Hello, Collar City! This is Issue 7, dated Oct. 26, 2018.

Hey, I thought I'd let you know, since I brought it up in

Taking a class like this is an often-suggested but still often-overlooked way to get out of a creative rut, fight the winter blues, make friends, or somehow shake up your life a bit. This one featured a good mix of instruction on the craft of acting along with more career-oriented, how-to-audition advice.



The next semester's class will be held on Thursday nights, starting in March, the instructor told us. Keep an eye out if it's something you might be interested in! And if you're teaching any sort of class that's open to the general public in Troy over the next few months, please let me know (so that I can tell everyone else).

, since I brought it up in TL1 but said I couldn't "recommend or dis-recommend it yet," that my acting class at The Arts Center of the Capital Region has ended—and it was great. On Wednesday night, our very sparsely attended (fine by me!) class show, where class members performed their assigned monologues, went off without a hitch. Here's a sorta blurry pic of me as Hamlet:Taking a class like this is an often-suggested but still often-overlooked way to get out of a creative rut, fight the winter blues, make friends, or somehow shake up your life a bit. This one featured a good mix of instruction on the craft of acting along with more career-oriented, how-to-audition advice.The next semester's class will be held on Thursday nights, starting in March, the instructor told us. Keep an eye out if it's something you might be interested in!

More Budget Stuff





Course superintendent Greg Tudor and pro shop operations guy Josh Buell (brother of prominent developer Jeff Buell) answered questions from the committee.



Apparently the quality of the course



"We started from ground zero this year," Buell said. "We had no reputation of being a golf course that people wanted to play. We had people leaving the golf course." He expects partnerships and leagues to increase this upcoming year, though he also acknowledged that weather is a key factor. (The course had to close 26 days this year so far for inclement weather, compared to only six last year.)



Some prices will also increase. Season passes will increase $50 across every customer category, which will still leave the city's course as "easily the cheapest" municipal course in the area (by $200-400), according to Buell. Tournament and golf cart (we just got some new, more environmentally friendly models) fees are also slightly increasing.



The course is not a moneymaker for the city. This year it has an operating deficit of $83,583 to date, and its budgeted deficit for next year is more than $200K, per the deputy comptroller. But councilmembers seemed mostly pleased with the course's function as an amenity for residents and non-residents. Council President Mantello and councilmember Mark McGrath, both golfers, congratulated Tudor and Buell on the job they've done this year. "I've never heard so many compliments," Mantello said.



The proposed budget includes a nearly $50K "consultant services" item for architectural and engineering services related to the creation of a master plan and/or asset management plan for the course, deputy mayor Monica Kurzejeski said. Over the next five years, according to the budget's capital plan, the city intends to spend $1.2 million on course improvements, though that number is sort of a placeholder pending further study.



City project pipeline.



Bid documents for the Leonard Hospital demolition are expected to go out before the end of the year, per the deputy mayor. As the mayor's office



There's also plans to make improvements to better link Riverfront Park and the Hedley Building along the waterfront that Strichman wants to get started on around next summer, once the seawall work is finished.



Another effort: Overhauling the city's zoning code to comport with its newly adopted comprehensive plan. Strichman said he was making final changes to the soon-to-be-issued RFP, which he expects to receive responses to by early December.



Litter Cop. Following the recommendation of the



The hope is that this will free up principal code inspector Dave Sheeran's small team to focus more on building inspections. You can watch Sheeran's appearance before the city council's general service committee

The Frear Park Municipal Golf Course , I'll admit, was not on my radar at all until I watched this video of the city council general services committee budget hearing on Wednesday night. It's an 18-hole golf course that provides nearly 50,000 rounds of golf annually.Course superintendent Greg Tudor and pro shop operations guy Josh Buell (brother of prominent developer Jeff Buell) answered questions from the committee.Apparently the quality of the course hit rock bottom last year, with "several greens burned out because of an equipment malfunction and golfers routinely complaining about playing conditions," per the TR. Mid-season the city brought in Tudor, who started turning things around."We started from ground zero this year," Buell said. "We had no reputation of being a golf course that people wanted to play. We had people leaving the golf course." He expects partnerships and leagues to increase this upcoming year, though he also acknowledged that weather is a key factor. (The course had to close 26 days this year so far for inclement weather, compared to only six last year.)Some prices will also increase. Season passes will increase $50 across every customer category, which will still leave the city's course as "easily the cheapest" municipal course in the area (by $200-400), according to Buell. Tournament and golf cart (we just got some new, more environmentally friendly models) fees are also slightly increasing.The course is not a moneymaker for the city. This year it has an operating deficit of $83,583 to date, and its budgeted deficit for next year is more than $200K, per the deputy comptroller. But councilmembers seemed mostly pleased with the course's function as an amenity for residents and non-residents. Council President Mantello and councilmember Mark McGrath, both golfers, congratulated Tudor and Buell on the job they've done this year. "I've never heard so many compliments," Mantello said.The proposed budget includes a nearly $50K "consultant services" item for architectural and engineering services related to the creation of a master plan and/or asset management plan for the course, deputy mayor Monica Kurzejeski said. Over the next five years, according to the budget's capital plan, the city intends to spend $1.2 million on course improvements, though that number is sort of a placeholder pending further study. At the planning committee meeting , planning commissioner Steve Strichman and the deputy mayor provided an update on various civic projects in progress. The long-awaited South Troy Industrial Park Road is expected to go out to bid early next year. The city still has to secure access to a "few" properties along the route, including two owned or associated with the county.Bid documents for the Leonard Hospital demolition are expected to go out before the end of the year, per the deputy mayor. As the mayor's office previously announced , "in-water work" on the Ingalls Ave. Boat Launch should be done by the end of November, and the project should be completed next year.There's also plans to make improvements to better link Riverfront Park and the Hedley Building along the waterfront that Strichman wants to get started on around next summer, once the seawall work is finished.Another effort: Overhauling the city's zoning code to comport with its newly adopted comprehensive plan. Strichman said he was making final changes to the soon-to-be-issued RFP, which he expects to receive responses to by early December.Following the recommendation of the recently released solid waste management plan , the mayor added one "Litter Patrol Officer" position within the sanitation bureau ($42,650/yr) to his 2019 budget proposal. Per the plan, this position, tasked with handling solid waste-related code enforcement matters, has been vacant for almost a decade.The hope is that this will free up principal code inspector Dave Sheeran's small team to focus more on building inspections. You can watch Sheeran's appearance before the city council's general service committee here . He talks about how his office is structured and how difficult it can be to win court cases against certain property owners, among other topics.

The Future of CDPHP Cycle!





The program, for its first two years, has been based in Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, and Troy, whose governments together have contributed a total of $200,000 to the effort. The rest of the project's revenue has come from a federal grant, the project's title sponsor, and customers. All told, the program has taken in about $1.5 million during its existence and cost a little over $1.9 million (for bike acquisition, operations, and storage).



I'm a customer. This summer I signed up for a monthly membership at $15/month, which gives me 60 minutes of riding a day. Last month, I took 20 trips for a total of 19.4 miles. I use it on Tuesday nights to get to and from the Sanctuary in North Central for my WOOC 105.3 FM appearances and also for random errands, like buying wine.



Probably the main reason I use it is because it does not require me to carry my bicycle up and down a flight of stairs, which seems like an inordinate amount of work for shorter, non-leisure rides.



Scherzer said there has been interest in the program from the localities of Scotia, Colonie, Cohoes, and Rensselaer. In August,



CDTA's operating agreement with Uber-owned JUMP does not expire (including option years) until after the 2021 season. But its agreement with CDPHP expires this year. "We believe there is room to enhance that agreement along with [ensuring] brand consistency, and keeping operating costs lean," Scherzer said in a memo to the board.



A spokesperson for CDPHP told me that discussions are ongoing but it's "safe to say we're committed to 2019."

The second "season" of CDPHP Cycle!, CDTA's 350-bicycle, 80-station bike-share program, will conclude at the end of November. More than 6,000 riders have taken 31,000 trips since July 2017, according to a presentation at a board committee meeting yesterday by CDTA's director of marketing, Jonathan Scherzer.The program, for its first two years, has been based in Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, and Troy, whose governments together have contributed a total of $200,000 to the effort. The rest of the project's revenue has come from a federal grant, the project's title sponsor, and customers. All told, the program has taken in about $1.5 million during its existence and cost a little over $1.9 million (for bike acquisition, operations, and storage).I'm a customer. This summer I signed up for a monthly membership at $15/month, which gives me 60 minutes of riding a day. Last month, I took 20 trips for a total of 19.4 miles. I use it on Tuesday nights to get to and from the Sanctuary in North Central for my WOOC 105.3 FM appearances and also for random errands, like buying wine.Probably the main reason I use it is because it does not require me to carry my bicycle up and down a flight of stairs, which seems like an inordinate amount of work for shorter, non-leisure rides.Scherzer said there has been interest in the program from the localities of Scotia, Colonie, Cohoes, and Rensselaer. In August, RPI became the first university to offer its students free CDPHP Cycle! access. "As luck would have it," Scherzer said, "an hour ago we got an email from UAlbany telling us they're interested as well." These sorts of institutional agreements could significantly boost use of the service in the future.CDTA's operating agreement with Uber-owned JUMP does not expire (including option years) until after the 2021 season. But its agreement with CDPHP expires this year. "We believe there is room to enhance that agreement along with [ensuring] brand consistency, and keeping operating costs lean," Scherzer said in a memo to the board.A spokesperson for CDPHP told me that discussions are ongoing but it's "safe to say we're committed to 2019."

A Non-Endorsement





Ashe-McPherson was appointed to the post by the Republican-dominated legislature this past summer, following the



One of the county legislature's most important responsibilities is to review and eventually approve the executive's proposed annual budget, which directs funds to an array of social service programs, the district attorney, the public defender, the sheriff, the medical examiner, the local board of elections, and much, much more.



The Friday before the debate, County Executive Steve McLaughlin



Ashe-McPherson is "still looking through it, going through it. There's a lot of things to understand." Weaver said, "Obviously, I don't have a copy of it." (I emailed her campaign on Wednesday, asking if there was really no way for her to have obtained one, but didn't receive a response.)



There were other lowlights. Asked how they'd vote "in the future on the use of eminent domain in improvement projects"—sort of hard to answer in the abstract, you'd think—Ashe-McPherson said she does not "believe in" eminent domain, and Weaver's answer made me wonder if she knew what it was.



"I believe that eminent domain opens up doorways," Weaver said. "It opens up a lot of opportunity. And if you have the opportunity to take advantage of it, I believe you should."



Another odd question from the audience, later in the night: "Given the growth of a creative economy here in Troy and Rensselaer County, what will you do to protect intellectual property rights?"



Weaver, up first, said, "As a county legislator, I would have to work with the administration because you don't have jurisdiction over the city of Troy," a dubious statement, on its own, at best (by this point, she'd already expressed support for two proposed local laws that would, presumably, apply to Troy, since it is located within the county) and one that anyway seems unrelated to the question.



She then talked about how she has a great relationship with the city's administration. Ashe-McPherson, also not addressing the question, said she perhaps doesn't have as great of a relationship with the mayor but would nonetheless make an effort to reach across the aisle.



Ashe-McPherson supports



Ashe-McPherson said she's "not really sure" how to get younger people involved with local government.



I would be remiss not to mention, too, although neither the Having attended Tuesday night's debate at Sage between Carole Weaver and Kim Ashe-McPherson, who are vying for a District 1 (Troy) seat on the Rensselaer County Legislature, and having then listened to a recording of the event to prepare to write this item, I'm sorry to say that I really can't see myself voting for either candidate.Ashe-McPherson was appointed to the post by the Republican-dominated legislature this past summer, following the death of Edward Manny , who had been reelected last year. The two candidates are now campaigning to serve out the rest of Manny's term.One of the county legislature's most important responsibilities is to review and eventually approve the executive's proposed annual budget, which directs funds to an array of social service programs, the district attorney, the public defender, the sheriff, the medical examiner, the local board of elections, and much, much more.The Friday before the debate, County Executive Steve McLaughlin unveiled his $346.7 million proposal publicly . It's hundreds of pages long and definitely not an easy read— here it is , if curious—but it was nonetheless disappointing that, when asked, neither Ashe-McPherson nor Weaver, who both attended McLaughlin's presentation, could muster any sort of comment about it beyond noting that it stays under the state property tax cap.Ashe-McPherson is "still looking through it, going through it. There's a lot of things to understand." Weaver said, "Obviously, I don't have a copy of it." (I emailed her campaign on Wednesday, asking if there was really no way for her to have obtained one, but didn't receive a response.)There were other lowlights. Asked how they'd vote "in the future on the use of eminent domain in improvement projects"—sort of hard to answer in the abstract, you'd think—Ashe-McPherson said she does not "believe in" eminent domain, and Weaver's answer made me wonder if she knew what it was."I believe that eminent domain opens up doorways," Weaver said. "It opens up a lot of opportunity. And if you have the opportunity to take advantage of it, I believe you should."Another odd question from the audience, later in the night: "Given the growth of a creative economy here in Troy and Rensselaer County, what will you do to protect intellectual property rights?"Weaver, up first, said, "As a county legislator, I would have to work with the administration because you don't have jurisdiction over the city of Troy," a dubious statement, on its own, at best (by this point, she'd already expressed support for two proposed local laws that would, presumably, apply to Troy, since it is located within the county) and one that anyway seems unrelated to the question.She then talked about how she has a great relationship with the city's administration. Ashe-McPherson, also not addressing the question, said she perhaps doesn't have as great of a relationship with the mayor but would nonetheless make an effort to reach across the aisle.Ashe-McPherson supports the sheriff's 287(g) agreement with ICE , which allows local corrections officers to perform certain federal immigration enforcement duties, like identifying potential deportees, at the jail. (The sheriff has said it will make the county safer, though a libertarian think tank recently found the program does not reduce crime .) Weaver seems not to take issue with the agreement as long as it doesn't lead to the sheriff "going door-to-door and trying to arrest people" ( the agreement appears to endow local officers with the aforesaid federal powers only "within" the jail). Both candidates' stances might confound anyone unsettled by some of ICE's recent conduct in this state Ashe-McPherson said she's "not really sure" how to get younger people involved with local government.I would be remiss not to mention, too, although neither the TR or TU accounts of the night did, that Ashe-McPherson completely whiffed on the last question of the night: "What do you believe should be the county legislature's role in economic development in this county?" Here's what followed:

ASHE-MCPHERSON: OK, well, we need—we need to work, um, our economic role to get our people together. Wait a minute, just lost it.



MODERATOR: We all have senior moments.



ASHE-MCPHERSON: Totally lost it. OK, um, an economic role for the city of Troy—or for the county, sorry—is we need to get businesses together. We need to bring in more revenue for both sides. I'm just gonna stop right there 'cause I'm totally lost right now. I apologize.

Poestenkill Place's New Look



The project, still under SEQR review, will likely appear again on the planning commission's agenda next month.

Nonprofit affordable housing developer The Community Builders has slightly changed its proposed facade for Poestenkill Place, a planned 84-unit apartment complex near the canal for which it is named. It's not a dramatic change, but I figured I'd keep you apprised. The top two horizontal slivers below are the new look, and the bottom one was the initial look in May The project, still under SEQR review, will likely appear again on the planning commission's agenda next month.

Tony of Italy



The business/building owner, Tony Iannacito, who has

On Tuesday morning I attended the Downtown BID's Fall "For Rent" event . For me, the highlight was getting to go inside of Tony of Italy, the Fourth St. hair salon that has one of my favorite facades in Troy.The business/building owner, Tony Iannacito, who has been in biz for about half a century , wants to rent the five-station salon to someone for $1,250/month (and he'd like to maintain a booth). If you end up being that someone, please don't change it too much because it's already perfect.

Links

Events

Weaver gave only a marginally better answer. Amazon coming to Schodack is "awesome," she said. The proposed warehouse won't have a big impact on the roads "because they're building it next to I-90.""Things like that are going to be very helpful and productive to the county, and I'm more than willing to work on different areas with the rest of the county legislature," she went on. (Ashe-McPherson, offered another chance by the moderator to answer the question, declined. She apologized again during her closing statement.)I have no reason to believe that Weaver, a retired state worker, and Ashe-McPherson, a former city councilmember, are not good, nice people who are more civically engaged than the average resident. I recognize that debating is not the same as governing—and that it's perhaps possible to be both good at the latter and not very good at the former. The debate probably didn't showcase all that the candidates might bring to the job. Nerves might've been a factor, understandably so.That said, sitting on a stage in front of a few dozen people and answering questions about what you might do as a legislator seems like a task that constituents should expect you to perform reasonably well.Around the middle of the debate, the candidates were asked if the size of the 19-person legislature should be reduced "to save taxpayer funds." Most of its members are paid $20K/year.Yes, we should, said Ashe-McPherson. In fact, "we should do away with all six" of Troy's county legislators and let the 13 others "split up" the Collar City, because Troy's reps have not sufficiently engaged with residents. Weaver pointed out that Ashe-McPherson seemed to be suggesting that her own position be eliminated. "This makes no sense," she said.Ashe-McPherson's suggested reform, I suspect, would be legally problematic and not in the city's best interest—it drew some laughs from the audience, and I don't disagree with Weaver's assessment—but the altogether distressing experience of this debate has left me wondering if our city would be better served by just leaving this one seat empty for now.