HAPPY NEW YEAR, I THINK

Well it’s a New Year and let’s hope things won’t  be getting worse before they get better.  However, we still have Scirocco & Madigan in office and that could bring big problems.  Now that we have a new Mayor, my wish is that she can gavel Madigan (which will most likely be every meeting) down and put her in place as the Finance Commissioner not the out of control ego maniac  she is. If Mayor Kelly can accomplish one thing, that is to keep the Council meetings in check and moving along instead of letting Madigan bloviate, the city might get something done.

Skip Scirocco and The DPW/Water Department had a big problem with lead in the City’s drinking water in 2017. Additionally, at the end of 2017we found out even more  troubling news, Scirocco tried to hide facts from those who drink City water.   A locational average of four quarterly samples is used to determine compliance with the New York State public drinking water standard. Samples are collected at 4 locations within our system – Louden Rd., Van Rensselaer St., South Broadway and Skidmore College.  The report that he does not want you to know!

In samples collected during August of 2017, the average level of THMs was 82 micrograms per liter (ug/l) at the Skidmore College testing site.

The DPW report is understating the issue. Each testing location has to stand on its own per the USEPA Clean Water act as of 2013. Locational averages are no longer allowed. Further each position must carry that value for a full year as each measured position carries its each own average value over the course of a year.

In essence, prior to 2013, you could have a problem (hot spot) but white wash it away by averaging it across your whole system. That is no longer allowed. Each sample position carries a rolling 12-month average so 1 bad reading will have an impact for a year.

I’ve seen how poorly DPW/Water Department is negligent in their control of chlorine usage is. This is 100% a result of that lack of control and the fact that we have a shallow, organic ladened, surface water source. And poor leadership in DPW

There is a reason that back in 1977, we decided THMs and HAAs were important enough to regulate, start to monitor and establish increasing restrictions. 

Google the Saratoga County water system and the issues they had around 2013-2014 when multiple towns (Halfmoon for sure, I think CP too) shut off supply due to this issue).

It’s bullshit to suggest this is DPW report not a big deal.

THM’s According to a University of Florida report, exposure to THMs may pose an increased risk of cancer. According to Rebekah Grossman, two THMs, chloroform and dibromochloromethane, are carcinogens; and another THM, bromodichloromethane, has been identified as a mutagen, which alters DNA.  Now how many areas in the City had this problem since DPW only checks 4 spots?  Is there anything that can be done as a preventative measure, yes but DPW does not have these in place.

 The use of chlorine to disinfect water produces various disinfection byproducts, which have been classified mainly as halogenated and non-halogenated byproducts. These primary byproducts are trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids. THMs are the byproducts of chlorination of water that contains natural organic matter.

Saratoga once had very good tasting drinking water but those days are long gone, heavy chlorination has taken that away and that’s where the problem lies especially during track season.  As I said there are inexpensive measures to keep the  disinfection byproducts in check.  They should be used.

Doesn’t anyone keep the residents of the City updated about important matters especially when we are thinking about placing our relatives in places like Wesley Health Care Center or Saratoga Hospital?

In the Fall of 2016 2 lawsuits were brought against 1) Saratoga Hospital and 2) Wesley Health Care Center in connection with an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease in these 2 institutions last fall. Saratoga Springs resident Susan Gonino has sued Saratoga Hospital, claiming she contracted Legionnaire's while admitted to the hospital for surgery in October and The son of Alice Johnson, an 86-year-old woman who died in October after contracting Legionnaire's disease at the Wesley Health Care Center, has sued the nursing home.  Come on Skip, what the hell are you doing to us?

The city’s main water source - Loughberry Lake has not been inspected for 29 Years.

Yes 29 Years!!!!

The issue was brought to the council table by Mayor Yepsen, and  DPW/Water Commisssioner Scirocco said it was not needed!!!! More BS by SS.

 A City Hall insider told me that Scirocco hired an outside firm for $60,000.00 to come up with a study on how to flush the hydrant system, (you have to do it in sequence so you keep the crap moving down the line) but I was told that the Swami (Scirocco) has never followed the the plan.  The previous Director didn’t need to spend the $60,000.00 and I can’t remember anyone dying from bad water.

Finance Office

I can already hear the excuses spewing from Commissioner Madigan’s mouth. She is up to her eyes in debt and she is hemorrhaging money!  Get ready for the blame game to start. 2016 was a 1 Million dollar deficit year, 2017 will be too. She already is borrowing money for 2018.

Let us see how long before she cries poverty.  

I will bet you we get a big property tax increase in the next budget.  There is a reason she has announced that this is her last 2 years on the Council.

WATER,FIRE, EMS, NYRA, OH MY!

The “Sutherland Report” was a study conducted by the DEC which was chosen by the City Council and was compiled between 1986 and1987 regarding the condition of Loughberry Lake and its water shed which has been the principal water source for Saratoga Springs since 1870.  If you haven’t noticed, Saratoga Springs has changed quite a bit since then both in population, building growth and pollution.  As James Sutherland, who was the research scientist for the DEC and was the person who issued the report, hence “the Sutherland Report” stated, “an important study finding was that only 4% of the Loughberry Lake watershed lies within the City of Saratoga Springs; the remaining portion of the watershed is in Greenfield (33%) and Wilton (63%).  This means that the city of Saratoga Springs has no control over the land-use activities in the watershed that cause steady degradation of the lake’s water quality.  This fact alone should be cause for alarm and action.”  As Sutherland also stated “Loughberry Lake was classified as “moderately contaminated” with heavy metals.  Nuisance aquatic vegetation was a major concern to the extent that weed harvesting was initiated and continues even today.  The presence of Route 50, a major traffic thoroughfare along the lake’s southern shoreline, is always cause for concern (also accidents like the City spilling fuel in the lake not too long ago) is always cause for concern since shutdown of the city’s primary water supply is only one traffic accident away from being a reality, which would paralyze city water users.

   

 In retrospect, the 10 year lead time suggested in the report before replacement of Loughberry Lake became imperative was unrealistic.  However, the purpose of that number was to encourage the City Council to start planning the replacement of the lake as its primary source of drinking water within a reasonable time period.

    

As Mr. Sutherland also stated “Recently, I have noticed occasional articles in the Saratogian about the Loughberry Lake water supply and the Bog Meadow Brook system and realize that not too much has changed since the “Sutherland Report” was released 26 years ago.”  (One thing has changed though; our current Commissioner has made back room deals to sell our precious drinking water to developments outside the City of Saratoga Springs).

We are very fortunate to have a gentleman like Mr. Sutherland along with his experience as a neighbor and he should be a welcome source of information to the City.  I only wish past Council’s would have taken his report seriously and acted on it.

I have followed the need of those who wanted to swap the land on Broadway for a parcel on Union Avenue to construct an Eastside Firehouse and EMS facility for residents on the East side of the Northway.  The deal passed unanimously at the last Council meeting.  East side voices were heard for months at past Council meetings, “residents expressed urgent concern for the project, asking the City to act in their best interest.”  Laurie Wellman, who lives near Saratoga Lake, expressed concern for the desperate need for emergency services in her neighborhood.  How about this one, “How much is just one life worth?” or How long do we have to wait?  This is a good one, ‘We are residents of the City, we pay taxes to the City and we hope that our lives and property are valued by the City’.

I’m linking the 2 stories for you, especially the Lake people to think about.  Those who yelled and pleaded with the City and those homeowner group reps on or near the lake demanding the firehouse and EMS facility, which I believe are needed, are the same people who cry and yell whenever Saratoga Lake is mentioned as a water source for the City and all of its residents.  The anti lake people are led by General Wilma Koss’s militia and they could care less about the state of our drinking water.  Loughberry Lake was found to be moderately productive and contaminated 27 years ago, yet it is still in use today with no back up plan in sight and I ask the East side residents “How much is one life worth?”, How long do we have to wait for a back up plan?  We are residents of the City; we pay City taxes and hope that our lives and property are valued by the City.  We are expressing urgent concern for a water project and the lake is the best one and we are asking the City Council to act in our best interest.  Let’s hope those out near the lake will be a little more rational when the Lake comes up again in conversation as a water supply, which will happen sooner than later.

Last week, the NYRA Board of Directors voted to give NYRA CEO Chris Kay a 3% pay increase on top of his $300,000.00 salary and a $250,000.00 bonus after 1 year at the helm and the triggers that he had to meet to get the bonus looked bogus in the first place.  After hiring Kay last July, the board found out that Kay had only seen 2 live races in his life and then had to hire a V.P of racing at an unknown salary but believed to be in the neighborhood of close to $175,000.00.  The question that racing fans that keep an eye on what NYRA does are wondering why the rash of hires of V.P.’s at costly salaries?  The racing does seem to have gotten better under the V.P. of racing but the business side under Kay seems to be getting worse.  As the Saratogian reporter Paul Post reported, Kay has now added the over 6,300 season pass holders into the daily attendance number whether they are there or not.  Let’s put some pressure on our 2 local Board reps (Charles Wait and John Hendrickson) to make sure NY racing will be placed in good hands next year for whoever takes over the NYRA contract.