By Paul Post

Only a week after opening, more than 75,000 tickets had already been sold to a major new winter attraction that officials hope can contrubute to transforming Lake George into true year-round tourist destination.

Visitors to Ice Castles—a 1.5-acre man-made sculpture with frozen 25-foot-high archways, tunnels and slides—are expected to spend more than $4 million for lodging, meals, fuel and similar services.

Located at Charles R. Wood Park’s Festival Commons, 17 West Brook Road, it coincides with this year’s 60th annual Lake George Winter Carnival, featuring a slate of fun activities each weekend in February.

“This is big, really big,” said long-time Mayor Robert Blais, who has worked  to promote winter tourism for many years. “All the businesses that have been open all these years, that have struggled through the winter and supported the Winter Carnival, I say thanks to them. Now you’re going to be rewarded. To the ones that don’t stay open and take advantage of it, I say, ‘You don’t know what you’re missing’.”

In addition to Utah, where Ice Castles is based, the company has similar attractions in Minnesota, Wisconsin and New Hampshire. This is its first time in upstate New York.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Saratoga Eagle Sales & Service is in the process of acquiring two companies that will expand its reach distributing beer, wine, soft drinks and water to an additional eight counties upstate, according to president and chief operating officer Jeff Vukelic. 

With roots stretching back to Buffalo in 1928 with parent company Try-It Distributing, what started as a beverage bottling business by the late Stephen Vukelic is now a multi-generational family company. With the most recent acquisitions the company will hold exclusive distribution rights to such brands as Budweiser, Rolling Rock and Michelob in a total of 21 counties in upstate New York. 

According to Vukelic, the new acquisitions are Northern Eagle Beverages Inc. out of Oneonta and Seneca Beverage Corp. of Elmira, both Anheuser-Busch distributors. Both will operate under the Saratoga Eagle name.

Saratoga Eagle has been in a growth-through-acquisition model since 2004-2005. This is the time frame when Try-It expanded into the Saratoga and Glens Falls areas with a new distribution hub subsidiary out of Saratoga Springs and grandson Jeff Vukelic took on the role of COO.

“Typically we are purchasing the rights to distribute beverages in the territories of the companies we acquire,” said Vukelic. “Occasionally we acquire a brick and mortar facility, but it is more typical to lease the space where the trucks are loaded for delivery to customers.”

The company will take on 60 stakeholders, which is what the company calls their employees, who have jobs in warehousing, delivery, sales and administration. Total staff will be around 260 once the transactions are finalized and the new companies absorbed.

By Sen. Jim Tedisco

There’s a creature from the deep that’s just waiting to strike our towns and cities.

New York’s aging water and sewer infrastructure some dating back to the Civil War is like a lurking monster which will not go away if we just closed our eyes and wished it away. 

On the contrary, these trolls of the sub-level can catastrophically attack at any time the safety of our drinking water, sewer and gas lines and the ability of taxpayers to afford repairs. 

Recently, a 100-plus-year-old water main broke in Gloversville, paralyzing half the city with no water. We’ve seen similar water main and sewer breaks recently in Amsterdam, Niskayuna, Saratoga Springs and other localities. 

New York has a great CHIPS (Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program) that provides a formula-based annual funding source for all municipalities to maintain and repair local roads and bridges.  However, we will only continue to put good money after bad if we keep filling potholes and repaving roads while the sublevel infrastructure that’s underneath continues to deteriorate and collapse with the weight of newly minted roads and bridges. 

After talking with Clifton Park Supervisor Phil Barrett and other local leaders, I authored and introduced legislation, Senate Bill S.3968A, to create the New York State Safe Water infrastructure Action Program (S.W.A.P.) to repair and maintain vital local drinking water, sewer, storm water management, gas line and water tower infrastructure to protect lives and save tax dollars by avoiding costly repairs when systems break. 

By Todd Shimkus

As we begin 2022, Saratoga County has seen tremendous economic growth throughout the last year, indicating that the county is recovering strongly from the impact of COVID-19. We continue to see data trending upwards, nearing, or exceeding, pre-pandemic rates across sales tax, unemployment, lodging, and housing as individuals begin to buy, travel, and support their local community again.

County Sales Tax Collection

Year to date (January to November) 2021 county sales tax collection is 21.3 percent higher than the same time frame in 2020. Collections are also 14.8 percent higher than 2019 collections during the same period. 

In total, Saratoga County collected more than $20 million additional revenue in 2021 versus 2019. What does this mean? There has been tremendous growth for taxable sales by local businesses, residents, and visitors. Consumers have shown a clear willingness to spend money in Saratoga County throughout 2021, helping businesses recover from the 2020 shutdown and continued government restrictions in 2021.

County Unemployment

It has been more than 20 years (May 2011) since Saratoga County’s unemployment rate was as low as it currently stands at 2.8 percent.  The labor force—the total number of people employed or looking for a job—declined by 2,800 people last year, driving this decrease in unemployment. In November 2021 alone, both the number of people working and the number of people looking for work in Saratoga County has declined.

County Lodging

The revenue per available room (RevPAR) for hotel rooms sold from January through November 2021 indicates recovery in the leisure when compared to the same time frame in 2020 amidst significant travel restrictions. The hospitality sector continues to be challenged by the pandemic, especially within the group market. 

The average daily rate year to date in 2021 is higher than it was in both 2020 and 2019, demonstrating a willingness for individual consumers and families to spend money on travel.

The SUNY board of trustees appointed Dr. Lisa Vollendorf as president of SUNY Empire State College.

She was  interim provost and chief academic officer at the University of Northern Colorado. She replaces Dr. Nathan Gonyea, who has served as officer-in-charge at SUNY Empire since December 2020.

Vollendorf, who was selected after an extensive national search, will be SUNY Empire’s sixth president since its founding in 1971.

“I am both honored and excited to join SUNY Empire State College as its next president. I’ve spent my entire career championing the power of higher education to build a more inclusive, equitable society,” she said. “I believe deeply in SUNY Empire’s mission of meeting students where they are to help them achieve their educational dreams. I look forward to working with the SUNY Empire college community to advance the vital work already underway, find new and innovative ways to serve today’s diverse student population, and support the faculty, staff, and alumni at the heart of this amazing institution.” 

The search committee included four members of the college council, six faculty representatives, two students, an alumni representative, a campus-related foundation representative, an academic dean, a professional employee, a support staff member, a college senate member, a member of the chancellor’s senior staff, and three non-voting representatives. Consultants from Storbeck Search partnered with the search committee. 

John Maggiore, SUNY Empire State College presidential search chair and chairman of the SUNY Empire State College Council, said, “The breadth of Dr. Vollendorf’s administrative skill set, together with the depth of her academic experience and achievement, make her a compelling choice to lead SUNY Empire State College into its next half century of accessible, top-quality, innovative education for motivated adult learners. SUNY Empire is poised for strategic growth. 

By Susan Elise Campbell

Madira Wine & Spirits has been filling a gap in the smattering of liquor stores in Clifton Park since it opened last fall. Located at 643 Grooms Road, owner Bruce Patel said he knew that with the right location, his business model could be successful.

“A friend lives nearby and I used to stop by the Stewart’s Plaza, which is a very busy area,” he said. “I saw that there is little opportunity to buy liquor on this side of Clifton Park bordering Rexford.”

Patel said if looking at a map of Clifton Park, most liquor stores are “oddly concentrated in one side of the town. Based on my feasibility study factoring in demographics and growth, I was serving a real void here near the crossing of Vischer Ferry Road,” he said.

“I was always looking to do something on my own,” said Patel, who had been in a corporate career as an engineer with various companies in the Capital Region.

“My father did well with his own liquor store in Massachusetts when I was younger,” he said. “I’m a very proactive guy and had my eye on this location for our store even before the space became available.”

Patel said that “80 percent of my decision to leave my corporate job and go forward” with the new venture was the location. It is part of a bustling plaza and very visible from Route 9.

“It’s not just about driving by and stopping in once for a purchase,” he said. “I want this to be a destination store.”

Headline Updated 1/18/2021

By Christine Graf

Ballston Lake resident Britt Young has taken her passion for baking to the next level by opening The Sweetish Chef, a grain-free and sugar-free bakery at 76 Front St. in the village of Ballston Spa.

The Rockland County native and University of Albany graduate launched an online baking business in 2020 after leaving a career in teaching. She also developed a local following by selling her baked goods at local farmers market. For her, opening her own bakery is a dream come true and something she said she could have never imagined actually happening.

Young started experimenting with grain-free and sugar-free baking about seven years ago. Several years prior to that, her sister was diagnosed with celiac disease. People who suffer from this autoimmune disorder cannot ingest gluten without damaging their small intestines.

“I decided to go gluten free because it’s (celiac disease) hereditary,” said Young. “Then I read the benefits of avoiding grains and sugar in general, and I just took that step forward with my own life. Back then there were no substitutes. I was only eating eggs, meat, leafy greens, and nuts, and then I realized I could put things together to make things that I was missing.”

Young utilized the baking skills she had learned from her mother who was known for her homemade baked goods. She has many happy memories of their time spent in baking together.

“She taught me everything I know,” she said. “I used a lot of recipes I already knew and just kind of tweaked them using what I knew about the science of everything—how to get the flavors and textures you need without using certain ingredients.”

According to Young, her mother—nicknamed the Swedish Chef by her family– had unhealthy habits that contributed to her unexpected death in 2018. The Sweetish Chef pays homage to her with both its name and its mission.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Less than two years since he began his career selling real estate in metro Atlanta, Ryan L. Smith is launching a satellite in Saratoga Springs, where he was born and raised. 

Parc Avenue Realty LLC is operating remotely now while awaiting zoning approval on 254 Washington St. location in downtown Saratoga Springs.

In 2020 Smith was a product manager in the electric motor field when COVID-19 struck and soon started doing real estate part time. His wife Shari has been a broker for seven years and is managing broker for the Smith’s flagship business in Atlanta, he said.

“I’m the sales guy and the numbers guy,” he said. “Shari loves the document side of things, like purchase and sales agreements and HUD forms.”

Smith said he focuses on residential real estate but had a commercial deal close at the end of December, resulting in $3 million in total sales last year. 

“We had a very good 2021 in an area I’m not from,” he said. He will apply the same strategies for growing the Atlanta business to the Saratoga market.

As he prepared to canvas the metropolitan area where he and Shari live with their two children, Smith was told, “work your zip code and five miles around your home.” 

He noticed managers giving brokers a territory, but he didn’t see why he would want to limit himself. “So I decided to work the entire metro Atlanta area, which I can drive through in an hour and a half.”

The New York Power Authority (NYPA)  announced the first fast charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in downtown Saratoga Springs in the Capital Region. 

The new chargers, installed by NYPA, will give more drivers a reason to visit the city’s downtown area and link Saratoga County into New York State’s EVolve NY fast charging network for EVs, officials said.

Located at the Saratoga Springs City Center, the four-charger station will help advance New York’s ambitious clean energy goals by helping decarbonize the transportation sector and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050, state officials said.

“Saratoga Springs is the latest addition to the New York Power Authority’s growing charging network that is making it easier for electric car drivers to cross the state without having to worry about where their next charge is coming from,” said NYPA Interim President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll. “More people are realizing the benefits of clean transportation and we want to encourage the use of electric vehicles everywhere in the state so we can all benefit from lower fuel costs and reduced emissions while protecting the environment.”

The Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFC), located in the outdoor portion of the lot adjacent to Maple Street, at the Saratoga Springs City Center at the north end of Broadway, can be used by any make or model of electric vehicle and can recharge most of the battery capacity in as little as 20 minutes. 

Four additional chargers have been newly installed at Stewart’s Shops, 1311 Route 9,in Moreau, 13 miles north of Saratoga Springs, bringing the total of EVolve NY fast chargers to eight in Saratoga County. NYPA has installed 52 chargers at 14 sites across the state since fall of 2020.