[Governor Andrew Cuomo has never been a fan of horse racing.

There was an effort to expand casino gambling in New York about twenty some years ago.  The campaign to block the expansion then was led and partially funded by the horse racing industry in general and by NYRA in particular.  At the time in Saratoga Springs, in contrast to recent history, the Chamber of Commerce allied with NYRA in aggressively opposing casino expansion in New York.

One of the first things Governor Cuomo did as part of his recent successful campaign to expand casinos was to remove control of NYRA from its independent board and replace it with his own.  Parenthetically, there had been serious mis-management at NYRA which the Governor shrewdly exploited.

The Governor has promised that the state will reap large sums of money from the new casinos being built.  If anything, horse racing is a competitor for gambling revenue which one assumes he would prefer to go to the casinos.]

Cuomo’s racing plan blasted by horse owners, former board members

Gov. Andrew Cuomo FILE

By Paul Post, The Saratogian

Posted: 06/09/16, 5:05 PM EDT | Updated: 11 hrs ago

SARATOGA SPRINGS >> A prominent Saratoga horseman says New York Racing Association could be “held hostage” under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to reprivatize the firm that runs Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack.

Cuomo unveiled a proposal Wednesday that would cap the money NYRA gets from Aqueduct’s casino and require NYRA to each year ask the state for a $16 million capital spending appropriation.

“That’s ridiculous,” said Jack Knowlton, Sackatoga Stable managing partner. “You can’t depend on anything happening from one year to the next when the governor and Legislature are involved. He could hold NYRA hostage by saying, ‘OK here’s the money, but you’ve got to do X, Y or Z to get it. That’s undue influence.”

Cuomo’s plan differs greatly from bills in the senate and assembly that call for a 15-member NYRA board with two appointees by the governor and one each by the assembly and senate.

Cuomo wants six appointees on a 17-member board. Two of these would be recommended by the assembly and senate.

He also wants to name the board chairman, and the state Franchise Oversight Board that monitors NYRA’s financial issues would have expanded powers.

So while NYRA would be returned to private control, which Cuomo called for four years ago, the state is far from letting go.

Legislative leaders and the governor’s office are now left to reach some kind of compromise before the session ends next Thursday.

The most contentious issue is Cuomo’s attempt to wrest money away from NYRA that it gets from Aqueduct’s large casino.

In 2008, when NYRA was awarded a new 25-year franchise to run racing, the contract called for it to receive a set percentage of gaming revenue each year, with some going to operations, capital projects and purses. Cuomo now wants to cap this amount at $46 million per year, with anything over that going to fund education.

“Basically it’s changing the rules after they’ve been set,” Knowlton said.

On Tuesday, John Hendrickson resigned as Cuomo’s special racing advisor, citing frustrations with the governor’s policies that he said are hurting Saratoga and New York’s thoroughbred industry.

He was even more critical after reviewing Cuomo’s plan for NYRA, released a day later.

“It’s worse than I imagined,” Hendrickson said. “It’s the end of Saratoga as we know it. Purses will go down, admission prices will go up and giveaways will go away.”

His wife, Marylou Whitney, said, “I’ve spent most of my life trying to help Saratoga. I truly believe Gov. Andrew Cuomo is trying to hurt us. I’m confident his father (former Gov. Mario Cuomo) would not have condoned this action.”

Former NYRA board member Charles Wait of Saratoga Springs echoed similar sentiments.

In October 2012, Cuomo created a 17-member NYRA Reorganization Board with 12 state appointees, but charged the group with returning the firm to private control within three years.

“This is not what the governor promised,” Wait said. “Expanding control of NYRA’s budget, putting six people on the board and impounding money – that’s not privatization, it’s communism. It clarifies the reasons John Hendrickson left. The governor never was serious about keeping his word.”

For some reason, John Witt has continually adjourned his application.  He adjourned the application for the March 7 meeting, for the March 21 meeting, for the April 11 meeting and now he has adjourned it for the June 6 meeting.

I emailed him on June 4^th asking him if he could share why the project has been continually postponed.  I received no response so I emailed him again on June 6 reminding him of my earlier email and asking him to respond. Below is our subsequent exchange of emails. I have yet to receive a response from John Witt explaining the many adjournments of his proposal.  When I do I will publish it.

From:  John Witt [jwitt@wittconstruction.com]

Sent:    Monday, June 06, 2016 5:46 PM

To:       John Kaufmann

Subject:           RE: Responsive

Sorry – I have been busy….

We have a great Parade of Homes opened this weekend.

Last time I responded within hours and you lied and said I didn’t respond in you blog… I asked for you to meet and review the project and you refused.

John I am happy to help… but blatantly did not tell the truth in your blog which produces lost respect.  

Headed for a bike ride – enjoy your night!

JW

John Witt, President

Witt Construction, Inc.

From:   John Kaufmann [john.kaufmann21@gmail.com]

Sent:    Monday, June 06, 2016 6:40 PM

To:       ‘John Witt’

Subject:           RE: Responsive

I apologize if you responded to a request and I criticized you on my blog for not doing so.  I have no recollection of this.  Could you send me the copies of the correspondence?  I would be happy to correct the record.

As to not meeting with you, I am familiar with your project and think it would be a waste of both our time to meet about it as currently proposed.  If, on the other hand, you are open to downsizing the project, I would be happy to meet with you to discuss what new ideas you might have for the property.

From:   John Witt [jwitt@wittconstruction.com]

Sent:    Monday, June 06, 2016 9:39 PM

To:       John Kaufmann

Subject:           Re: Responsive

Great – I have new conservation project in the town of Saratoga that I am proposing to repurpose lush a farm and leave wooded and farm land in perpetuity. Best to meet in person at the office. Please let me know what works.

Dowton Walk will be a great example of urban planning. The mixed sized buildings and scale does fit into the neighborhood! Let’s talk about Dowton Walk after it is built.

Look at your email and blog post timing… If you want to visit history… I responded to your email within I think 2 hours and after that you blogged I would respond…. Not cool!! If you respect you should act professional and responsible… I lost respect for you! You did work with my mother and I did have great respect for you. Not any more. I am happy to put this behind us.

Cheers, JW

From:   John Kaufmann [john.kaufmann21@gmail.com]

Sent:    Tuesday, June 07, 2016 8:42 AM

To:       ‘John Witt’

Subject:           Posts and Questions

On March 12, 2016, I emailed you asking you to explain why you had written to the neighbors of your Downton Walks project saying you were applying for three variances when it appeared you were applying for more.  On the same day you posted back saying that you would submit a comment and asking me to call you.  I responded back that same day and explained I was in London so I could not call you.

On the evening of March 13, having not heard from you further, I published my post regarding your project.  At the end of the post I noted the following:

In an effort to be fair to Mr. Witt, I emailed him offering to publish any defense he would like to offer regarding his letter (see below). To date I have not received any sort of rebuttal.  Should I receive one, I will publish it.  

This was technically true as I had only received your email saying you planned to respond.  In fairness to you I should have told the readers this that I had received an email indicating you planned to respond.  On March 14th (the next day) I did receive and publish without editing or commenting the full text of your rebuttal.

With respect, you still have not answered my question, why have you postponed most of your appearances before the ZBA over the last four months?  You adjourned your application on March 7th, March 27th, April 11th, and June 6th.

I have learned that Joe Ogden, the Deputy Mayor has resigned.  This is a real loss for the city.  My interactions with Mr. Ogden were consistently good.  Although he was aware of my critical posts about Mayor Yepsen, he was always cordial and solicitous.  In the two circumstances where we discussed substantive matters I found him well informed, focused, and constructive.

Too often, the public is dismissive of the people they employ in their government.  With a wide brush they characterize the people who work in government as inept and lazy.  While there is an unfortunate corps of such people, there are others, such as Mr. Ogden who take their work very seriously.  Mr. Ogden worked many, many hours in his capacity as Deputy and had to endure the marathon meetings of our City Council late into the night.

I have been advised by Mr. Ogden that he will be assuming the position of budget director of the State University of New York. It sounds like a great job and he told me he was very excited about the new position.

I asked Mr. Ogden if he wanted to share any thoughts with the community regarding his experience as the mayor’s deputy. Here is his statement:

“Being deputy mayor of our city has been nothing short of a dream job for me.  Many thanks to Mayor Yepsen for this fantastic opportunity; it has been a privilege to work alongside her on our many accomplishments in City Hall. A heartfelt thank you to all of my fellow citizens who have shown not just me, but my family as well, tremendous warmth and kindness over the years. And a very, very sincere thank you to all of my fellow city employees for showing me an extraordinary level of patience, respect, and cooperation during the last two and half years.   At a time when government service is too often looked down upon or relegated to something that is dirty or undesirable, our citizens should take heart that this city has excellent people who are passionate about their community, give 100%, and do great work each and every day – often at the expense of pursuing more lucrative opportunities in the private sector.  It has been my great privilege to work in their ranks, and I am forever grateful.”

[It appears that the governor is trying to maintain his control over the horse racing industry while syphoning off money to the state general fund rather than invest in maintaining horse racing]

John Hendrickson resigns as Cuomo’s racing advisor

Hendrickson file photo

By Paul Post, The Saratogian

Posted: 06/07/16, 4:43 PM EDT | Updated: 8 hrs ago

SARATOGA SPRINGS >> John Hendrickson has sent a loud, clear message to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom he said hasn’t been listening lately – I quit.

Hendrickson, Marylou Whitney’s husband, resigned his post Tuesday – four days before the Belmont Stakes – as Cuomo’s special advisor on matters relating to Saratoga racing.

He has grown increasingly frustrated over Cuomo’s handling of New York Racing Association, which has been under state control since October 2012.

“I was appointed to help give a voice to Saratoga, but it’s clear the governor is not listening,” Hendrickson said. “Marylou and I are sorely disappointed. We hope the governor finds some newfound enlightenment soon.”

Instead of advising Cuomo, Hendrickson said his role turned out to be a “nightmarish job of Whack-a-Mole” as he constantly tried to stop Cuomo from doing things to hurt racing.

One of the latest episodes was the state’s approval, in an omnibus bill, of 1,000 new gaming machines at Aqueduct Racetrack to benefit Nassau Regional Off Track Betting.

The slot-like video lottery terminals will be located at Aqueduct’s casino, which generates revenue for racing. But none of Nassau OTB’s machines will benefit racing.

“We thank Mr. Hendrickson for his service and wish him well. The Governor and the Legislature saved NYRA from yet another bankruptcy in 2012 and installed a Board and management team that, by every metric, has been a success. We seek to continue this progress,” Gov. Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement.

Former NYRA board member Charles Wait of Saratoga Springs said Hendrickson’s resignation is a “disaster for Saratoga, a disaster for racing and a disaster for the governor.”

Saratoga is losing an important voice, he said.

“This is the governor’s hand-picked advisor and he’s quitting because he can’t get anywhere,” Wait said. “I hope this gives the governor pause about the advice he’s getting or his own direction.”

Hendrickson and Whitney are highly respected in the world of thoroughbred racing and have done a great deal to improve the lives of Saratoga’s many backstretch workers. Hendrickson said he and Whitney plan to continue sponsoring their annual Backstretch Worker Appreciation Program, which provides daily activities during the 40-day meet, this summer.

But Hendrickson’s split from Cuomo is clear evidence of their disapproval with the governor’s racing policies.

In October 2012, Cuomo reorganized a 17-member NYRA board with 12 state appointees, and charged the group with returning the firm to private hands within three years.

But early last year, after NYRA President and CEO Chris Kay developed such plans, Cuomo instead extended state control of NYRA until this fall.

Most recently, it’s believed he favors a plan that would effectively keep a majority of state appointees on the board, while at the same time taking some of the money NYRA gets from Aqueduct’s casino and transferring it to the state general fund.

Under NYRA’s latest franchise agreement, the contract called for NYRA to get a share of gaming revenue in return for giving the land, worth $1 billion, at its three tracks – Saratoga, Belmont Park and Aqueduct – to the state.

Hendrickson said it’s now apparent that Cuomo wants to control the money generated by VLTs.

“Maybe this was his original course all along,” Wait said. “Racing is one of the greatest upstate industries there is. The governor says he’s open for business. This sends a message that he’s shutting upstate down.”

The group Concerned Citizens for Saratoga Racing is extremely upset at Cuomo, charging that taking money from NYRA will hurt Saratoga Race Course, one of the Capital Region’s most important economic engines. Maureen Lewi, the group’s chair, said Hendrickson’s resignation is a setback for Saratoga and racing.

“John is one of only a few notable figures that speak the truth, regardless of personal consequences, a virtuous asset in today’s society,” she said.

Only a few years ago, the best horses and stables in the country began moving to New York, attracted by the lure of higher purses resulting from gaming revenue at Aqueduct’s casino. Now, the reverse could happen if Cuomo takes money from NYRA, Wait said.

“I can’t imagine anybody investing in any business if they don’t have certainty about what the state is going to do,” Wait said. “It was his (Cuomo’s) word that he would privatize NYRA in three years. He has not lived up to his commitment.”

Last year, Wait resigned from the NYRA board when it became apparent that Cuomo’s plan was to continue state control over the firm.

Hendrickson’s departure leaves Georgeanna “Georgie” Lussier of Saratoga Springs as the lone local representative on NYRA’s board, a position she’s held since last September.

“I’m clearly upset,” she said. “I relied and depended on John’s input throughout this process. As long as I’m on the board I will represent his views and thoughts to the rest of the board.”

The board is not scheduled to meet again until August in Saratoga Springs.

Saratoga Springs enacts ban on sidewalk-sitting

Lake Lonely has been experiencing what is called an algae bloom.  Basically, when excessive nutrients such as fertilizer or phosphorus enter a still water area as a result of runoff, it creates an environment in which microscopic life, typically phyloplanktin, multiply rapidly.  When these small organisms die and decay they absorb large amounts of oxygen.  This loss of oxygen serves to threaten the animals and fish who rely on the body of water.

I am a fisherman and I have heard anecdotally that the fishing in Lake Lonely has experienced a steep decline.  This lake had been rich in perch, bass, pickerel, pike, and sun fish.

The increasing scarcity of potable water has become a growing concern for public health officials both nationally and internationally.  An extreme example is the situation in Flint, Michigan.

All of us should be concerned when any body of water has its quality threatened.

It is unclear what the source of the Lake Lonely problem is.  The obvious suspects are:

1. Saratoga National Golf Course.  This project was controversial from the beginning due to its proximity to wetlands in general and Lake Lonely in particular.  In the minutes of the Planning Board meetings when the original application was under consideration, SNGC promised to monitor the water to insure their pesticides and fertilizers had no adverse impact.  It is unclear how long they were obligated to continue their monitoring.  I have been told that a class from Skidmore did some sort of study that found no problems early in the process.  In my meeting with the Mayor’s office, no one was knowledgeable as to what was required of Saratoga National Golf Course in terms of continued monitoring of Lake Lonely’s water quality.
2. Spring Run Brook dumps into Lake Lonely.  Much of the runoff from our city ends up in Spring Run Brook which in turn ends up in Lake Lonely.

In early May when I met with the Mayor’s staff, they said they would discuss with Mayor Yepsen contacting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to try to determine who is responsible for evaluating the water quality in Lake Lonely and what action the city might take to address what appears to be a growing problem there.

I received an email from the Mayor on May 11 saying that they wanted to pursue this issue.  Unfortunately, in spite of the fact that I had been told I would be advised of any actions they took, I have heard nothing since.

For months I repeatedly emailed Mayor Yepsen regarding a number of issues and during this time  I  either received no reply or the reply I received did not address my question.

With this in mind I decided to make a last try by meeting with Mayor Yepsen.  I emailed her the following:

I am writing to request a meeting with yourself, Tony Izzo, and Vince DeLeonardis.  The subjects are related to requests for information that I have requested but not received.

These involve Saratoga National Golf Course and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Thank you for responding at your earliest convenience.

I pointedly left out of the proposed agenda the issue of the hospital and her recusal in an attempt to make the idea of the meeting less threatening.

On May 3^rd I received the following email from her:

Hi John.  I’ll ask Vince to give you a call or email to set that up. Thanks.

On that same day, I received the following email from Trish Bush, executive assistant to Mr. De Leonardis (City Attorney).

Mr. Kaufmann, I have been asked to invite you to come to City Hall on Monday May 9th at 3:30 PM to discuss the items in the email you sent to the Mayor on May 2nd.  Please let me know if this time is convenient for you. Thank you, Trish Bush Executive Assistant City Attorney’s Office City of Saratoga Springs (518) 587-3550 x2516

So on May 9^th, I went to city hall for the meeting.  It turned out that the Mayor was driving to Kentucky that day to pick up her son from college and did not attend the meeting.

I met with Vince DeLeonardis (City Attorney), Tony Izzo (Assistant City Attorney), Joe Ogden (Deputy Mayor).  I was accompanied by my friend Jerry Luhn who is an attorney with decades of experience working as counsel for several state agencies.

I wrote briefly about the meeting in an earlier blog.  I described the meeting as cordial and thoughtful.  I specifically left out the substance of the meeting as I hoped that by doing so, it would provide the Mayor with the opportunity to appear to act on the issues pro-actively and not appear as having responded due to hectoring.

I sent to the participants and the Mayor this follow-up summary:

From:  John Kaufmann

Sent:    Tuesday, May 10, 2016 4:20 PM

To:       Vincent DeLeonardis; ‘Tony Izzo’; ‘joe.ogden@saratoga-springs.org’

Cc:      ‘Joanne Yepsen’; ‘jerry luhn’; ‘jerry luhn’

Subject:           Meeting Summary

I want to thank you all for being so generous with your time and for the courtesy you showed

Jerry Luhn and me.  The following is a summary of what I believe transpired:

• Ex Parte Communication between public board members and applicants having business before them. Tony acknowledged that the training session by Mark Schachner and the materials by the New York Department of State Committee on Open Government would indicate that the nature of what constitutes an ex parte communication in this context is considerably broader than a constrained understanding of the term to merely the “merits” of an application. On that premise, it was his sense that the Ethics Board would be willing to revisit this issue, drawing from the definition expressed in their recent opinion, to better articulate the meaning of ex parte. He saw no reason why a discussion of this issue should not be carried out in an open meeting of the Board and agreed that I could be notified of the meeting at which this matter would be taken up.

Shortly after I received an email back from Mayor Yepsen :

From: Joanne Yepsen [mailto:joanne.yepsen@saratoga-springs.org] Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 12:09 PM To: John Kaufmann Cc: Vincent DeLeonardis; Tony Izzo; <joe.ogden@saratoga-springs.org>; jerry luhn; jerry luhn Subject: Re: Meeting Summary

Thanks for the summary John. I’m glad you and Jerry found the meeting helpful. I would like to follow up with you and my staff especially on the last two items. 

We have a tremendous amount progressing forward in open space, complete streets, sustainability efforts and affordable housing issues. Much to share!

Thanks, 

Joanne 

I then responded with:

From:  John Kaufmann [john.kaufmann21@gmail.com]

Sent:    Thursday, May 12, 2016 6:49 AM

To:       ‘Joanne Yepsen’

Cc:      ‘Vincent DeLeonardis’; ‘Tony Izzo’; ‘<joe.ogden@saratoga-springs.org>’; ‘jerry luhn’; ‘jerry luhn’

Subject:           RE: Meeting Summary

 Thank you for your note.  I would hope that item #5 would be of particular concern to you.  You have placed the need for transparency and open government as a priority for your administration.  Item #5 is particularly disturbing both in terms of the continued message of a lack of sensitivity regarding inclusion and respect for the public conveyed through the ZBA’s seating plan but particularly by the apparent violation of the open meetings law in terms of the way the ZBA determined the new policy.  I know it would be very disturbing to many in this community were these issues to go unaddressed by your administration.  Adherence to the principle of the open meetings law would seem to be the bedrock of the kind of healthy government that seems increasingly rare these days.  It is my hope that you will show the leadership so badly needed in working to find a resolution for this matter.  Given the fact that Mr. Moore was reappointed by you, he should be cooperative.

For those of you without the patience to read through these emails, I was basically promised that they would finally respond to my requests for information.  In at least two cases they were to do so before the end of May.  It is now June and it has been approximately a month since the meeting.  Tony Izzo, to his credit, sent me an email confirming that he had spoken to Mark Schachner and that Mr. Schachner admitted to misspeaking regarding the need for land use board members to recuse themselves when they had a contractual relationship with an applicant.  The sad reality of our current ethics code is that this behavior would not be a violation..

As regards all the other issues, I have heard nothing.  I think, dear readers, I have made a yeoman’s effort on behalf of you all to get answers out of Mayor Yepsen’s office and sadly at this point it is reasonable to assume that further efforts to get information on these issues from that office are simply pointless.

[The following is a press release from Michele Madigan and the Finance Office.  The highest rating by the S & P is AAA and the next highest is AA+]

MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT: June 1, 2016 Contact:  Commissioner of Finance, Michele Madigan Telephone:  (518) 587-3550 ext 2577; (518) 526-9377 Email:  michele.madigan@saratoga-springs.org

Re: STANDARD & POOR’S SAYS SARATOGA SPRINGS IS AA+ AGAIN!

Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan is pleased to report that Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P) awarded the City a “AA+” for 2016 and affirmed its “AA+” rating on the City’s outstanding bonds.  An exceptional rating for a municipality, this is the fifth consecutive year that the City has received AA+, all during Madigan’s tenure as Commissioner of Finance.  Likewise, S&P retained the City’s “stable outlook”, as well as its Financial Management Practice Assessment of “good”.

S&P describes the City as a “commercial and industrial center for the surrounding areas”.  In the course of its analysis of the City, S&P considered the following qualities:

Very strong economy;

Strong management conditions, with “good” financial policies and practices;

Strong budgetary performance, with operating surpluses in the general fund and at the total governmental fund level in fiscal 2015;

Very strong budgetary flexibility; Very strong liquidity, as well as strong access to external liquidity;

Strong institutional framework.

S&P states “The city has exhibited strong budgetary performance with positive operating result in each of the last six fiscal years. … Given the city’s strong historical results, and management’s expectations for fiscal 2016, we expect the city’s budgetary performance to remain strong. …Saratoga Springs’ budgetary flexibility is very strong, in our view. … the sewer fund has fully paid back its loan [to the general fund] and…the water fund will complete paying back its loan in fiscal 2016. … The city has consistently had very strong liquidity and we do not expect a change to these ratios.”

S&P expressed faith in the City’s management, stating “we believe management will continue to make the necessary budget adjustments to maintain balanced operations.  As such, we do not anticipate changing the rating during the two-year outlook horizon.”  It also anticipated raising the bond rate if the City continues to maintain its strong budgetary performance (and economic indicators increase) while mitigating the effects of fixed costs associated with long term liabilities (such as pension and other postemployment benefits (OPEB)).

Commissioner Madigan states: “The City and its taxpayers are benefiting from the excellent policies, practices, budgeting and fiscal management of my administration.  I will continue to lead with the conservative fiscal practices and sustainable City budgeting that protects the City’s AA+ rating.  It is critical to all departments and our constituents as we strive to improve City infrastructure, maintain beautiful historic buildings, provide trails, recreation and open space, and keep the City safe.  I am very proud of this outstanding bond rating and pleased to bring it home to the City of Saratoga Springs.”

Michele Madigan

Commissioner of Finance

City of Saratoga Springs

474 Broadway

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

518-587-3550 ext. 2557

518-526-9377 Cell