Saratoga responds to complaints

Saratoga should see some “positive changes” with regards to enforcement in town, according to Saratoga Mayor Ed Glode.

This came alongside an announcement of the new clean-up committee at the Jan. 19 Saratoga Town Council meeting. Glode described the concept of the new committee as a collaboration between senior police officers, the zoning officer, director of public works, chairman of the landfill board, council representative to the planning commission and the mayor.

Glode says this is the first step to getting the ball moving on cleaning up the town after surveyed citizens made it clear they want to tackle the junk problem. He had a one-on-one meeting with police chief Tom Knickerbocker to address not only the clean-up committee, but other enforcement matters in town.

Town Clerk Suzie Cox presented a proposed expansion of the cemetery to include 576 new plots. Right now, Cox said, the town has 132 plots available. The expansion, which was approved by the council, will include 97 new parking spaces, and Cox said there are funds set aside so there should be no cost to the town. The development will take place in two phases.

Ordinance No. 833 was presented and passed its first reading at the meeting, which essentially modified language as to not contradict the recently passed home occupation ordinance. The changes largely clear up wording regarding specialty uses, accessory uses and signage throughout ordinances to include home professional offices. Councilman Will Faust emphasized that all special use permits will be grandfathered in, but it is unlikely that anyone carrying a special use permit will still need one.

Marilee Harper was honored by Knickerbocker for her volunteer hours caring for dogs in the kennel at the police station. She was presented with an outstanding volunteer service award for providing a service to the loose animals of Saratoga. Harper acknowledged that with the rise of social media, she has been able to house at least 90 percent of dogs brought in.

Since director of public works Jon Winter was out of town, Glode was not able to provide an update on the river project as expected. Winter has reportedly been meeting with experts about dredging, which is a major part of Glode’s plan, and should provide an update when he returns.

The next Saratoga Town Council meeting will be at 6 p.m., Feb. 2 at Saratoga Town Hall.

 

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