CHAPTER 3

I know Chapter 3 comes on the heels of Chapter 2 but Chapter 3 kind of finishes off SAVE. Tonight’s Council meeting may have finished off the SAVE groups plot to stymie the Casino & Raceway’s plans to expand.  Speaker after speaker played the same tune as in previous Council meetings (they don’t want the Racino to expand, period).  However, much to the chagrin of the SAVE group, the City’s  outside legal expert in  SEQRA cases  told the Council and those in attendance and online during a Q & A that any lawsuit to become lead agency would fail and cost the City a lot of money for basically nothing.  He stated that the City filed an Article 78 in a similar case in 2006 and lost and he also commented that the laws have gotten tougher against Cities in these cases.

Also our esteemed DPW Commissioner asked Skip Carlson ‘how much time does a customer stay and play the slots’?  This is another gem from the lips of the Commissioner.

I know it’s never over until the fat lady sings but I thought I did hear Robert Davis singing ‘We All Live in a Yellow Submarine’, as he left the building. 

CHAPTER 2

Well, Chapter 2 regarding the Casino/Raceway scuffle has gone to the proponents of an expansion at their property.  Round 1 went to SAVE Saratoga with a no vote from the Council as far as a casino coming to Saratoga.  I still think that Saratoga will get a casino because if one is located in E. Greenbush or Albany it will be a set back for businesses and dining establishments in and around our City and I don’t just mean Broadway.

The article hit the newspaper last Friday morning regarding the City’s status in what involvement they have in the project, Saratoga Springs was listed as an involved agency, meaning they had discretionary approval of the plans and now is a City which has none because any changes goes through the  State’s Office of General Services..  The demand from the Mayor a week earlier of ‘they (Racino) HAVE to go through the City’s Land Use Boards to I hope they will go through the Land Use Boards, sorry Mayor, I don’t think they will play ball with you on this one since you shafted them on the issue already.

I feel we need another convention center and it will fit in nicely with what we have now instead of chasing business to Albany as Mark Baker has done in the past when his City Center is booked.

It is interesting reading the comments that are written by citizens at the bottom of the article printed on the free online version of the Saratogian.  It seems the SAVE group sometimes referred by commentators as Saratogian’s Against Virtually Everything have become quite loud and nasty in their posts.  Water is an issue at the Racino with them now tapping into the County water supply, so the Councils past actions have hurt the City in this respect also. 

Talking about City water, DPW is installing 2 new water lines on Gridley & Crescent.  The project is $90,000.00 just for parts alone; labor cost information is being withheld according to sources.  These 2 water lines benefit the flat track and the City is picking up the tab.  By the way, the track gets plenty of water now but 2 years of a chlorine problem where the track had to shut down 80% of water usage for days is the reason Skip is installing the lines which is supposed to solve the City’s chlorine problem to water that goes into the track.