shore lines - saratoga lake...
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Michael Dean out-fished his Poppi, resident Vince Polsinelli, of Stony Point with the catch of the day, a large-mouth bass.
“Lake Avenue at Silver Beach had it's first parade ever in honor of lake resident Terry Segel's "30th" birthday. Queen Terry was driven in her mustang by husband Burt, and several friends.” (submitted by Paul Phillips)
Tonya Trombley and daughter Takoda Porrazzo “cruzin” around. Friend of Takoda, Raven Stables, practices her kayaking skills.
Shore Lines The Saratoga Lake Association
P.O. Box 2152 Ballston Spa, NY 12020
www.saratogalake.org July 15, 2013
Julie Annotto, co-editor Sharon Urban, co-editor [email protected] [email protected]
Sizzling Saratoga Summer
Photo by Julie Annotto
the Celtic Bodhran Saratoga National Historical Park Sunday, July 21st from 1pm-4pm Celtic bodhran player B.J. Naple with special guest Ten-penny Bit and Irish dancer Terri Hughes with special guest Wild Irish Acres Dancers present an afternoon of traditional Celtic music, bodhran designing, and dancing for all ages and abilities! 1:00-2:00 Dance and drum mini-performance Dance demonstration; participants learn basic routines 2:00-3:00 Design a bodhran drum out of recycled materials 3:00-4:00 Drum demonstration; participants learn basic drumming technique and rhythmic pattern. Dance and drum jam for all!
This event is the first part of a three-part series entitled "Rural Soul Drumming and Movement". The Stillwater Free Library is proud to have been awarded a 2013 Sara-toga Arts Council Project Grant to be able to offer this multi-generational arts and culture exploratory workshop set in the great outdoors! Families are offered the chance to discover music and dance from West Africa (May at the community center), Ireland (July at the battlefield), and India (September at the blockhouse park). This series of events is funded by a grant from Stew-art's Shops Holiday Match program and by the Saratoga Program for Arts Funding, which is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legis-lature and are administered by Saratoga Arts. Free event - RSVP so we have enough supplies!
August 3
Water Chestnut Removal
Please volunteer a few hours of your time to this very important issue. Meet at the mouth of the Kaydeross Creek at 9:30 a.m. with your kayaks,
canoes, any small craft, and help pull in these lake invaders. Please e-mail your name and phone number to [email protected] by
Monday, July 29. SLPID will provide lunch at a local restaurant.
From resident Alan Richer . . . . “because of the proximity of the water chestnut pull to the Water's Edge HOA boat launch, I requested one time permission from the Water's Edge Homeowners Board of Directors to launch boats at our launch for the water chestnut pull. It will be okay for volunteers to put their boats in at our regular boat launch. This permission does not extend to the kayak boat launch since it is not quite as durable. Volunteers would have to park on Kaydeross Park Road and wheel or carry their craft to the boat launch.”
“We had an unusual visitor this morning at Waters Edge. This white pelican relaxed for several hours on our seawall before taking flight.” (photo by Bob Lane)
Malta Flooding Forces Search for Solution - The Ballston Journal
New Owner, New Look, New Tastes: Saratoga Chips Go-ing Nationwide
Featured Business
The Reynolds Group Helping to make your house more like home with … Sunesta awnings, screen and shelters Harman stoves Primo grills and smokers Softub portable hot tubs 1541 New York Route 67 Schaghticoke, NY 12154 (518) 753-4346 Owners: Ed Reynolds Matt Reynolds Sue Maroney Jerrine Meyer
Welcome to the Saratoga Lake Association!
Notable News
Bass Fishing Tournament Sunday, July 21
To benefit Gateway House of Peace, a Charitable Hospice.
Launch at Lee’s Campground — 2 pp/boat maximum Registration: 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Tournament: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Register at Saratoga Tackle or visit
www.gatewayhouseofpeace.org. For more information contact [email protected].
Timely Reminders
Three Phish concert dates boost business in Spa City.
Community invited to tour Saratoga County horse farms July 28.
WMHT to air documentary on the history of Saratoga Race Course
Community organizations receive $242,000 from GlobalFoundries.
Great racehorses honored at Saratoga Race Course's Hoofprints Walk of Fame (with video).
Upcoming Ladies Event At Saratoga Race Track
2nd Annual "Bonnets for Breakfast"
Saturday, July 27th at 8:30 a.m. Watch the horses run & enjoy a great
breakfast buffet trackside! Wear your "Saratoga" bon-net as we will be voting for the best one !
$15 Per Person - Payable at Breakfast Please RSVP to Dianne Fedoronko at:
[email protected] by July 20th - - thanks !
Tina Pamper
made a trip to
Olney, Illinois
to visit her
granddaughter
Hope Grace
Kittle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtIl3h1gg5M
Joan and Bob Giombetti celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their children and grandchildren.
Alonzo Fireworks employees unload and check the fireworks
they will set off on the south west end off Riley Cove.
Maria Mahar captured a video of the fireworks finale and sent
them to us. Please click on the link and enjoy once again the
fun of the July 4th celebration.
The Make Your Own Way girls — Pinky Morahan,
Donna Bove, Julie Wash and Marion Luce, having a
great time at the Backyard Summer Soiree hosted by
Donna and John Bove on Saturday! Bobby Dick and
Suzie played tunes while guests danced the night
away! Panza's catered wonderful hors d'oeurves and
pasta, carving and dessert stations! Absolutely won-
derful time was had by all 70 guests under the tent!!
Thanks to SLPID for the great
fireworks display!!!
NEWS from THE WELCOME BOAT COMMITTEE of the SARATOGA LAKE ASSOCIATION
A Welcome Boat Basket was delivered by Jane Riley
to her new neighbor, Joe & Barbara Riordan, of Fish Creek View recently.
On behalf of the entire Lake community,
a warm welcome to the Riordans !
With the particularly wet stretch of weather we’ve been “blessed” with, many areas were left with high waters. Kathy Fedorchak of Riley Cove sent photos taken from the front and back of her property.
Lakeside Acres was another area that sat under water.
Photo by Virginia Clark.
STATE STATS—Part 2 Delaware has more scientists and engineers than any other state. Florida at 874.3 square miles, Jacksonville is the largest city in the United States. Georgia it was here, in 1886, that pharmacist John Pemberton made the first vat of Coca-Cola. Hawaii Hawaiians live, on average, five years longer than resi- dents of any other state. Idaho TV was invented in Rigby, Idaho, in 1922.
SUMMER IN THE SUN IS FUN. Parties, fishing, swimming, water sports, guests and a whole lot of great opportunities for taking photos to share. Submissions to Julie at [email protected].
The Dog Days of Summer!
Is it a 911? In our last issue, we wrote about boaters dialing 911 for a disabled boat or other non-emergency issues. We reported that responses to these calls initiate a response from Arvin Hart, Malta Ridge and Round Lake Fire De-partments. This is a waste of man power and the use of multi-million dollar equipment. We all need to get the word out that in a non-emergency situation, help is just a boat away. Carry a flag, rag, jacket — wave it and help will come. Last weekend, a 911 call initiated a response from the three departments, along with their equipment, only to get on site and find that the disabled boat had already been towed in by another boater. Think before you make a call.
Items to have aboard your boat include: Personal flotation devices — they must be serviceable
and easily accessible. All children need to be wearing PFDs.
Visual distress equipment — state law requires that every mechanically controlled vessel, 16 feet or longer, carry a U.S. Coast Guard approved visual distress equipment. This can be a flare, a pyrotechnic device like an electric distress light, or an orange distress flag.
Although it’s not mandatory for boats under 26 feet in length, it is wise to carry a fire extinguisher.
An anchor large enough to hold the vessel in place. A whistle or horn Most important, know the rules of the lake. Many of our visitors get in a boat without any knowledge or train-ing and head out for the day. It is an accident waiting to happen and we all have to be vigilant out there. Enjoy your boating experience and pass along your knowledge to “newbees.” We’ll all have a much more pleasant experience out there.
News from Arvin Hart Sometime in October you will begin to see a new Arvin Hart airboat training on Saratoga Lake. With $10,000 provided by the GlobalFoundries – Stillwater Foundation and the remaining $60,000 from the appa-ratus capital reserve fund, the Stillwater Fire District is moving forward with the purchase of the new craft. A committee of members has been busy over the last 6 months looking at several airboats to learn which ones have performed the best in all weather condi-tions. It seems that the Air Ranger mod-el manufac-tured by American Airboats of Orange Texas performs the best and is built specifically to take the rigors of use on frozen surfaces using a proprietary reinforced design. These are the same airboats currently used by the NY State Police and State Forest Rangers. The boat will be pulled by the current 1999 wa-ter rescue support unit housed at Station #2 on George Thompson Road. The airboat will be 18 feet long and 8 foot wide, and will be powered by a 550HP all aluminum marine engine. This craft will also feature a windscreen for the driver and a powerful array of lights for night op-erations. The reason for the large engine is the three blade composite whisper tip prop and the need to have sufficient power to get out of trouble especially in swift water or flood water situations. We learned with our first rescue boat that, “speed is your enemy and power is your friend.” The current craft is not capable of being used in swift water and has limitations in rough water conditions, thus cannot safely be used for more difficult rescue situations. The airboat includes a Coast Guard certified fuel tank, approved lighting and a heavy duty aluminum tan-dem axle trailer custom built to hold the airboat. The Ranger Airboat is on an approved Government Services Administration (GSA) contract which simplifies pur-chase. Upon completion some members will receive hands on training at the Orange Texas facility and will return to qualify additional operators. (submitted by Tom Rinaldi, Commissioner, Stillwater Fire District)
Best wishes to Paul Hladik as he
recovers from his recent surgery.
Our thoughts and prayers are with
both Paul and Donna.
Members Hold Fishing Tournament “My name is John Riccitelli and I own property at Czupil Road at the Lake. I worked for the Colonie Police Department for 25 years and retired 9 years ago. Al Roehr (Riley Cove resident) and I have been hold-ing a Colonie PBA fishing tournament on Saratoga Lake for the last 26 years. We began by having the event at Fish Creek Marina, we went to South Shore for a few years and we now launch from the State launch and have a luncheon at the Eagles Club on Crescent Ave. after the tournament.”
The winner was Paul Rogers with a 38 inch pike.
The Visit On July 6th, Ann Jay and Jim Clark flew from Hartford CT, to visit the Cronins, of Fathom Drive, Stillwater. They traveled in a single engine Cessna 182, 4 passen-ger propeller driven airplane from Hartford CT to Burrello-Mechanicville Airport (K27). The flight time was approxi-mately 28 minutes. The airport itself is a privately owned, public use airstrip that was officially registered with the FAA in 1975 as air-port "K27" Burrello-Mechanicville Airport. It was original-ly owned and developed by the Burrello family. As a pri-vately owned airport it does not receive any federal, state or local money to keep it running, so this is made possible through the generosity of the owners. The runway itself is a 21 foot wide (about the size of a double driveway) by 1800 foot asphalt and gravel runway at an elevation of 200 feet. According to the 2011-2015 National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), released by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),there are 5,170 airports open to the general public with 503 airports offering commercial ser-vice (Albany, Boston, JFK, etc). Unfortunately we lose about 200 airports a year to development, lack of funds and such. Jim has his commercial pilot license and has been flying for 19 years. He has flown all over NE includ-ing Canada and has taken longer trips to Key West FL, Austin Texas, Minneapolis and a host of other loca-tions up and down the coast. Across all those flights , he has flown into a bunch of grass and dirt runways and such but this was definitely one of the smaller airports he has ever landed at. (submitted by Penny Cronin)
Runway view
from sky
It bears repeating . . . . Last year we printed some com-ments from readers about summer renters. We thought it would be beneficial to print some of them again, especially if you are a land-lord or live next to a property that is rented. Choose your tenants every bit as carefully as you
choose your rental property; Always remember, as a general rule, tenants don’t take
care of the property; If you rent your property, it is important to the neigh-
borhood that you maintain upkeep on it; Inform your tenants to have regard for neighbors with
regard to noise, campfires, and litter. If you allow pets, inform the renters that they must
keep them on their own property and clean up after them;
Above all, if everyone considers the rights of the landlords, renters and neighborhood, it’ll be a great summer!
Stolen from south side, between 8th and 9th Street, the mate to this concrete swan, sometime on the morning of July 3rd, in broad daylight right next to Route 9P. There is a $250 reward for arrest and conviction. PLEASE contact Joseph DiDonna Sr., 56 Shore Ave at 248-2424, or Saratoga County Sheriffs Office.
MISSING
Bob and Maria Daviero hosted their beautiful granddaughter’s first birthday party on July 4th. Ella Rosalie Daviero’s party was amazing with 75 people to celebrate Independence Day and their grandbaby's birthday. The kids had so much fun on the bouncy bounce, in the little swimming pools (adults were cooling off in the little pools too-it was quite the sight to see!), and in the lake. Ella is the daughter of Jordan and Melissa Daviero. (submitted by Maria Daviero)
“This creature found its way onto our shore today....
This turtle's shell is approximately 18-20" long and he has huge paws....neither of us has ever seen one this big at the lake…” Bob Gulotty and Fran McGee.
This is a real old-timer. Any experts out there want to give a little more details?
Town of Stillwater working on Disaster Preparations
The Town of Stillwater has an Emergency Management Planning Committee that has been meeting for 8 years. The committee represents both the Town and the Village in addressing planning issues in the event of a community emergency or disaster and is positively supported by the elected officials in both jurisdictions. The members of the committee are a diverse group made up of town and vil-lage residents, members of the first response community including the town and village fire departments, members of the town and village board, civic organizations, the Community Center, National Park, the Town Highway and Police departments, Saratoga Lake Association, church groups, school facilities, the National Weather Ser-vice and mental health professional. The current chair-man of the Committee is Tom Rinaldi who is a 45 year member of the fire service and retired from New York State after 27 years with 12 years at the Office of Emergen-cy Management in various capacities including Deputy Director. Over the past 8 years the Committee has performed a hazard analysis for the Town and Village and as a result has adopted a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan to provide guidance in the event of an emergency or disaster. The comprehensive plan includes planning guidelines and legal authorities to emergency response, preparedness activities, a response plan and a recovery plan. Guidance includes job descriptions for an Emergen-cy Operations Center (EOC) and guidance for declaring a state of emergency. In addition to the comprehensive plan, the committee has also developed several attach-ments including a Shelter Plan, a Pet Shelter Plan, a Men-tal Health Plan, a Donations Management/Volunteer Re-source Management Plan and several other guidance docu-ments used during response and recovery operations. The committee meets monthly at the Stillwater Fire District, Arvin Hart Main Station. Meetings cover status of annual goals, discussion of recent emergency manage-ment related events and training on how to respond to incidents. During the 2nd half of 2013, the committee will discuss emergency related scenarios that will challenge the group to consider how to best manage emergencies. The Town has also incorporated a space at the new Town Hall to be used as an EOC if necessary. The committee wel-comes members of the community and of community or-ganizations who would like to be able to assist the commu-nity during emergencies. This is not a response organiza-tion, the goal is to provide coordination, communication
continued next column
and cooperation among all of the response groups, agen-cies and organizations during an event. The EOC serves two main purposes, collect and disseminate correct infor-mation and to assign mission requests to the appropriate agencies or organizations. The purpose of emergency management is to provide a unified and coordinated re-sponse to the residents of the community. An important accomplishment of the Committee has been the development of a Shelter Plan and working with the Stillwater Area Community Center to develop an in-ternal response plan to establish shelter services at the Community Center. The Community Center staff has also worked with the Red Cross to learn how to properly staff and manage a general population shelter. Infor-mation will be forthcoming to let residents know when to go to a shelter, what to bring, what not to bring and what to expect. Operating adjacent to the shelter is a Pet Shel-ter since pets are not allowed in a general population shel-ter. Over the last 8 years the members of the committee have been exposed to the emergency planning process and have come to understand what it takes to respond to and manage an emergency event. The team has been remind-ed many times that when a community disaster occurs all hands will be needed and additional resources will likely be requested from State and Federal agencies. We en-courage all residents to develop their own emergency plan to be self sufficient for at a minimum of 48 hours with sufficient food, water, medicines, and the necessary supplies to cope with various weather conditions. (submitted by Tom Rinaldi, Chairman, Stillwater Emergency Committee)
Household Hazardous Waste Day is scheduled to be held Saturday, September 7, 2013 from 8 am to 4 pm. Registration for this event is now open. To register, you can go to www.cliftonpark.org and click on the link on the right that states Hazardous Waste Day Or you can visit the Clifton Park's Town Hall, Transfer Station, or the Clifton Park/Halfmoon Public Library to get your paper application. The paper applications need to be turned in to the Town Clerk at the Clifton Park Town Hall.
Registration for the event will stay open until September 4, 2013. This event is for Saratoga
County residents. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Michael Montague at 371-6651. Clifton Park Town Hall 1 Town Hall Plaza Clifton Park, NY 12065
Stillwater Area Community Center Stillwater Youth Theatre The Stillwater Youth Theatre will be performing "The Secret Garden" on August 23rd & 24th at 7:30 pm and August 25th at 3:00 pm. Tickets go on sale on July 17th. Attention local businesses — we are also selling advertise-ments in our program. A Full page ad is $100, half page is $50, and quarter page is $25. To purchase an ad, tickets or for more information about the Stillwater Youth Theatre, contact Shay at [email protected] or 664-2515 x 10. Open Gym Program *** New Summer Hours: Monday - Friday 3:00- 5:30. Reg-ular hours of 2:30 - 5:00 resume on August 12th.*** Open Gym at SACC is a time where kids can come and shoot hoops, kick a soccer ball around, and socialize with their peers. Open gym is for kids in grades 6-12 (ages 11 or 12 to 18 years old). Children in grades 5 and under are welcome to attend Open Gym as long as they are accompanied by a parent or other responsible adult over the age of 18. People over 18 are not allowed to participate in this program un-less they are accompanying a child under 12. Open Gym runs ONLY between the hours of 2:30-5pm Monday-Friday. There is no open gym on Saturday or Sun-day. We are unable to provide adequate supervision for children on the weekends. If your child is interested in attending the Open Gym Program, a parent/guardian and the child must fill out the registration form and bring it to us at SACC. For more information, contact Shay at [email protected] or 664-2515 x 10. Metabolic Strength, Conditioning and Weight Loss Class Enrollment in this program is ongoing. The cost is $10 per class. All equipment is provided. Classes are held in the Old Gym unless otherwise specified. Classes will be offered as follows: Monday: 6-7 am, 7-8 am, 6-7 pm Wednesday: 6-7 am, 7-8 am, 5-6 pm, 6-7 pm Friday: 6-7 am, 7-8 am Ongoing at the Community Center: Body Toning - Adult Pick-Up Basketball - Piano Lessons -Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts - and More! Did you know you can rent the gym or a classroom at SACC for your private party? Call 664-2515 x 23 for more information.
Important Information on Shoreline Permits There have been a lot of questions from the lake community as to who issues permits for shoreline work, who checks and enforc-es, how to find out if a particular property even has a permit and how to obtain a permit. We heard from several sources at the DEC and received some information you may want to keep. “In short, the DEC. The Warrensburg office would be the contact location for this area. Marc Migliore,([email protected]), 623-1285, is the Regional Permit Administrator. He is difficult to contact, so con-tact his assistant, Beth Magee,([email protected] ), 623-1283. Any work on a classified water, which Saratoga Lake is, needs to have a permit. A good web site with much information is http://www.dec.ny.gove/permits/6042.html. If ever there is a question about work and a permit, people can call the Permit Administrator’s office and ask if there is an issued permit for a specific address.” *********************************** There are many guidelines for building, filling, or any work along a shoreline, and most cases are individually evaluated, but some general guide lines include: . . . . .A Protection of Waters Permit is required for exca-vating or placing fill in navigable waters of the state, be-low the mean high water level, including adjacent and contiguous marshes and wetlands. Some examples of activities requiring a permit are: Installation of support piers (larger than 12” in diam-
eter) and cribs for docks or boathouses; Placement of fill for access, construction or structure
installation; Excavations associated with construction activities a
and dredging for navigation channel establishment or maintenance.
In all cases, it is advisable to check with the DEC before starting a project along the lakeshore. If you have ques-tions about ongoing projects that you feel will impact the lake negatively, don’t hesitate to make inquiries. It is everyone’s job to be a caretaker of Saratoga Lake. *********************************************************
Unleash your imaginations! Explore new places! Meet a wild animal or two! In their “Once Upon a Tune” program, Tales 'n Tunes provides a lively and highly par-ticipatory show and invites kids to listen to and take part in stories and songs. A combination of music and storytelling excitement, this performance includes folk and fairy tales that will spark kids' imaginations, encourage them to explore new places and picture new and familiar characters. Tales ‘n Tunes is composed of a duo, Carol Connolly and Don Darmer, who present original songs and musical stories which allow for plenty of audience partici-pation. Light refreshments will be served.
Wednesday, August 7 Tales ’n Tunes
Malta Community Center • 6:30pm
Wednesday, August 21 “Singing Around the Campfire”
Shenantaha Creek Park 7:00pm
Join us for an evening of traditional campfire songs, favorite folk tunes, cowboy songs, rounds, patriotic songs and sing-a-longs for the entire family! There will also be s’mores (roasted marshmallows with melted chocolate on graham crackers) to enjoy. Please bring lawn chairs or blankets. Registration is required for this free event. Call 899-4411 to register.
Celebrate Our 14th Annual Family Night!
Come out to the Shenantaha Creek Park and enjoy a fun family evening featuring activities such as: face paint-ing, bounce house, Disc Jockey, pony rides, petting zoo, balloon animals, free food! This fun event is sponsored by grant funding from the GLOBALFOUNDRIES - Town of Malta Foundation, Inc.
Wednesday, July 24 • 4:00 pm-7:00 pm Free of charge
Round-About Malta News from Saratoga Tackle
Saratoga County Fair Archery Booth On Tuesday July 16 the 172 year of the Saratoga County Fair will start at 9am. Saratoga Tackle & Archery is once again proud to sponsor the 4-H Archery booth. Tim has spent many hours with lots of volunteers improv-ing the booth this year, a fresh look for a new season. At the booth children and adults get to try out the wonder-ful sport of archery. Using a recurve bow they will try to hit targets and balloons. The excitement on children’s faces is worth seeing! We hope you will stop by the Conservation area to try your hand and while you’re there take a try at laser or rifle shooting. There are also wonderful displays of fish and wildlife providing lots of information on the diversity in NYS. There is also Dutch oven cooking, soap making, living history & blacksmith demonstrations. And you cannot go wrong stopping by the Maple Sugar Shack for a maple sugar snack; we personally never miss getting a bag of Maple Sugar Cotton Candy. Hope to see you there. Preparing for Archery Season We are only a few short months away from the start of hunting sea-son. If you are interested in archery hunting you need to start now. It takes time to prepare and get ready for this challenging, but rewarding, way of hunting. You not only have to tune your bow, you need to tune your body. The muscles you use when draw-ing a bow are not ‘everyday’ ones. It doesn’t just take practice to be an accurate shot it takes having your body in shape to perform. Spending at least a half hour or hour a day or few times a week practicing will get you ready. Many bow hunters will also take to tree stands and long treks into the woods. This also takes conditioning. Before you head out into the woods take time to check over your equipment to make sure it isn’t worn and it will work properly. Again though look to tune your body. That trek out in the woods carrying a bow and tree stand will not be easy. If you are lucky and have a regular spot to hunt you can get that tree stand set up long before you are ready to hunt. But if not you’ll be carting all that stuff – are you ready for that? If you are not maybe hitting the gym, taking walks, going for a hike, biking – you know best what activity will keep you interested and into shape. You want to enjoy your time out hunting and preparing for it is the only way to accomplish this. So always make it a goal to pull out your equipment long before you need it, check it, prepare it and just don’t forget your body is part of that program. Good Luck! (submitted by Tim and Rose Blodgett)
Update from Joanne Yepsen, County Supervisor for Saratoga Springs
The Saratoga Springs Kayaderosseras
Blueway Trailhead and Preserve July 2013
Serving on the Board of the Saratoga Springs Open Project and then as a founding member of Saratoga P.L.A.N. gave me a great foundation of experience and education to tackle some of the many initiatives on the County Board of Supervisors. Over the past eight years, together we have brought to fruition many projects. I am proud to be able to report to you some of our many ac-complishments. I am pleased that Bruce Goodale, Saratoga Lake Associ-ation President, recently brought up a concern about the use of the Lake as a public water supply source. Not only do I share that concern but, have taken great measures to advocate, protect and improve Saratoga Lake as a great natural resource and recreation waterway. First, you’ll recall in 2006 we worked to rid the 50-foot logjam from Lake Lonely to prevent further flooding of private properties and open access both on the water and land. This was a huge accomplishment that had caused major problems for decades. The access on the land was critical to respond to emergency calls and the access on the waterway opened up recreation connectivity between Lake Lonely, Saratoga Lake and the Kayaderosseras Creek. Another “first task” I encountered with the County Board of Supervisors included the creation and passage of a full comprehensive County Green Infrastructure Plan. Within that plan included the linkage of a trail along the Kayaderosseras. Today, I am happy to report that The Sa-ratoga Springs Kayaderosseras Blueway Trailhead and Preserve is finally becoming a reality. Over four years ago, on June 15, 2009, I assembled a small group to consider potential Saratoga Springs’ 2009 County Farmland and Open Space Preservation projects. Out of those meetings, came the recommendation to seek a County grant to acquire a portion of the Blodgett family property for purposes of establishing public access to the Kayaderosseras Creek and related improvements. From 2003 – 2011, the Board of Supervisors approved approximately $4.5 million in funds to municipalities and non-profits to further implement the Green Infrastructure Plan. Many applications for the Saratoga County Farm-land and Open Space Preservation Program were submit-ted and the distribution of funds became increasingly competitive each year. On July 30, 2009, following approval by resolution of the City Council, the application was completed and filed
The trailhead proposal was to establish on a 5 acre site (a portion of the so-called “Blodgett” property ap-pearing as Tax Map Parcel 192. -1-3) astride the Kaya-derossers Creek and adjacent to Kaydeross Avenue East and is designed and intended to advance the County’s Green Infrastructure Plan and provide easy, safe public access to the County Blueway Trail. The County Planning Staff and Board of Supervisors believed that this piece in the overall trail project was crit-ical for its success and, for establishing the only public access to the waterway for recreational boating. With a little help from my Friends of the Kayaderosseras, Sarato-ga P.L.A.N, Sustainable Saratoga, as well as the County Planning office, finally last year – facing the possible loss of the grant from the County, (the program was being phased out due to financial constraints), we convinced the City Council to resurrect the project and finally com-mit the funds out of the City’s designated recreation ac-count as Commissioner Madigan proposed. The establishment of the The Saratoga Springs Kaya-derosseras Blueway Trailhead and Preserve will provide free public access and a canoe and kayak launch – just as Randy and his family always had. The Saratoga Springs Planning Board has approved the division of the Blodgett land and the closing between the City of Saratoga Springs and the Blodgett family is expected to occur in the near future. The City will then seek reimbursement from the County Open Space and Farmland Protection fund closing the long-awaited circle. Let the kayaking begin! Thank you all for partnering with us on such important initiatives. I look forward to continuing our good preservation work together. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at www.saratogacountyny.gov Board of Supervisors, and then click directly to email me with your thoughts and concerns. Thank you.
Friends of the Kayaderosseras — “Meet the Creek”
Saturday, July 20, from 4—7 p.m., at Kelly Park in Ballston Spa
Event includes guided nature walks, live animals, games and activities, including a scavenger hunt with prizes. This year’s event will feature Dee Strinsa and her creek-dwelling animals. Those interested in helping the Friends can lean more/sign-up at the event. Rain date will be Saturday, July 27.