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City Charter and Code Approval

By Harold Wessell

MECHANICVILLE, August 7– The City of Mechanicville will hold the last of a series of informational public hearings on Sept. 4, following one held at the August 7 meeting council meeting.

While hearings so far have been of a less formal nature, Accounts Commission Mark Seber explained that the August 7 discussion covered about half of the proposed Code updates; and the Sept 4 meeting will address the remaining half. The plan, explained Seber, is on the first week in October, at the 7:00 PM Council meeting, to hold an official, required by law, Public Hearing on both documents; and to hold a vote that night if there are no changes to be considered.

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Malta/Stillwater GloFo & Brown’s Beach News

By Harold Wessell

STILLWATER AND MALTA, Aug. 1– The Malta Town Board at its late July agenda meeting included a special meeting in which it deemed complete the most recent update of environmental impact studies on GlobalFoundries' emerging Planned Development District.

On August 1, the Stillwater Town Board, Planning Board leadership and engineer likewise reviewed the four requested amendments to the project, and can schedule action on them after Malta, as lead agency in this PDD process, holds a public hearing and special meeting and rules on the requests, scheduled for August 19 starting at 6:30PM.  (Stillwater's regular business meeting will have been on Aug. 15, so that it would presumably set a special meeting.)

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Malta on Brink of GloFo Approvals

By Harold Wessell

MALTA,  July 29 –  "As far as zoning goes for 8.2: if this were the Travers Stakes,," Attorney Matthew Jones told the Malta Town Board Monday night, "we'd be in the final furlong. We are close to the end; we're excited to be there."

He expressed appreciation for his team to the Town Board for all the workshops that it scheduled. Wednesday mornings, "a tall order for all of you."  Town Supervisor Paul Sausville added that between those, and Town staff meetings on the matter on Fridays, the grand total was "at least forty meetings," and a great deal of technical work by the experts, during the collaborative process.

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Waterford Board Postponed, Aug. 6 Hearing Will Be Held

By Harold Wessell

TOWN OF WATERFORD, July 30 – The Waterford  Town Board announced during its agenda session Tuesday that it will  meet this coming Tuesday, August 6 at  7:30PM  for an already scheduled Public Hearing, only  The monthly Business Meeting that evening  is postponed until Wednesday,  August 14 at 7:00PM.

In a brief special meeting during the agenda session. Three  resolutions were passed:

- Beginning the process of establishing a Capital Resource Corporation, basically a direct replacement  of the present  Industrial Development Agency. IDAs are being discontinued by New York State.

– Endorsing  the concept of the Champlain Canal trail plan; Lawler said he would ask Village Mayor Bert Mahoney to represent the Town and Village on the working group.

– An Aug. 21 scheduled  bid opening, concerning road improvements for 2013. is also moved, to   to September 1. .

Supervisor John Lawler called attention to an August 13  Public Hearing, 6:30PM at the high school on the planned replacement of the Cohoes-Waterford bridge, which the State hopes to begin in 2018 or 2019. Lawler said that when it does begin, the work should be a relatively "minor distraction," because the current bridge will remain standing while the new one is built beside it. More information was to be put on the Town website.

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Stillwater Prepares for Brown’s Beach Purchase – Reported by Harold Wessell

TOWN OF STILLWATER, July 20 – The Stillwater Town Board on Thursday voted several procedural resolutions wrapping up approval of the new Consolidated Water District #6; and firmed up major preparations for potential purchase of Brown's Beach.

The beach site was the de facto main focus of a Public Hearing prior to the Board business meeting, to consider submission of a funding application to the New York State Department of Housing and Community Renewal on or about August 12, 2013, for $750,000 (with no local match required) under the 2013 Competitive Round Community Development Block Grant Program. The application for the grant was authorized during the business meeting.

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Brown’s Beach a Joint Effort? – By Harold Wessell

TOWN OF STILLWATER, July 15 – Stillwater Town Supervisor Edward Kinowski told The Express that he's been extra busy since last Thursday in stepped-up conversations with the Town of Malta and GlobalFoundries toward a  potential intermunicipal redevelopment plan for Brown's Beach, using funds offered by Global.

Whether an agreement is forged or not, however, Stillwater is able to make the purchase on its own, according to its Supervisor.

The company has proferred a donation toward  Stillwater's desired purchase of the long-popular, but long idled beach facility at the south end of Saratoga Lake,  IF it can be part of an agreement providing both Towns with sufficient  "public benefit" from an approval of the Fab 8.2 project –  and be the final such concession expected of the company.

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First Round of GloFo- Stillwater Foundation – By Harold Wessell

TOWN OF STILLWATER, July 9–

Two large "checks" were displayed at the front of the Stillwater Town Board chamber at a special meeting on this day.

One, explained Supervisor Edward Kinowski, was for $1 million, which had been received from GlobalFoundries.  "And thank God for GlobalFoundries as far as I'm concerned. They've done amazing things for our Town, by the money they've provided; and by the jobs and everything they've provided for Saratoga County, and our area."

The check to the right was the subject of the evening's meeting: for $242,482, the total amount of 27 grants awarded by the Stillwater-GlobalFoundries Foundation, inaugurated about two years ago. This was the first disbursement of grants by the Foundation.

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City To Review Charter August 7th – By Harold Wessell

MECHANICVILLE, July 3 – The City of Mechanicville will continue its series of public meetings in the process of reviewing its City Charter and City Code, with further segments on August 7 and September 4, at the Council's regular 7PM meetings.

Accounts Commissioner Mark Seber reminded residents that the August 7 meeting will address sections 1-34, which include the fire department; and on September 4, sections 39-200 on the building code changes, where he pointed out “some significant changes" are proposed...

Then on Oct. 2, he added, the plan is to have an official public hearing on the entire charter/ code document, with probably a vote on the document that evening.

He noted that all the proposed changes are available on the City website.

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Sailing Vermont Farmers Market – By Harold Wessell

MECHANICVILLE, June 26 – In a time when "snail mail" is a glibly uttered – and still found inaccurate  at times –  put-down of a centuries-old mode of delivery that by tech-era standards takes too much time, an initiative by a  Vermont farmer is bringing back a viable alternative to the truck: delivery by boat.

Not just a boat, a sail boat – and one that looks a lot like a canal barge, at that. "Delivered by Sail" is part of the logo of the Vermont Freight Sale Project Erik Andrus heads up.

Andrus farms high up along Lake Champlain – a rice farmer in Vermont of all things, in fact the biggest Japanese rice farmer in the Northeast USA. "I used to grow wheat and rye and barley," he began. "Then with rainfall arriving in more and more torrential amounts and my fields being very heavy soil and wet... I shifted over to rice!"

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Brown’s Beach: Bright Future – By Harold Wessell

TOWN OF STILLWATER, June 20 – Stillwater Supervisor Edward Kinowski took some time at the start of the first Town Board Business meeting in a new Town Hall to address some news generated that day on a radio station and newspaper.

Indeed, he began, it was why he requested an on-air interview with YNN, and seen around the time the board meeting was starting, concerning the prospective purchase and revival of Brown’s Beach.

"There's a lot of misinformation that is out there." he began. "Here's the straight skinny from me.  And I don't know what else to say," as he outlined that the longtime favorite recreation place for people from Stillwater, Mechanicville, Malta and beyond lies completely within the bounds of the Town of Stillwater; that his Town is the only entity in formal negotiation with the current owner to purchase it – and that, while a money contribution by the chipmaker would be most welcome, the Town has been methodically working out how it could make the purchase on its own.

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