SKIP, THE THEATER DISTRICT BALLERINA

After many years of the citizens of Saratoga trying to tell the Council that they wanted a multi-use Parking Garage that would bring in million's to the City every year the Council of Doom (Madigan, Matheisen & Scirocco) did not listen and went ahead with the Mark Baker Garage which pays the City $50,000.00 per year.  This new move of creating a Theater District in the unused area of the lot is designed only to see that the City Center pay’s its debt down as there was no way it can do so now (it has an annual deficit, and the bedroom tax it relies on is dwindling) and Baker's figures changed faster that Skip could say huh?

Now it is to be believed that Skippy the Wonder Boy after years of not making any sense at meetings or with contract workers or developers, save for one, comes up with a grandiose design (shown in Sunday's Saratogian) and we are led to believe that this 'District' was conceived by him.

I read the article which took most of the morning because I just couldn't stop laughing at his quotes.  The one that stood out to me was the reasoning for this Theater District.  Skip is a closet theater lover “I like theater, but I don’t go very often,” he said. “Mostly I’ve seen high school plays. I’ve never actually been to a Broadway show. So this plan is just something I think would be good for the city. It’s not because I have a personal theatrical agenda.” why this alone could make him a large lover of the theater.  I have to tell you, if this was the Skipper’s idea, he has been wasting his life; he should have been a planner for the City rather than chasing dogs.

I will dare say another thought crossed my mind, guess who will be building this Theater District?  I’ll bet that it will be Sonny Bonaccio, after all he had one of his top men on the Citizen’s Committee that brought back their ideas on the RFP’s why the multi-use garage wouldn’t work and he was appointed by non-other than Skip’s femme fatale Michele Madigan, so the saying Follow The Money still has merit.

Scirocco was quoted “We want this to be new, innovative and modern,” Scirocco said. “But we want to keep the historic connection, too. The city is so well-suited to this idea, being a community of the arts.”  Yep!  This is right next to a generic, concrete & brick ugly parking garage.  He also stated “Some benefits of a High Rock theater district would include extending Broadway show business from New York City north to Saratoga Springs; providing a year-’round economic powerhouse; offering high-quality space in which local and out-of-town troupes can perform”  I am almost sure that if ‘What’s New Pussycat’ is playing in this theater there will be busloads coming to Saratoga from NYC, ’What is Marcia from SPAC going to think about this competition?  Wasn’t one of the big reasons she objected to the Racino’s small facility was because it would give SPAC (a 4 month venue) competition?  If competition is good for business, has the Skipster changed his mind about the convention building at the Racino?  Will he now support this venue because it will bring in more small conventions and music groups, helping the City’s pocket book and again he said competition is good?

I think the next logical move would be for the Siamese majority of Madigin, Matheisen & Scirocco to build a facility on the Farmer’s Market land and construct a building that could house the National Dog Pageants typically shown on the USA network, heck we already have Miss Pekinese living on North Broadway, the Miss Capital District Pageants and all sorts of other things to use the parking garage and make some more historical moments for Saratoga. 

We better watch out, Skippy is thinking outside the box, if it really is him and not the Art District we are in big trouble.