Looking back on my notes I see that I only offered the option of responding on my blog to Ms. Braymer. Of course should attorney Matt Jones wish to respond I offer a similar courtesy.
What a Fabulous Dog!!!
Ok. This has nothing to do with Saratoga politics but the video of this dog winning some sort of speed/agility event as part of Westminster Dog Show was so wonderful that I wanted to share.
Ray Watkin Celebrates 90th Birthday. Happy Birthday, Ray!
Ray Watkin was mayor of Saratoga Springs from 1974 to 1979. Ray was a real visionarry. It was Ray who spearheaded the preservation movement that viewed the city’s aging architecture as jewels. His administration pursued grants and other policies to upgrade the downtown and bring out the beauty that years of neglect had hidden.
Ray ran a shoe store on Broadway in the block between Lake Avenue and Caroline Street. He used this store not only to make a living but as a vehicle for talking to the people of the city about issues. This evolved into his successful campaign for mayor.
Happy Birthday to my friend, Ray Watkin.
Attorney For Neighbors Of Saratoga Hospital Responds To Blog Post
[JK:I offered Claudia Braymer, the attorney who represents the neighbors in the dispute with the hospital, a forum to address my recent blog post on the issue. I made a similar offer to Matt Jones who represents the hospital. Ms. Braymer sent me the following statement.]
While the Comprehensive Plan does define Institutional as an area that allows for religious, health, educational, cultural and tourism, the Comprehensive Plan does not state that the Institutional area would allow for commercial/professional office complexes. Yet, that is exactly what the proposed OMB-2 designation would allow.
The zoning change is not simply about the Hospital’s one proposed-in-theory (but not actually before the Planning Board) medical office building. The zoning change for Parcel #1 is about changing the entire 17+ acre Parcel #1 site (most of which is currently owned by DA Collins) to a zoning district that allows for professional offices (not limited to medical offices), plus medical offices, parking facilities, and other related accessory structures. The Comprehensive Plan does not support changing all of Parcel #1 to a zoning district that allows for professional offices of an unrestricted nature.
The City Council should reject the OMB-2 designation, and have the Hospital & DA Collins bring forward all of their plans for this undeveloped land, so that the public and the City can evaluate the situation in the light of day, and come to a rational conclusion about the proper zoning designation.
Sincerely,
Claudia Braymer
Braymer Law, PLLC
Claudia K. Braymer
Attorney at Law
PO Box 2369
Glens Falls NY 12801
Independence Party Sponsors Friday Event for Finance Commissioner Candidates
The Independence Party is sponsoring a debate on Friday, June 14, between the candidates in the upcoming Democratic primary for Finance Commissioner. Both challenger Patty Morrison and current Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan were invited to attend. At this point only Commissioner Madigan has accepted the invitation.
The Independence Party has endorsed Commissioner Madigan but to ensure fairness has enlisted Chad Beatty, publisher/editor of Saratoga Today, to moderate. The event will take place regardless of how many candidates choose to attend.
The event will take place at the Saratoga Casino Hotel Riley’s/Arrowhead Meeting Room on Friday, June 14. Doors Open at 6:30pm, debate 7PM-8PM.
Previous attempts by the Saratoga County League of Women Voters to organize a debate between the two candidates were unsuccessful.
Correction To Neighbors vs Hospital Story
Chris Mathiesen recently brought to my attention an error in my Hospital vs Neighbors story. The committee that produced the 2015 Comprehensive Plan was appointed by Mayor Scott Johnson’s administration and not Mayor Joanne Yepsen’s.
I would like to publicly apologize to Ms Yepsen for my error. I have edited the story to correct it.
Boyd, Bullock, Pingel, Turner, and Common Sense Saratoga: Plumbing the Depths of Disinformation
In a previous post I wrote about a totally opaque website on local politics. The site is called Common Sense Saratoga (CSS). After quite a bit of criticism about the anonymity of those involved in the site from a variety of sources they decided to post the names of four people they characterize as “Founders.” They listed them as follows:
Founding Members
· Gordon Boyd – Independence Party
· Ann Bullock – Democratic Party
· Mark Pingel – Republican Party
· Bob Turner – Democratic Party
As those of you who follow city politics will know, Boyd, Bullock, and Turner were all on the charter commission that promoted the city manager form of government and were active with It’s Time Saratoga which was the social media face of this group. I assume that this site will replace It’s Time Saratoga, continuing the strategy of distorting the issues facing the city to try to convince the public falsely that the city is in crisis and the only remedy is to change our form of government.
The entire project has the feel of this kind of spin. It no longer mentions the charter (yet anyway) but presents itself as interested in broader issues. The selection of the “founders” is meant to put a non-partisan face on the site to appear to represent a broad based perspective. Conspicuously absent from this list is Pat Kane who some of us suspect has a role in this but whose name was perhaps omitted because of his highly public and documented history of disturbing behavior.
Interestingly, only a short time ago, Zuzia Kwasniewski asked Bob Turner on the Saratoga Unites Facebook page if he was behind the anonymous website and he disavowed any involvement. Now, of course, we find that he was a founder. When I asked Zuzia if she could send me a screen shot of his response she returned to the website only to find that his comment had been deleted.
A Dubious Story On Unpaid City Taxes
The top story on the site is titled “Why Doesn’t Saratoga Collect It’s Back Taxes?”
The piece begins with “… a surprisingly large number of taxpayers simply will not pay their taxes and, based on past experience, they probably see no reason why they should.”
First of all to put this issue in perspective it is important to note that 95% of the property owners in the city pay their taxes on time.
Secondly, contrary to what this article implies the city charter spells out clearly the serious penalties for tax delinquency, and these regulations have been scrupulously adhered to by the city.
Penalties include:
· Fines up to 15% per year
· Liens placed on delinquent properties which will mean the property cannot be sold
· Damage to personal credit rating of delinquent property owners
· Public embarrassment as names of delinquent taxpayers are required to be published annually in local newspapers
Understanding The Timing Of Property Seizures
The folks at CSS seem particularly upset at what they see as the indifference of the city to pursue seizing properties with liens on them. As often happens, in spite of what seems to make “common sense”, the issues are far more complicated than they appear. Such is the case with property seizures.
To begin with, New York State law requires three years before the city can seize property for failure to pay taxes. The process of the city seizing private property is long, complicated, and expensive both in terms of the cost in lawyer fees and in the time required of city staff. The city does not have the expertise to deal with foreclosures in house and so must find and hire outside counsel for this procedure. Rather than doing foreclosures one at a time and continuously finding and hiring lawyers, the economical way of dealing with seizures in a city of our size involves waiting till a number of delinquent parcels can be packaged and dealt with at the same time and only initiating foreclosure procedures as a last resort. If the city, in most cases can expect to get its taxes and penalties eventually without resorting to seizure, why tie up staff and spend unnecessary money on large legal fees unless it has been determined that the owner will never pay? It is also important to note that some of the delinquent property owners may be experiencing hard times, and the city prefers to try to give them time to recover rather than seize their property.
Saratoga is not a declining city like Utica where property values have plummeted and people are walking away from delinquent properties. The city will in the end get the taxes and penalties owed one way or the other. The question is when and at what cost.
When the city does end up seizing property, there is still the question of what to do with the property. The City does not want to be in the business of owning and maintaining delinquent properties. In the past the city has auctioned off foreclosed properties, a process that also involves the expenditure of many city resources
A thoughtful assessment of the situation free of malicious spin is that there is no crisis involving the city bleeding away lost revenue.
Here is a link to Finance Commissioner Madigan’s thoughtful report on how the city handles the issue of delinquent taxes presented at last Tuesday’s City Council meeting with additional comments by City Attorney Vince DeLeonardis and Commissioner of Accounts John Franck who reminisces about past properties the city has seized.
The Mysterious Uber Delinquent Taxpayer
Further on in this same piece the writer makes allegations about a particular delinquent taxpayer.
“One taxpayer of particular interest in this group is the beneficiary of long-standing contracts for services to the City. This individual owes to the City of Saratoga Springs and the City school district no less than $137,000 in back taxes, covering a total of nine lots throughout the city. “
The writer asserts that the parcels involved are worth over $1,300,000.00 and that “the owner operates thriving businesses on several of them.”
This is a pretty shocking accusation so I decided to use their comment option to inquire further about this case. I wrote them asking who this person was and if they would not name the person, what was their reasoning for protecting this delinquent.
When I clicked send, I got a message that I was a bot and was not allowed to access their site. As you may recall from an earlier post I had asked the site who they were and never received an answer. Having a blog myself, I know how easy it is to block people who one doesn’t want to hear from.
My experience with this group’s history, especially Mr. Kane, is that they are quite capable of making outrageous accusations for which there is no source of verification. Maybe some other reader out there might help me by going on their site and asking the same question.
Ellen Egger-Aimone’s Regrettable Comment
One comment that did get published came from Ellen Egger-Aimone. It reads as follows:
The managers of this website have posted a comment by Ms. Egger-Aimone that is truly odious. Ms. Egger-Aimone basically accuses Commissioner Michele Madigan of allowing developers to avoid paying taxes. She also asserts that Commissioner Madigan is hiding from the public who the delinquents are.
If Ms. Egger-Aimone had a better understanding of how city government works or had bothered to ask before she posted her comment she would have known that in fact what she is demanding already exists. That is, it already is public knowledge who is not paying their taxes. As noted earlier the names of those people delinquent in their taxes, including developers, are regularly posted in local newspapers as required by the city charter. Here is an image of the notice from last October.
Link To Avertisement With Properties In Default
But in an age of social media and negative campaigns, apparently Ms. Egger-Aimone doesn’t feel the need to be rigorous and accurate in making her accusations and is betting that her audience won’t care about fact checking either.
Ellen Egger- Aimone is the campaign manager for both Patty Morrison’s campaign to unseat Michele Madigan as Finance Commissioner and Kendall Hicks’ campaign to become Commissioner of Public Safety. Where are they on all this? Should the public expect to see a similar disregard for accuracy in their campaign materials? In a better world, both Patty Morrison and Kendall Hicks would disavow Ms. Egger-Aimone’s behavior but so far they have been silent.
And why would Gordon Boyd, Ann Bullock, Bob Turner, and Mark Pingel, the principles behind this site, tolerate and indeed promote this kind of garbage in both the articles they are publishing and the comments they decide to put up.
Ms. Egger-Aimone’s and this blog’s reckless and cruel attacks call to mind Attorney Joseph Welch’s response to similar baseless, character assassination efforts by Senator Joe McCarthy at the famous Army-McCarthy hearings.
We may well ask the same question of the participants in Common Sense Saratoga. Have they no sense of decency?
Preservation Foundation Update On Design Review Commission Response to Skidmore North Broadway Proposal
[Release from Preservation Foundation- June 6]
Lack of Public Support at DRC Meeting
Thank you to everyone who spoke and provided written comments expressing their concerns about the proposed North Broadway entrance to Skidmore College to the Design Review Commission. There appeared to be no support by the community or the Design Review Commission as it is currently proposed. Skidmore College was advised to reconsider the plans. The Foundation looks forward to hearing how Skidmore College plans to move forward and we will continue to keep you informed.
Further Update On Hicks Campaign
Yesterday Kendall HIcks posted this on his Facebook page.
On May 8th, my father, Bennie Hicks, passed away peacefully at home in Spotsylvania, Virginia. He was the source of so much strength, wisdom, and inspiration in my life. And he was so proud that I was continuing our family’s commitment to service by running for public office here in Saratoga Springs.
Thank you, Everyone, for your condolences, well wishes, and support during this heartbreaking and challenging time for myself and my family— your patience and kind words have been comforting and reassuring.
I know my dad will be lending extra long-distance support to my efforts here, now that he is free of his physical constraints. I’m so fortunate to have him … and all of you … on my team!
Kendall Hicks
Amended Report On Contributions to Finance Commissioner Madigan’s Campaign
BBL PAC0, PO BOX 12789
ALBANY , NY 12212
200.00
08-MAR-19
CITIZENS FOR FANCK
511 BROADWAY
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 128660
500.00
25-FEB-19
FITZGERALD MORRIS BAKER FIRTH PC
16 PEARL ST PO BOX 2017
GLENS FALLS , NY 12801
250.00
08-MAR-19
FRIENDS OF PETER MARTIN
PO BOX 313
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
200.00
08-MAR-19
FRIENDS OF TARA N. GASTON
PO BOX 649
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
KODIAK CONSTRUCTION, INC
PO BOX 657
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
MUNTER ENTERPRISES, INC
881 MURRAY RD
MIDDLE GROVE , NY 12850
100.00
15-MAR-19
NOLAN & HELLER LLP
39 N PEARL ST
ALBANY, NY 12207
100.00
08-MAR-19
NORTHEAST GOVERNMENT CONSULTING LLC
501 ST DAVIDS LANE
NISKAYUNA, NY 12309
250.00
08-MAR-19
NRCC NY NON-PARTISAN PEC
111 STATE ST
ALBANY, NY 12207
250.00
15-MAR-19
PJS BAR-B-Q
ROUTE 9
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
SARATOGA COUNTY INDEPENDENCE PARTY CHAIRMAN’S CLUB
102 LUDLOW ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
500.00
08-MAR-19
SARATOGA HARNESS RACING INC
CRESCENT AVE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
150.00
08-MAR-19
SARATOGA PELICAN ASSOCIATES LLC
232 SOUTH BROADWAY 12866
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
150.00
17-MAY-19
SARATOGA SPRINGS DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
PO BOX 124
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
1,000.00
20-MAY-19
STEWART’S SHOPS CORP
PO BOX 435 SS 12866
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
02-APR-19
TURF HOTELS
792 WATERVLIET SHAKER RD
LATHAM, NY 12110
250.00
08-MAR-19
BELMONTE, PETER J
145 JACKSON ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
BLACK, GILLIAN
94 YORK AVE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
BLANCHARD, ROBERT
15 SPA CIRCLE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
BONACIO JR, ALFIO
18 DIVISION ST SUITE 401
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
27-FEB-19
BROWN, CHARLES W
10 PERRY ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
CAIN, GEORGE
6 ROUNDTABLE RD
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
35.00
08-MAR-19
CARR JR, DAVID
13 OAKLAND DR
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
CLEMENTS, BRUCE H
28 CLINTON ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
125.00
08-MAR-19
COLLINS, DAVID J
8 TOMMY LUTHER DR
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
CORBETT, CYNTHIA A
45 WALTON ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
150.00
08-MAR-19
DAKE, GARY C
PO BOX 435
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
DAKE, W P
90 BRYAN STREET
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
500.00
11-APR-19
DAKE, W P
90 BRYAN ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
DALTON, ROBIN
78 CAROLINE ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
21-MAR-19
DELEONARDIS, VINCENT J
30 MAGNOLIA DR
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
75.00
08-MAR-19
DEMARCO, DAVID
7 INGERSOLL RD
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
DICARA, TAMMY
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
FOSTER, DOROTHY
4 BIRCH RUN DR
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
GOLDBERG, SUSAN V
66 SARAZEN STREET
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
99.00
22-MAR-19
GORMAN, KATHRYN
55 RAILROAD PL APT 311
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
25.00
08-MAR-19
HIGGINS, RICHARD L
100 UNION AVE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
HIGGINS, RICHARD L
100 UNION AVE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
500.00
11-APR-19
HOFFMAN, MICHAEL
38 HIGH ROCK AVE, UNIT 6K
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
500.00
11-APR-19
HOFFMAN, MICHAEL
38 HIGH ROCK AVE, UNIT 6K
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
28-FEB-19
HOLLOWOOD, CYNTHIA D
144 5TH AVE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
17-MAY-19
HOVER, MARK AND CATHERINE
43 LONG ALLEY
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
IRELAND, KIMBERLY
3 FRUITWOOD DR
BURNT HILLS , NY 12027
100.00
08-MAR-19
JONES, MATTHEW J
2 VICTORIA LANE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
1,000.00
08-MAR-19
JORGENSEN, DIANE M
5 WIEBECKE CT
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
KIEHL, ELLEN
231 CAROLINE ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
35.00
02-APR-19
LASALLE, GAYLE B
147 WOODLAWN
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
25.00
08-MAR-19
LEWIS, TOM L
60 FRANKLIN ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
LUCAS, JOY A
30 BRAIM RD
GREENFIELD CENTER , NY 12833
150.00
08-MAR-19
LYONS, CHRISTOPHER
2163 ROWLEY RD
BALLSTON SPA, NY 12020
100.00
08-MAR-19
MADIGAN, MICHELE D
7 EMERALD LANE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
154.03
11-APR-19
MADIGAN, MICHELE D
7 EMERALD LANE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
36.04
14-APR-19
MALLORY, PATRICIA
12 ROBERTS LANE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
MARTINEZ, JAMES
15 FIFTH
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
75.00
08-MAR-19
MATHIESEN, DMD, CHRISTIAN E
154 WEST AVE 12866
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
MCCLENEGHEN, FRANK D
2189 COOK RD
GALWAY, NY 12074
250.00
08-MAR-19
MCCLENEGHEN, FRANK D
2189 COOK RD
GALWAY, NY 12074
500.00
03-MAY-19
MCLAUGHLIN, PATRICIA M
6209 EMPIRE AVE
SCHENECTADY , NY 12306
100.00
02-APR-19
MURATORI, VALERIE
288 CAROLINE ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
02-APR-19
NEWKIRK, THOMAS R
553 CRESCENT AVE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
OGDEN, JOSEPH J
11 MOKASHA SQ
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
PARILLO, FRANK
4 THERESA TERRACE
MALTA , NY 12020
250.00
17-FEB-19
PARTRIDGE, JANICE
2 MAGNOLIA DR
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
200.00
08-MAR-19
QUINN ZANELLA, KELLY
27 COLLINS TERRACE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
ROOHAN, J THOMAS
514 BROADWAY
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
ROOHAN, J THOMAS
519 BROADWAY
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
500.00
11-APR-19
SALERNI, EUGENE
24 LONGWOOD
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
75.00
08-MAR-19
SANTAMARIA, KATHLEEN
3 KEMPTON PL APT 7
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
SCHWARZ-LAWTON, HELEN
209 NELSON AVE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
SELLERS, RICHARD
PO BOX 789
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
200.00
08-MAR-19
SHIMKUS, TODD
139 JEFFERSON ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
SOBOL GOMEZ, ELIZABETH
15 ADAMS ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
500.00
01-MAY-19
SOBOL GOMEZ, ELIZABETH
15 ADAMS ST, 12866
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
STENGLEIN, PHILIP A
7 WHITE OAK PATH
BALLSTON SPA, NY 12020
75.00
08-MAR-19
SUTTON, RODNEY J
12 FIFTH AVE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
VON SCHENK, STEPHEN
75 COOLIDGE LN
DIAMOND POINT, NY 12824
100.00
08-MAR-19
WAIT, CHARLES W
658 N BROADWAY
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
250.00
08-MAR-19
WAIT, JR, CHARLES V
8 LAKEVIEW DR
GANSEVOORT , NY 12831
100.00
08-MAR-19
WALSH, MARGARET
16 ROSEWOOD DR
CLIFTON PARK , NY 12065
250.00
08-MAR-19
WEIHE, MARTHA JANE
44 WHITE ST
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
WILDER, NANCY
6 HORSESHOE DR
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
14-MAY-19
WILSON, KATHLEEN
16 CENTRAL AVE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
50.00
08-MAR-19
ZANGRANDO, JOANNA
24 COLLINS TERRACE
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
ZIEKER, MELISSA
10 MAGNOLIA DR
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
WILLIAM B WILMOT AND JOAN M. TAYLOR
46 UNION AVE, UNIT 204
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
100.00
08-MAR-19
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 12866
644.00
08-MAR-19
Total Contributions: 17,178.00
Saratoga Springs Politics 