Hello, Collar City! This is Issue 27, dated March 22, 2019.

! To start, a quick note to TL's Patreon supporters : If (i) you became a patron on/before Tuesday, (ii) you didn't opt out of receiving benefits via mail, and (iii) you weren't one of the first 50 patrons, I mailed you your magnet via USPS. Hopefully you received (or soon will receive) it!

Dog Park Location Recommended

If you don't check all the above boxes—for instance, if you also are owed a tote bag, or if you opted out of receiving items by mail, or if you signed up very recently—please be advised that, hanging out with bags and mags somewhere in the hallway-ish area that you enter from Broadway near Fourth St. (pictured in TL26 ).I've also started reaching out to those of you who haven't yet claimed your tote bags. I may end up mailing you those, too, but if you didn't provide your address, I can't do that, so please do check your email/Patreon accounts so that we can connect. Thanks again— all 112 of you —for your support! It gives me hope that TL is a viable thing!: dog park recommendations, a minor dam update, delayed flood maps, and more. Enjoy!

The city council's dog park committee met Monday night and voted to support recommendations (available here) that include locating the proposed park near the northwest corner of Prospect Park. That's the red polygon in this map, which the report contains:

The recommended site is uphill from the main pavilion and is therefore not in direct view of that area or most highly active sites in the park (like the tennis courts). The site is also separated from the playground by a long field. The Committee recommends adding shrubs in strategic locations between these and other areas.



The site is a relatively flat area that is covered in grass, making it an easier and more affordable area in which to install the necessary materials for a dog park, as well as to maintain one. The site has a few large trees and a telephone pole with a light, lending to both shade during the day and visibility in early evening hours. The location of the site also lends towards accessibility, as it has potential car access from the currently closed off portion of Prospect Park Road and a small parking lot next to it. The committee was particularly concerned that any site that was recommended be able to become ADA compliant, and these characteristics of the site were valued as a result.



The recommended site was also preferred by the committee to two other potential sites considered in Prospect Park. One of these other sites, highlighted in orange on the map above, is located by the old swimming pool. The other site, highlighted in yellow, is located in the area off Hale Street. While both of these sites also came with their own particular benefits, the recommended site was preferred to these two areas due to the relatively readiness of the grounds for a park and lack of mitigating structures or materials that might need to be addressed. These confounding factors at the other sites presented greater present and future potential costs or liabilities compared to the recommended site. The one relative draw back of this site was the location of water lines (see figure below). However, the rough estimates from the city for extending water lines, even those closer to other sites, were all too significant to be considered feasible in the immediate term and were therefore not centrally consider in the choosing one location over another. This was particularly the case as direct water access was not seen as an absolute need, provided that water was accessible nearby, but a goal of the park.

Finance Committee Items of Note

After Pioneer moved its headquarters from the building, the property was sold to 19-25 Second Street LLC in 2016 for $875,000. The first floor is still leased by Pioneer Bank; the second floor and third floor are vacant, with the exception of two residential apartments, one of which is occupied by the principal of the corporation.



The annual rent received by the owner from the bank and residential tenant is $36,400. The property is assessed for $1,880,000. The owner has filed proceedings challenging the assessment of the building at 21 Second Street for 2017 and 2018 as well as the assessment of two other adjacent lots. After protracted negotiations, the owner has agreed to accept an assessment of $900,000 for the property at 21 Second Street and will discontinue the proceedings as to the two adjacent lots at 25 Second Street and First Street. As part of the settlement, the owner will waive all refunds due from the City of Troy.

Mt. Ida Lake Dam Update

IDA/CRC Stuff

Other News

Links

Events

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Here's the section of the report that explains the rationale for the committee's choice:Once this dog park is established, the committee recommends creating at least two more dog parks—in Frear Park and in "Central/South Troy," respectively—partly to "decrease the pressure on any one park."The report also recommends site specifications (double-gated entry to the fenced-in area, fencing that is at least five feet high), park rules, and a maintenance schedule. The first phase of construction, which would defer ADA compliance, seating, and easier water access to a second phase, is estimated to take about half a year and cost somewhere in the range of $30-40K.Committee chair Laura Rabinow said the committee expects to present its findings to the city council's finance committee on April 4.Perhaps the most interesting item considered by the city council's finance committee when it met last night ( video agenda ) was, better known as the Pioneer Bank building. Here are the basic facts, via a city memo:The owner has building permits for two upper floors and is fitting them up for possible tenants, deputy corporation counsel Daniel Vincelette told the council. Until a certificate of occupancy is issued for those floors, "we can't assess it as habitable space," he said.Income-producing properties's valuations are based on the income they generate, Vincelette explained. When there's a change in occupancy of greater than 25 percent, the assessor can potentially revise the assessment. As part of a settlement, Vincelette later said, the city would likely require the owner to submit rent rolls each year.Council president Carmella Mantello balked at the substantial reduction of the property's assessment in the proposed settlement. Council member Anasha Cummings, speaking more broadly, seemed to lament how building assessments can be reduced because of vacant space, calling it a "weird incentive."The owner is actively trying to lease out the space, Vincelette said. The building's layout is rather outmoded, and the owner's building permits require him to reconfigure the lobby, entranceway, and ingress/egress between floors. The owner is also installing sprinklers.Vincelette predicted that an appraiser would set the building's value at less than one million dollars. "The further this gets kicked down the road, it's going to add additional expenses," he said, adding that Pioneer Bank listed the building with a broker, so the 2016 sale price of $875,000 is not divorced from the market.The council nevertheless voted unanimously to table the item. Mantello said the council would reconsider the matter in two weeks.: As part of work related to the South Troy Industrial Park Road, the city is seeking state funds of $600,000 to $800,000 to upgrade a railroad crossing on Main St. near the county jail, improving its safety for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists. The city would be required to commit $80,000 of its own funds to the project. The finance committee unanimously passed a resolution supporting the pursuit of state funds and commitment of local funds.The city held another informational meeting regarding the immediate and long-term future of the Mt. Ida Lake Dam this week, at the Troy Masonic Community Center.At the last meeting of this type, in February (see TL23 ), Chris Wheland, the city's superintendant of public utilities, revealed that Troy's state-approved plan to partly deconstruct the failing dam had hit a snag: The volume of sediment that had accreted behind the dam was "much more than what we ever imagined."Given the volume of sediment, the city cannot use a hydroshovel to suck it out, as originally planned. The city's engineers remain in discussion with DEC "on the best method to move forward," Wheland said. There are two options (this is news, I think): excavating the sediment "blindly" or beginning to deconstruct the dam before removing any sediment, to "start to expose the sediment, so that we can do a little more controlled excavation." As of Tuesday night, nothing had been finalized or approved by DEC.As far as a long-term solution, Wheland said there are three options: rebuilding the dam (out of concrete, rather than wood) at its current height, rebuilding the dam at a lower height to ensure it remains a "low-hazard" impoundment, or decommissioning and removing the dam. The city has not yet determined a final course of action.Following Wheland's update, one of the authors of the potential Poestenkill improvements study covered in TL24 , Hans Hesselein of Philly-based Apiary Studio, presented that work. (I won't recap it all here again, but I definitely recommend reading it , if you haven't already.)"When I first came to Troy and explored the Poestenkill, I was blown away by what I think is one of the more interesting and dynamic urban waterways that I've ever experienced," Hesselein said.Friends of Ida Lake, a new neighborhood group that is advocating for the preservation of the pond, also gave a presentation that outlined the recreational, cultural and other kinds of value the body of water creates.In remarks at the start of the meeting, Mayor Patrick Madden again expressed his hope that the crisis with the dam will foster dialogue about the Poestenkill's possibilities."We're all beginning to think differently about not just the lake and the dam but all of the Poestenkill creek, from the Hudson River up to here," he said. "We're no longer taking it for granted or overlooking it or looking at it as a gash through the center of our city; we're beginning to look at it for its potential, the possibilities for enjoying nature or recreation or educational purposes, and I see that as [a] silver lining.", a multi-story building that will feature commercial space (including a restaurant) and 14 market-rate apartments.Work is already underway on the project, IDA executive director Steve Strichman said.The project developer is about $700,000 "along," a representative said during the meeting. The building has long been "empty and full of junk." The rental apartments will be priced at around $16/foot, the representative said. He anticipates applying for a certificate of occupancy in April or May 2020.Strichman told me after the meeting that it's not unusual for the IDA to consider an application for tax breaks for a project that's already underway. "As they're moving along and doing their financials, they're starting to understand better the implications of what the development's going to be. They need assistance to keep it progressing."Justin Miller, the IDA's attorney, said he agreed, adding that "it's not common, but it's not unusual.""It's not a done deal yet," Strichman added. The IDA will need to vote again, at a future meeting after a public hearing, to authorize any tax breaks.—roughly (and broadly) construed as the area between the Congress Street Bridge and the Menands Bridge—which would allow potential project developers to pursue additional tax breaks, Strichman said. The IDA board approved a payment of up to $46,500 to CHA Consulting to prepare its application to the state., another city-affiliated entity with a board identical to that of the IDA,for an April event focused on regional tourism to be held at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall (with breakout sessions at downtown restaurants)., an amount the city council will be matching. The CRC is considering, but has not yet voted on, applications for funding for several other events, including the Powers Park Concert Series and The Enchanted City, which the CRC has sponsored in the past., an organization that represents IDAs across the state. NYSEDC is advocating against an array of IDA-related reforms being considered by the state legislature, including a bill that would "require prevailing wages be paid on IDA-sponsored projects," as the Times Union reported earlier this month "Without too much hyperbole, we'll be kind of out of business," Justin Miller, the IDA's counsel, said of the prevailing wage proposal. "You may still have projects, but if you're not feeling good, or if you're almost disgusted, about the PILOT asks that you get now, wait till you see what they ask for to take out of the city's real-estate taxes to eat up the prevailing wage costs."City council member and IDA board member Anasha Cummings, after voicing concern about the idea of opposing prevailing wage, abstained from the vote.a FEMA regional official, Andrew Martin, told me in a voicemail this week. Back in January 2018, the Times Union reported , citing the same official, that the updated maps would likely be released in a matter of months. "The data is being developed right now and, in some cases, we actually already developed it, or finished the work, [but] there's other pieces at play that we need to finalize before we can issue new maps," Martin said in the voicemail. I, in turn, left a voicemail with Martin yesterday requesting more details on the delay, but I haven't yet heard back. (Thanks to r/Troy 's FifthAveSam for the tip.). I learned this by showing up this Wednesday morning for what was, according to the entity's website, its regular monthly meeting and finding the usual conference room empty. (TCLB's executive director, Tony Tozzi, later apologized for not updating the website.)for one of his projects, Passive Tones, which has just released a new EP, Feel to Feel It's good to know that TL tote bags are already an integral part of cool activities. Teboul is a PhD candidate at RPI studying electronic music instruments. You can read more about the above project (and other ones) here History tucked away in vintage T-shirts (TU, 3/17) Churchill: Lawsuit targets Troy's 'terrible' sidewalks (TU, 3/18) Troy is overhauling its zoning code to make (denser) development easier (ABR, 3/19) Gillibrand's favorite downtown Troy bar makes its TV debut on new Showtime show this week (ABR, 3/19) Three Songs with...Blue Ranger (The Collaborative, 3/19) Troy activates downtown parking meters (TU, 3/20) Renowned Rensselaer Model Railroad To Move To Publicly Accessible Location (RPI, 3/20) Frear Park Golf Season Passes Available for Purchase (3/20) Why Jeff Buell of Redburn Development is trying to rebuild cities [$] (ABR, 3/21). "After about six years, I shifted into the economic development coordinator job and that’s how I met Joe Nicolla. Joe came to Troy and wanted to build a Hilton Garden Inn on Hoosick Street, seven houses away from where I grew up. Here’s this kid who grew up in Troy, watching development and all of sudden this guy comes into town and says, 'Everything you’ve stared at for your entire life, in less than a year, I can make it a giant hotel with a restaurant.' That made such an imprint on me. This place that we call home can literally be anything." McLaughlin in Costa Rica, but doesn't want to discuss it (TU, 3/21). Biz Eats: New food court opening in Troy this spring, featuring Mazzone, Stacks Coffee (ABR, 3/22)Check out an estate sale at a Victorian-esque home on Pawling Ave. this afternoon and/or tomorrow . Tonight, see Sean Rowe at the Hangar . Visit The Bradley's backyard on Sunday . That night, attend an Oakwood Community Center benefit show Catch a dream pop show at SMCo. on Monday night . The next night, obtain ice cream from Manory's without even entering the restaurant . Wednesday night, learn about your rights as a tenant at Oakwood or learn about how lucky you are to not be a freelancer (if indeed you're not) at TVCoG. Thursday night, see Poco and Jim Messina at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall or shop for a local CSA at the Arts Center