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Another drugstore the last thing Scotia needs

   Re: Nov. 25 article, “Rite Aid plan key to how village will look in future”: The idea of building another big box drugstore in the village of Scotia amazes me. Do the town fathers remember the uproar when the Teddy building was torn down so Revco/CVS could put up one of its big box stores?
   Are elected officials so desperate for new business that they would let the big box companies come in and tear down existing business and residential areas? No matter how you design the big box, it will never fit in with the existing streetscape. The residents of Scotia already have drugstore choices with CVS and the evil Wal-Mart. Will the new big box have closed checkouts, like CVS, and make customers wait in line at the “One Hour Photo?”
   In my opinion, Scotia needs another drugstore like we need another pizzeria.
   BERNARD WITKOWSKI
   Scotia  

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Glenville man accused of attempting to run down officers confronting him

    GLENVILLE — A 20-yearold Glenville man is accused of trying to run down police officers with his car about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday when they responded to a call to his Skyway Drive residence for a domestic incident.
    Jason R. Anderson was arrested and charged with felony reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and resisting arrest following the incident. No injuries were reported.
    Police said they sought to question Anderson following a complaint call and he attempted to drive from the address. He is accused of refusing to stop and nearly hitting the officers. Police said he was driving with a suspended license and had earlier damaged items at the address.
    Anderson was arraigned before Town Justice Benjamin Migliore and sent to the Schenectady County Jail on $25,000 bail.

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GLENVILLE
Properties bought for 2 group homes
Group partners with KeyBank
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Alternative Living Group Executive Director Maxine George’s goal is to move people with developmental disabilities away from institutional settings and into houses of their own.
    “Gone are the days when we see this big van outside a building to cart off 14 people with varying abilities in the community,” she said.
    The Schenectady-based nonprofit organization has partnered with KeyBank to purchase two properties in Glenville at 20 Oak Hill Drive and 28 Bancker Ave.
    Three men will reside in the Oak Hill Drive home and another three in the Bancker Avenue location. Workers are currently repainting and making minor renovations at both houses, and George led KeyBank officials on a tour of the Bancker Avenue house on Monday.
    People with disabilities tend to be isolated. Putting them in a house of their own can change that, George said. These houses will be close to where the men will work, their families, their churches and synagogues and other activities.
    “What they want is for a community that is going to be accepting, where they can integrate and make friendships,” she said. Key-Bank provided a 15-year loan for the houses, which is about $225,000 for the Bancker Avenue one and $214,000 for the Oak Hill one. The bank is also funding renovation costs of about $40,000 for each house with another five-year loan. George said the organization is grateful for the support.
    “We don’t have oodles of money floating around,” she said.
    KeyBank has partnered with Alternative Living Group since 1990. Ron Racela, KeyBank’s relationship manager for community development lending, explained that the bank finances the house and renovation costs and the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities will pay back the loan with interest.
    “We are able to provide investment for low- to moderate-income people, but do it on a profitable basis,” he said.
    George said the community has been very supportive. She held some informational meetings for the neighbors and one woman told her that she was very grateful that they held a meeting to voice theirconcerns and welcomed them to the neighborhood.
    The homes will be ready for occupancy this spring with clients and staff.
    She said the Alternative Living Group will serve 49 people by the completion of this project.
    The agency takes pride in maintaining these houses, which blend into their communities and cannot be identified as housing people with developmental disabilities, George said. “If you can’t find it, I’m successful.”

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“Gone are the days when we see this big van outside a building to cart off 14 people with varying abilities in the community,” she said.

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SCOTIA
Mayor outlines priorities for village in 2008
Taxes, paving, codes on the agenda
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    Maintaining an affordable tax rate, paving roads and continuing the crackdown on code issues are on Mayor Kris Kastberg’s to-do list in 2008.
    Kastberg said he would like to keep the tax rate as low as possible and avoid adding items to the budget that are not necessary. The current 2007 budget is $5.57 million, which represented an increase of 4.59 percent in spending from the previous year.
    Kastberg pointed out that last year the tax rate increased 9.8 percent to its current level of $10.43 per $1,000.
    “I don’t think [taxpayers] want to shoulder something like that again,” he said.
    The Board of Trustees will meet on Jan. 15 for a preliminary budget workshop.
    The village is also continuing the efforts to explore collaboration with Glenville. It has applied for a shared services grant to explore a new building to house both the village and town police departments. It is also exploring ways to share water resources.
    Kastberg said the village has about $40,000 to $50,000 left over in its $105,000 account to repave streets because the bid for paving came in at lower than expected. The county Public Works Department is going to pave the streets in the worst condition after pothole season is done.
    Kastberg said another ongoing priority is taking care of quality of life issues. This year, they have been targeting a vacant antiques shop on Mohawk Avenue that fire officials consider a safety hazard. They have also tried to force the owner of a dilapidated sailboat on North Holmes Street to remove the vessel.
    Kastberg said the village has seen some new developments that are laid out in cul-de-sacs with landscaped islands in the middle and the village is responsible for maintaining these islands. The village is considering adding a crew to tackle them this summer.
    In addition, the town is proceeding with efforts to obtain grants to fix the bank erosion along the Mohawk River.

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SCOTIA
Funds available for loans to businesses
Effort aims to help village merchants
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Businesses looking to increase inventory or upgrade their storefronts could get a boost from the Scotia Business Enhancement Fund.
    The village has reactivated its Economic and Community Development Loan Program, which had been dormant for several years. Mayor Kris Kastberg said the village had made a loan to Gabriel’s Super Market. The store owner has been paying the loan back, and now, the fund contains $105,000.
    “That’s enough money now to start reloaning the money,” Kastberg said.
    He said the loan is not intended to replace bank financing but to help out merchants with special projects.
    “They can use it on inventory. They can use it on capital projects,” he said, adding that one of the goals is to increase employment in the village.
    Gabriel’s used the loan to complete major renovations, including redoing pipes, installing new electrical wiring and putting in ceramic floors, new cases, bakery ovens and scanning registers.
    “It made it easier for us to expand our business in Scotia,” said Rudy Gabriele, president of the grocery store.
    The minimum loan amount is $25,000, with a low fixed interest rate. The maximum loan term is up to five years. Businesses must also create one full-time job for every $25,000 loaned.
    The loan application can take as few as four weeks to process, according to a letter announcing the program.
    “This is really the first generation of what will hopefully be a longterm resource for our businesses,” Kastberg said.
    Robert Murray, president of Shelter Planning & Development Inc. — the village’s lending adviser — said the loan rate can either be the current rate or a lower rate that the village Board of Trustees sets.
    “It’s a case-by-case basis,” he said.
    He said that among the items the board looks for in deciding to grant a loan are a business plan, the company’s past financial data, projections of income or expenses, detailed descriptions of the use of the money and the cost of any equipment involved.
    Trustee Armon Benny said he is trying to spread the word about the program. He is distributing letters to businesses he thinks might be interested in the program, which is funded by federal Community Development Block Grant funds.
    “It’s the first time we’ve really opened it up and marketed it,” Benny said. “We’re trying to keep Scotia businesses viable,” he said. Merchants may contact Shelter Planning & Development at 798-6627 or e-mail shelterplanning3@albany.twcbc. com.

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Cuts to Scotia
library big loss for little savings

    The Scotia branch of the Schenectady County Library is a vital piece of our village community and to our surrounding neighbors. The Schenectady County Legislature has seen fit, with regret I am sure, to cut the hours of operation by 10 hours per week, or 22.4 percent — nearly one-quarter of the open hours. The estimated savings is $11,804. Of the nine branches in the system, only four had hours reduced and the Scotia branch was reduced the most. I question their judgment on this change.
    From a financial perspective, the county has the deal of the decade. Our village leases the building, which houses the library, to the county for $1 per year and the village maintains the grounds around the branch to perfection — after all, Collins Park is a jewel that only enhances the visitor’s appreciation of the library. I’d guess the market rent for a building in this setting would have to be $12,000 per year — at a minimum. What is more disturbing to me — not recognizing and placing value on a good financial deal — is that the hours they chose to cut are morning hours. These are the times when young moms and dads (and grandparents) bring pre-schoolers to the library — before lunch and before the afternoon nap.
    I try not to question the motives of others; I do find it very coincidental that the total cuts made to the library branch system are anticipated to be $116,948 per year — nearly the amount needed to cover the salary and benefits for a patronage job provided to a former “one of their own” [Ed Kosiur].
    Scotia families need these hours to be restored. Our children should not be made to suffer when there are many other areas that could be cut to fund the initiatives. In fact, perhaps the holder of the new patronage job overseeing youth services would be willing to accept a little less in salary to fund real benefits to the children of our village and county.
    ARMON BENNY
    Scotia
The writer is a trustee in the village of Scotia.

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Deep a.m. cut at Scotia Library misguided

    Re Jan. 11 article, “Official: Town being ‘nickeled and dimed’”: I have been a volunteer at the Scotia Library for about eight years. Since I work in the morning, I mostly see the same people every time I am there. I see mothers and dads with their young children after walks in the park. There are retired people who walk in to get books or read the morning paper, and college students working on a paper for school — due that day.
    As of Jan. 1, the hours at the Scotia Library Branch were cut by 10 hours — more than any other branch in the county library system, and it’s the morning hours that have been cut. I know it’s being done to save money, but our mornings (at least the way I see it) are the busiest time of day. I am afraid we will lose those people, our friends, who walk to the Scotia Library because they know we have always been there for them.
    MARYJANE MOSER
    Scotia

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Reduced sex plea
draws $1K fine
    SCOTIA — A Massachusetts man has been fined after pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.
    Police Sgt. Thomas Rush said Joao DePina, 22, of Brockton, Mass. had sex in August with a 15-year-old girl who lives locally.
    Rush said the victim came in with her mother a couple months after the incident to report it. Police arrested DePina when he came back to the area.
    He has initially charged with felony rape and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, but that charge was reduced in exchange for the fine of $1,000 plus a surcharge of $165.

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SCOTIA & GLENVILLE
New fire district under review
Plan could eliminate old jurisdictional complications
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    Glenville and Scotia are considering the creation of a new fire district that would put the village out of the fi refighting business and transfer control to an elected board of commissioners with taxing authority.
    The proposed fire district would encompass the village and District 4, which includes portions of Glenville and the Scotia Industrial Park on Route 5.
    The provision of fire protection in District 4 has long been a source of contention between the Scotia Fire Department and volunteer fi re companies bordering the district.
    The town controls District 4 and awards a contract for fire coverage. The village and surrounding fi re companies have fought for years for the contract, worth more than $300,000 annually.
    Scotia has received the contract for several years running. Its department is a mix of paid and volunteer fi refighters and depends on the District 4 contract for a signifi - cant portion of its annual operating budget.
    Glenville Supervisor Frank Quinn said the town has “discussed this behind the scenes for a year. We are quietly moving down the road to pull this off.”
    Quinn said the proposed fire district would replace the contract with a tax levy, with residents paying for fire coverage based on property assessments. Both the town and village boards would have to create the new fire district and both would appoint the fi rst commissioners, he said. Thereafter, commissioners would serve elected terms.
    Glenville’s board discussed the concept during a work session last week, Quinn said. He said he is seeking consensus from the Town Board to move the concept forward.
    “It is under current and serious discussion. We are not proposing fully to take action, but one way or another something will be done on this,” Quinn said.
    Scotia Mayor Kris Kastberg said the new fire district would mean the village “government would be out of the fire business. It is a good concept, but our board hasn’t discussed it.”
    He said the Scotia board learned of the proposal last week.
    Scotia Permanent Firemen’s Association President Ken Almy said his union membership recently learned of the proposal and needs time to study it. The association represents 11 paid members.
    “The concept has been sitting out there. It is a brand new thing, and we have not seen anything firm or concrete. I will certainly investigate it,” he said.
MANY ISSUES
    Quinn said the new district would solve many issues. It could mitigate the village’s firehouse health and safety problems, leveled years ago by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration regarding size and access.
    It also would create a larger tax base which can pay for fire personnel costs and equipment. “If this district wants to pay fireman, it can do it,” Quinn said.
    He added that the new commissioners could purchase Scotia’s fi re equipment for operations.
    On related issue, the Town Board is planning to change the boundary between Fire District 4 and Fire District 5 in the Scotia Industrial Park. The change would eliminate a so-called “No Man’s Land” that has been another cause of friction for years.
    Scotia has a contract with the Galesi Group, which owns the park, to provide fire coverage for the area. But Galesi learned more than two years ago it also was paying Beukendaal Fire District 5 for protection on a portion of the same property, even though Beukendaal does not respond to calls there unless requested.
    The boundary apparently runs down the center of several buildings.
    So Galesi stopped paying Scotia for fire coverage two years ago, but Scotia continued to provide fi re coverage. It could not stop paying Beukendaal because the money comes through fire district taxes.
    Scotia sued Galesi in state Supreme Court last year and lost in November. Judge Joseph M. Sise said Scotia cannot make agreements to provide services outside of its incorporated area. The village appealed Sise’s decision, and the matter is headed for trial in September.
    The village’s contract with Galesi is worth less than $100,000, Kastberg said.
    Galesi operations chief David Buicko said the company “wants to pay for fire protection once, not twice.” He added Galesi wants to maintain a “good relationship with everyone.”
Reach Gazette reporter Michael
Lamendola at 395-3114 or
lamend@dailygazette.com

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SCOTIA
Planning Board not satisfied with Rite Aid proposal
Design disputes last over one year
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Village Planning Board members consider changes made to the proposed Rite Aid design to be little more than window dressing as they prepare to vote on the project next month.
    Diamond Development has been before the board for more than a year with its proposal to construct a 14,564-square-foot Rite Aid at the intersection of Mohawk and Ballston avenues.
    Developer Rick Diamond told the board Monday that the architect tried to break down the massiveness of the building by creating a false second floor with window openings.
    Board members were not impressed with the latest changes.
    “This just looks like a story-anda-half building attempting to be a two-story building,” said Gregg Gibbons.
    He added that despite all the revisions, people would still be able to tell this building is a Rite Aid if the signs were removed and nothing about the design fits in with the village.
    “I just don’t want it to look like your standard cookie-cutter, massive drug store,” he said.
    Chairman Bob Powell said fake windows are not allowed under code, anyway. He added that the developer must resolve other outstanding issues including conducting a traffic study and developing a plan to retain all stormwater on site.
    Board member Jim Basil said many suggestions have been offered to the developer throughout this process and perhaps it is time to start over.
    “Maybe we should just say ‘we’re denying this building the way it is and you can take it off the board,’” he said.
    Powell agreed that the review process should not stretch into the summer.
    The board will review the project at is March 3 meeting.
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net

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He added that despite all the revisions, people would still be able to tell this building is a Rite Aid if the signs were removed and nothing about the design fits in with the village.
    “I just don’t want it to look like your standard cookie-cutter, massive drug store,”