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SCOTIA & GLENVILLE
Voters overwhelmingly reject $26.76M capital school project
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly defeated a $26.76 million school district building project.
    The vote was 1,509 against and 811 in favor of the plan to renovate classroom space at the middle and high school and install an artifi cial turf athletic field.
    Board of Education President Margaret Smith said she was disappointed.
    “The community has spoken. We have to respect, I guess, what they’ve said,” she said. “Obviously, I’m very concerned about how we’re going to meet these needs that we have in our district. We’ll have to take some time as board to regroup and see what our options are.”
    Superintendent Susan Swartz said she was not surprised by the vote. The board will have to look at whether it wants to put together a smaller proposition in time for the May budget vote so it can at least use its $935,000 Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning (EXCEL) grant from the state.
    “We can expend those without any impact to our community. I think that we’ll at least at try that.”
    Smith said she believed the timing of the vote did not help, given the sour economy and Gov. David Paterson’s announcement of projected school aid cuts the same day. Voters on Tuesday afternoon said the economy weighed heavily on their minds.
    “I think it’s hard for people right now,” said Marjorie Kremzier of Scotia.
    Ron Peterson of Glenville also said he worried about the entire cost of the project, which would have raised taxes an average of 1.9 percent starting in 2010. This was equivalent to about $59 for a home with an assessment of $160,000.
    “The taxes are high enough. Even though they get money from the state, it still comes out of our pocket,” he said.
    One controversial aspect of the project was installing artificial turf at the current football field. School officials had said they would be able to practice and play more games on the surface without it degrading. It would also free up the other athletic fields and allow them to rest.
    Some voters like Dan Serrell of Glenville said they believed artificial turf was a luxury.
    Others like Elsa Lehman of Glenville, who has a daughter who plays field hockey, said she believed it was needed. “I think it’s more durable and requires less repair.”
    Even residents who voted in favor had an issue with the idea. Elizabeth Schwarting of Glenville said she was opposed to artificial turf, but voted yes because she supported the other aspects of the proposition. This included $5 million worth of general maintenance projects, including: roof upgrades at three elementary schools; renovating art and technology classrooms and expanding the library at the high school; enclosing the library and upgrading science laboratories at the middle school; and a demonstration solar project at Sacandaga Elementary School.
    The district had distributed an exit survey at the polls. Spokesman Robert Hanlon said an initial review of the feedback confirmed that the economy and the artifi - cial turf were two main reasons why voters said no.
    Smith said if the district did another proposition, it would try to address as many of the items on the building conditions survey with that amount of money. She worried that the aid could be cut in the future.
    She did not know what the district would do about the athletic fields. A stand-alone project to.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01101

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GLENVILLE
Small business hopes to double its workforce
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    A local company that constructs and services scaffolding intends to expand its work force after moving into a newly renovated building in the Glenville Business and Technology Park, officials announced.
    Safway Services Inc. will add fi ve to 10 jobs over the next five years to its current staff of 20, said Jerry Dolly, plant manager.
    The company announced expansion plans after moving into Building 406 at the park. The move followed approximately $1 million in renovations to the building by technology park owner, the Galesi Group. Safway had been located in Building 202 in the park, located near Exit 26 of the state Thruway.
    Safway will occupy 62,500 square feet in Building 406. The company has one of the largest in-house engineering departments in the industry, Dolly said. It can design specialized scaffolding systems for Fortune 500 companies to local contractors, he said.
    Safway relocated so that Sealed Air Corp. could move into Building 202 as part of its own expansion plans, said Galesi Chief Operating Officer David Buicko. Sealed Air signed a new lease agreement with Galesi in return for $2 million in renovations to Building 202. Sealed Air employs 100 people at the Glenville facility.
    Buicko said Galesi has created a showcase facility at the main entrance of the park with the renovations. “We plan to initiate further park enhancements, which will result in new tenants and economic activity for the region,” he said.
    Dolly said Galesi group was responsive to the company’s need for a new location and offered solutions during the design, construction and transition that made the move easier than expected.
    Safway is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp. ThyssenKrupp has more than 180,000 employees in approximately 70 countries. The firm produces items ...........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00804

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Ray Gillen, Metroplex Chair and Commissioner of Economic Development and Planning in Schenectady County said, "We are very fortunate that we have Safway in our community. This company is a leader in building and servicing the best in scaffolding products.  It is great news for Schenectady County that this company is expanding into Building 406 in Glenville. This is part of a comprehensive effort to develop a world class business park in Glenville."  

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The move from Building 202 to 406 was needed so that Sealed Air Corporation could utilize space in Building 202 under a $2 million project announced last week that will retain 100 jobs in Schenectady County.  Safway employs 20 in Glenville and expects to add five to ten jobs over the next five years.  

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GLENVILLE
Scotia mayor cites politics in fire contract
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    Kastberg defended the rising cost of the contract. Insurance costs have risen, and he also said the village has had to contribute more to retirement costs as stock investments declined.
    He said the village Fire Department’s operational costs have actually decreased because it has had some retirements and replaced those officers with younger, lower-paid employees.
    Kastberg said politics have interfered with the process. The cost of the contract for Fire District 4 used to be based on a formula where the residents and businesses in that district paid 25 percent of Scotia’s total cost for fire protection in the village. This is because of the assessed value of the property in Fire District 4 represents 25 percent of the total assessed value of the village.
    However, Kastberg said during the last time the village had five-year contract, the costs ballooned. Everybody was “up in arms and the town abandoned the formula and insisted on a lower price that was not tied to any formula.
    “Given this 10 percent per year increase in the cost for the last 10 years, we’ve got to say, ‘OK citizens. Do you want to continue with this service at this cost or do we want to make other arrangements?’”
    Quinn said the town has had discussions with both volunteer companies on the issue.
    “They’re all comfortable enough and ready, willing and able to take over any additional houses, as well as the businesses,” he said.
    In addition, the town would like to alter the boundaries of the district so the line does not run right through the middle of buildings in the industrial park. He said the town is waiting for the Buekendaal Board of Fire Commissioners to approve moving the boundary line.
    Quinn said he hoped to have the survey distributed by the end of the first quarter of the year.
    Kastberg said the village would not be involved in the survey since District 4 lies within the town.
    The mayor said he would continue to push for a long-term contract. “Let’s get a permanent solution to this situation. My hope is they take their responsibilities as elected officials and deal with the problem rather than pass it off to a board of fire commissioners.”
    Scotia Mayor Kris Kastberg says politics is the reason why the village’s Fire Department cannot get a long-term deal to serve the town’s Fire Protection District 4 and he vowed to lobby Glenville officials on the issue.
    The village currently has another one-year contract to cover District 4, which consists of properties below Mohawk Avenue in Glenville and the western portion of the industrial park. Glenville will pay Scotia $339,000 for the contract. The revenue makes up of significant portion of the village Fire Department’s budget.
    During the town’s budget talks in the fall, Glenville Supervisor Frank Quinn had proposed eliminating the district and having the volunteer companies of Buekendaal and Thomas Corners take over coverage there. He wanted to turn the responsibility over to............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01003

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GLENVILLE
Town, highway department union at odds
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    Salary, staffing levels and vacation time are among the sticking points in the town’s effort to reach a new contract with its Highway Department union.
    The existing pact expired on Dec. 31. The terms of the current contract stay in effect until a new agreement is ratified.
    Town Supervisor Frank Quinn said discussions are amicable.
    “There’s a variety of issues involved. No one is necessarily a show stopper. So we’re going back and forth,” he said.
    Quinn said also at issue is the length of the contract. The union wants a shorter contract and the town favors a longer one, but he did not discuss specifi cs.
    He said the length is an issue because of the weak economy, which would result in lower sales tax revenues and less state aid coming into the town. This could affect the provisions of the contract.
    The union’s attorney is Michael Ravalli of the Albany law firm of Gleason, Dunn, Walsh & O’Shea. He could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
    The Town Board approved the previous pact in January 2007 after the previous deal had expired at the end of 2005. It included retroactive raises of 3.25 percent for 2006, a 2 percent raise for the first half of 2007 and then another 2 percent raise in the second half of ..........................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01005

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GLENVILLE
Feds doing study of old Navy depot
Local officials hopeful that step means property will soon be sold
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Work is slowly moving behind the scenes to free up a 60-acre former U.S. Navy property for potential new businesses.
    The General Services Administration, which handles disposal of federal property, has completed a draft environmental study of the Route 5 property that once was home to the Scotia Navy Depot and now lies sandwiched in between the Scotia-Glenville Industrial Park and Corporations Park. Town officials hope this is the first step toward the federal government’s selling the property, which it did with a smaller parcel of land last year.
    GSA spokeswoman Paula Santangelo said that once the draft report is complete, there will be a copy available for interested parties to review. Then, the process to dispose of the property will move forward. She could not provide a specific timetable of when that would happen.
    Last year, the GSA sold via an online auction a smaller 7.5-acre parcel containing the 40,000-square-foot former naval recruitment center building.
    Santangelo said John Park of North Hollywood, Calif., bought that property for $221,005. She did not know what he had planned for development. A message left at a business listing of John Park was not immediately returned.
    Town officials, including Supervisor Frank Quinn, are anxious to get more new businesses at the federal property. More than 90 percent of the town’s tax base is residential. Quinn said such businesses could “relieve some of the burden on the tax- payers and provide good jobs.”
    What is now the industrial park came into existence in 1943 as the Scotia Naval Depot. In the 1960s, the military scaled back its operations and the federal government began to transfer parts of the site to private use.
    Much of the federal government’s property consists of old and empty warehouse space.
    The town’s master plan calls for the site to become a mix of commercial and industrial uses. It cites as advantages nearby rail access, direct vehicular access off of Exit 26 of the Thruway and its location in an Empire Zone that qualifies it for tax credits.
    The report identifies potential industries as truck transportation, warehousing/storage, manufacturing, telecommunications, professional and technical services and waste management/ remediation.
    Quinn said transfer of this site seems to be caught up in the review process between the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the GSA.
    “GSA knows that they are responsible for the remediation. We just want to.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00900

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SCOTIA
Handicapped patron files suit against diner
Owner trying to comply with ADA but says improvements too costly
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    The owner of the Scotia Diner worries that a lawsuit brought by Ms. Wheelchair New York over handicapped access to the restaurant could put it out of business if successful.
    Crystal Bergmann of Albany filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court late last year on the grounds that the diner is not complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. She suffers from scoliosis and spina bifida — a birth defect where there is an opening in the spinal cord. She serves as a “tester,” which means she travels to various public places to see whether they are handicapped accessible.
    Bergmann cited numerous violations at the Mohawk Avenue restaurant including an improper slope at the accessible parking space, no curb ramps from the parking lot to the entrance of the diner, no access aisle at the accessible parking space and lack of proper handrails on the ramp to the diner. In addition, she said the entry door is too heavy, narrow and contains improper hardware; there are no accessible seating positions and tables at the diner; and the public telephone is too high.
    She also pointed out numerous issues with the women’s bathroom including too narrow an entry, no accessible signage at the entry door, a lavatory that is too low, insufficient maneuvering clearance in the toilet stall, and hardware on the entry door and lavatory that requires twisting or pinching to operate.
    No date has been set for the trial.
    Anita Kyratzis and her son, A.J. Kyratzis, who manages the restaurant, said they have never met Bergmann and have never seen her in the restaurant. They said they even checked their security cameras.
    Anita Kyratzis is diabetic and has trouble getting around because of bad ankles and legs. She said they have been making improvements in the restaurant to make it more handicapped-accessible since they bought the business four years ago.
    They have shortened the width of the booths to make the aisles wider and installed new booths with breakaway backs that can fi t a wheelchair. They have also installed a handicapped ramp.
    “A lot of our customers are handicapped. They come in with walkers, wheelchairs or motorized wheelchairs,” she said.
    The Kyratzis believe that because the restaurant was in operation before the advent of ADA, it is grandfathered, but they are trying to the best of their abilities to do what they can to comply with it anyway, she said. She estimated that they have spent about $6,000 in repairs.
    The ADA law has no grandfather clause. However, it says businesses have the obligation to remove barriers to accessibility when they are “readily achievable” without much difficulty or expense.
    Kyratzis said that she does not own the property, she just leases the space, so there are things she could not change even if she wanted to, such as the slight slope of the parking lot.
    A.J. Kyratzis said his employees always come to the aid of people who need more assistance. He said he wishes that Bergmann had come to them with her concerns and they would have tried to assist her. He said he thinks it would cost between $20,000 and $30,000 to make all of Bergmann’s requested improvements.
    “If I lose, this diner is going to go .......................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01100

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GLENVILLE
Candidates line up for fall elections
Spending, business growth among the hot topics office-hopefuls will focus on
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    Local politicians are already focusing on this fall’s town races, which will pit Republican board member Chris Koetzle against Democrat Frank Quinn in the race for supervisor.
    Koetzle, who was elected to the board in 2007, said he believes his time on the board has given him experience to move the town forward.
    “I think we need a new business model to control spending, cut taxes, improve services.”
    Koetzle said his top goal would be to protect services. He said he would try find a way to continue the leaf and bulk pickups program — even in modified form. He also wants to focus on attracting small businesses and looking for grant opportunities to support those businesses.
    Koetzle said he can bring his background as vice president of a small-business advocacy group to the table.
    Quinn said he is running for a second four-year term because there is still work to be done. Quinn wants to work to control the cost of town government and said he has done a good job managing the town’s finances.
    “We’re in the middle of a recession here. How we handle and manage money needs some people that are experienced with that,” he said.
    He said he wants to focus on economic growth, particularly redevelopment in the old Scotia Navy Depot and the vacant Kmart plaza.
    In the other races, Democrats Edward Rosenberg and Cathryn Bern-Smith will face off against Republicans Alan Boulant and Sid Ramotar for two, four-year Town Board seats.
    Rosenberg said he is seeking a second term because he wants to keep tax rates down and still provide town services. He also wants to focus on public safety, which he does not believe has received as much attention as it should.
    “I’d love to see some more commercial development in town to take the burden off the residential taxpayers,” he said.
    Bern-Smith said she brings a wealth of knowledge in local and state political issues. She is a social worker by training.
    She said she does not have a set agenda. “I want to get out there and listen to the people in the town — their concerns, their issues and just get a sense of how I can be helpful in elected offi ce.”
    Bern-Smith works as a policy director for the New York State Senate. Before that, she was manager of the Schenectady County Department of Senior and Long-Term Services.
Boulant said he is running because he sees “dysfunctionality” and a lack of communication on the Town Board.
“Nobody knows what they’re going to do about any issue that comes in front of the town,” he said.
Boulant is president of the Glenville Small Business Association and he believes town government should be run like a business.
His goals include creating a stable tax base and attracting more businesses. He said Glenville’s reputation is that it is difficult to come to town to develop.
    Ramotar said he is running because he is concerned with uncontrolled growth. He said he wants economic development in vacant spaces.
    He also wants town government to be more responsive. “I don’t think the residents feel that the town works for them,” he said.
    Ramotar works in the financial services industry.
    Incumbent Valerie DiGiandomenico’s political future is uncertain. She ran with the Democrats four years ago but was not backed by them this time. She said all the Democrats would say is they decided to go with somebody else. .......>>>>...........>>>>.........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01001