in a highly vulnerable and volatile industry." Foreign companies would siphon profits out of the state and could abruptly pull out of the area if higher profits or tax subsidiaries are offered elsewhere, Radliff said.

Area economic leaders and investors argue that money from the UAE will make Saratoga County and New York into an international player in computer chip manufacturing and the city into the world's premier horse sales site. The federal government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States signed off on The Foundry Co. deal this week.

The AMD offshoot will produce computer chips for companies, including AMD, at the Luther Forest Technology Campus.

Synergy Investments Ltd. — the new owner of Fasig-Tipton — is headed by Abdulla Al Habbai, a close associate of the ruler of Dubai.

"The ultimate goal is to make Saratoga the premier yearling sale in the world, plain and simple," said Boyd Browning, president of the Kentucky-based operation. "It's a substantial investment."

Currently, September sales at Keeneland in Kentucky score higher average prices for yearlings than Saratoga does, Browning said.

Wages, 45, who works in the UAE, couldn't say if additional investments in the region were planned.

Roughly 75 percent of the UAE's population are non-citizens. Investments like those into AMD are part of a long-term plan to bring industries and development to the UAE, Wages said.

"The United Emirates love Americans," he said. "They are very interested in being good friends with us. I don't think that aspect is appreciated much in the U.S."

Dennis Yusko can be reached at 454-5353 or by e-mail at dyusko@timesunion.com.

Schodack Island State Park reopens! thanks to town support and volunteers.

Volunteers help park in Schodack reopen
Schodack Island State Park was closed in the fall due to budget cuts

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Wednesday, December 31, 2008

SCHODACK — Schodack Island State Park reopened Tuesday morning staffed by local volunteers in an agreement reached between the town and state.
"We're very happy to have opened the gates this morning. We're good to go. Events are planned down there,'' Supervisor Beth Secor said.

The Appalachian Trail Club will hold a snowshoeing event Thursday in the park, she said.

The state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation shut the 1,052-acre park in October due to state budget cuts. At the time, State Parks said the park would not reopen until sometime in the spring. The park previously stayed open during the winter months.

"It is particularly gratifying to see groups and individuals coming together for their community in these challenging economic times,'' State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash said in a statement.

The town has 24 volunteers signed up to monitor the park and its buildings and town workers will keep roads plowed to the park. The town has placed a portable toilet donated by Schodack Septic in the park, Secor said.

The park's buildings and bathrooms will not be open during the winter months. The volunteers will check on the facilities and report any problems to either the town or state.

The park will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. State Parks workers will return to staff the park in the spring.

The park, which was created in 2002, is the town's only direct access to the Hudson River.

Rensselaer County worked with the state and town to work out the details in getting the park reopened.

"The state should make clear their plans for the Schodack park in 2009. At least some level of state funding is needed and the more information on future funding, the better,'' County Legislator Martin Reid, R-Schodack, said.

Secor said she believes the community's efforts to get the park reopened will prevent it from being shut in the future.





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Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and joy in the New Year from your Save the Victoria Pool Society

Thank you all for your tremendous support always in loving the Victoria Pool, Saratoga Spa State Park&Saratoga Springs.

Board Members:

Louise, Andrew, Stanton, Carole, Maureen, Barbara, Roger, Doug, Paul, Peter, Virginia & Ed, Anita, Bob, Holly, Rick, Tom.

2 views on SPAC decision to shorten NYCBallet season to 2 wks. in 2009

Home » Opinion » Letters to the Editor

Dance continues to be important at SPAC
Published: Friday, December 19, 2008

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Editor:

Two recent letters to the editor have compared the recent decision to shorten the New York City Ballet's 2009 SPAC season to the effort by the previous administration in 2004 to eliminate the residency. I believe the comparison is misplaced for several reasons.

The 2004 effort to eliminate the residency would have effectively ended the 40-year partnership between SPAC and the New York City Ballet, one of our founding companies. In contrast, the current decision preserves the ballet's summer residency, and with it the opportunity for SPAC audiences to continue to experience the artistry of one of the world's premier dance companies. It is also important to note that the 2004 decision was made by SPAC's prior president and board without the support of the ballet. Yet the decision to shorten the ballet's 2009 SPAC season was presented by the New York City Ballet and then approved by SPAC's board.

Given the current economic uncertainties, both the ballet and SPAC felt a shorter and less costly season made sense at this time. One benefit of the shorter program will be the opportunity to expand the diversity of SPAC's dance programming. Recognizing this region's rich dance heritage and devoted following, we are committed to adding new dance programming in what would have been the third week of the ballet. Expanding the variety of SPAC's programming in both dance and music is a goal that we have steadily pursued in recent years, and that will continue to be a priority in 2009.

MARCIA J. WHITE

President and Executive Director

Saratoga Performing Arts Center



Letter: SPAC needs wake-up call if it is going to fill seats

Saturday, December 20, 2008 5:16 AM EST


My sister recently tried to buy a gift certificate to SPAC for me as a Christmas present, knowing the loss of half-price tickets for memberships and the elimination of other discounts such as entertainment book coupons by SPAC management had forced us to severely curtail our trips to the NYCB and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

What should have been a simple process became an exercise in frustration when the Web site directed her to a phone number that was left unanswered and messages unreturned, and finally a mailing directing her to buy a membership, something I refuse to do until SPAC takes a more realistic approach to their ticket prices.

Finally, in frustration, my sister called Proctors who answered the phone in one ring and were both helpful and gracious in her procurement for a gift certificate. I think SPAC needs a wake up call; their customer service is appalling, their prices are outrageous and I feel the loss of one week of the ballet is only the beginning. I wonder if all the rock show patrons will appreciate the muti-million dollar new paint job. If only that money was used to subsidize ticket prices, the seats might be filled again.

John Tighe

Milton

The money to open the Victoria Pool Memorial Day once again has literally been going down the SEWER for years! Shameful.

Publication:Schenectady Daily Gazette; Date:Dec 13, 2008; Section:Local News; Page:12


SARATOGA SPRINGS

Spa State Park gets a break on county sewer bill

BY STEPHEN WILLIAMS Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Stephen Williams at 885-6705 or swilliams@dailygazette.net.



Officials at Saratoga Spa State Park have won a concession from Saratoga County that should save about $54,000 on the park’s sewer bill next year.

The county sewer district has agreed to revise its billing method for the park, using actual flow fi gures rather than billing based on peak use, which appears to have inflated the bill.

That means the park — facing the same budget struggles as all other state agencies — will see its sewer bill drop from $98,700 to an estimated $44,100 with the January bill.

“This level of solid expense cut could really help us,” said Alane Chinian, regional director of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The sewer bill is the park’s single largest outside bill, she said.

Chinian had complained about the size of the bill at a rate hearing held last month by county sewer commissioners, had her request for a reduction denied, then appealed the rate set by the commissioners to the county Board of Supervisors.

That appeal led to negotiating the new billing method.

The billing was approved Wednesday by the county board’s Law and Finance Committee and should be routinely approved by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday in Ballston Spa as part of a package of sewer rates.

“This is an elegant solution,” Chinian said. “It charges us for what we put in, and that’s fair.”

The 2,500-acre park just south of the city includes the Gideon Putnam Hotel and Conference Center, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the Hall of Springs, several mineral baths, a golf course and two museums. All those facilities are under the state park’s single sewer bill so its sewage flow varies greatly, depending on attendance at SPAC concerts and other activities.

Chinian said last month that there’s also snow-melt running into the sewer lines in the spring, but the park staff is trying to fi x the problem, which is common in aging sewers.

The sewer district will be losing revenue but it won’t mean a significant impact within the $8.9 million sewer rate levy, said James DiPasquale, the district’s executive director.

“It will not affect other users,” said William J. Davis, chairman of the county sewer commission.

Nearly all of the district’s 65,000 customers pay a flat fee annually, based on how much sewage a single-family house is expected to generate, or a multiple of that number for multi-unit buildings and businesses.

The park’s billing was different in that it paid based on a calculation of its annual maximum daily flow, even though an actual metered measurement was available. The meter reading will now be used to calculate the following year’s bill.

“This is the only user this really applies to in this big a manner,” said County Attorney Mark M. Rider

will this be this years excuse to open Victoria Pool late?

The region may have just seen its first appreciable winter storm, but that’s not going to stop me from writing about a decidedly summer distraction: pools.

A new federal law tailored to increase the safety of public pools and spas, called the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, goes into effect Dec. 19.

It calls for upgrades to suction and drainage equipment that officials say cayse one or two deaths every year in the United States. The new law –named after the the granddaughter of James Baker, a former U.S. Secretary of State, who died in 2002 when she was caught in the drain at a private spa — will require that all public and community pools install drain covers that can prevent the deaths.

Thousands of pools across the county could be forced to close, at least temporarily, for failing to comply.

But Eileen Larrabee, a spokeswoman for the New York State Office of Parks & Recreation, said any issues at the Peerless Pool or the Victoria Pool in Saratoga Spa State Park should be addressed before their scheduled opening this summer.

“We’re aware of the law, we’re surveying the pools and taking steps to comply,” she said. “There are some modifications that may need to be made but they should not interrupt operations.”

– Drew Kerr

This entry was posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008 at 4:03 pm and is filed under Saratoga Snippets, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Danger looming for Saratoga Spa State Park

Thursday, December 11, 2008 5:16 AM EST
By PAUL POST, The Saratogian


SARATOGA SPRINGS — Shorter seasons, reduced hours, staff reductions and fee hikes are among the steps state parks officials are considering to deal with the growing fiscal crisis.

No Saratoga-Capital District Region facilities are targeted for closure, but a further economic decline could prompt such action.

A commission that oversees the region’s 10 state parks and 10 historical sites met Wednesday at Saratoga Spa State Park.

"We’re in such uncharted territory," Assistant Regional Director Robert Kuhn said. "Our desire is to not have to close any of our major facilities. If the economy takes a major step downward between now and April 1 that may have to be reconsidered."


The state’s fiscal year begins April 1 and Gov. David Paterson has asked all departments to make cuts in the face of a multi-billion dollar budget deficit. State parks gets most of its revenue from golf, camping and vehicle use fees, which might all be going up.

"Albany will ultimately decide it," Kuhn said. "Fees are set by the state."

If closures are contemplated, the public should be given plenty of advance notice, so that people have the opportunity keep facilities open with various fund-raising projects, panel member David Golub said.

"It’s going to be hard next year," Commission Chair Heather Mabee said. "It’s going to be very difficult. We’re going to have no extra money for anything. If we have a major repair, it’s going to be very hard to do."

She urged each commission member to initiate a small fund-raising or improvement project at one of the region’s facilities.

"This would help our entire region more than doing one big project," she said.

Panel member Thomas Maggs said that area college groups are always looking for service projects. RPI, Union and Russell Sage students have reportedly done such work.

Regional Director Alane Ball Chinian said that parks will do less lawn mowing in 2009 to save on fuel, labor and equipment maintenance costs. State officials are hoping that gas prices stay at or near current levels. This summer’s fuel costs, at more than $4 per gallon, put a huge strain on groundskeeping budgets.

"We’re looking under every rock," Chinian said. "If we can save $500 doing something a little different, we’ll do it. We’re looking at everything."

Golub said it’s unfair that state parks has to pay for cleanup duties after rock concerts at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Live Nation, which stages events, gets the revenue while the parks system has to pay workers overtime for cleanup. Live Nation’s contract expires at the end of 2009. Under the next pact, the concert promoter should be required to share in cleanup costs, he said.

"It’s not just cleanup, it’s security too," Mabee said.



Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of saratogian.com.

Andy George wrote on Dec 11, 2008 7:06 AM:

" Keep the park open and eliminate the park police. During the busy SPAC season they are absent when the park empties when they are needed the most for traffic control.They spend most of their days trying to trap local people in park speed traps. "


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State parks forecast rate hike
Admission rise, shorter season possible as department plans future

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Thursday, December 11, 2008

SARATOGA SPRINGS — It could cost more next year to get into state parks, and they might be operating for shorter hours with smaller staffs, parks officials said Wednesday.
The state parks department's Saratoga-Capital District Region office has suggested budget cuts and fee increases for the state's 2009-10 budget, Regional Director Alane Ball Chinian said. The recommendations were sent to the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in Albany.

Reduction in facilities' days and hours of operation as well as cuts in seasonal staffing are among the proposals, she said.

Cuts in hours may come in the spring and fall, sparing the peak summertime use, said Robert Kuhn, the assistant regional director.

He and Ball Chinian presented a broad outline at the quarterly meeting of the Saratoga-Capital District State Park Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission at the Saratoga Spa State Park. They said they are also looking for savings in utility costs and other operating expenses.

"We already in state parks have a budget with no cream, no fluff,'' said Heather Mabee, the chairwoman of the commission, which oversees the region's parks. "It's going to be hard next year.''

"We don't know where we are with next year's budget,'' Ball Chinian said about the decisions that will impact park operations throughout the Capital Region.

"The agency has asked us to take another look at our budget and trim even more,'' she said.

Spending cuts made this fall had an immediate effect on park operations.

Schodack Island State Park was closed in October until the spring, due to a 10 percent budget cut. Ball Chinian said the region hopes to reach an agreement with the Schodack Town Board to reopen the park this winter.Mabee said the region will have to count on each park's volunteer friends group and fundraising to offset some cuts.

Happy Thanksgiving from Save the Victoria Pool Society

[edit] "A Boy's Thanksgiving Day," by Lydia Maria Child
This Thanksgiving song originally appeared as a poem written by Lydia Maria Child in Flowers for Children, volume 2, in 1844. Lydia Maria Child was a novelist, journalist, teacher, and wrote extensively about the need to eliminate slavery.

Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandfather's house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river, and through the wood -
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose
As over the ground we go.

Over the river, and through the wood,
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring, "Ting-a-ling-ding",
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river, and through the wood
Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood -
And straight through the barnyard gate,
We seem to go extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!

Over the river, and through the wood -
Now Grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!