Saturday, August 7, 2010

Congress Park- Free Help for Skip

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The following is the Park Volunteer Proposal that I hand-delivered to Commissioner "Skip" Scirocco on the afternoon of Friday August 6. The letter is my response to the Commissioner's personal request to me at the close of the August 3 meeting of the City Council when I was asked to prepare my Proposal as a "letter."

As of 8:00 pm August 7th, there has been no response to my letter.
I'll keep this updated as the Proposal moves forward.

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Anthony “Skip” Scirocco
Commissioner- DPW
Saratoga Springs City Hall
474 Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12966

August 6, 2010


Dear Commissioner Scirocco,

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me at the end of the August 3 City Council Meeting. It is my pleasure to submit this “written proposal” about my desire to assist you as an unpaid DPW volunteer Day Laborer to clean and maintain the water features in Congress Park.

Please note that I have done the work before as a Part-Time Day Laborer serving under former Commissioner Thomas McTygue and his Deputy Patrick Design. I am familiar with the equipment, the procedures, and the personal safety precautions that are all part of the work.

My PROPOSAL is in response to your oft-stated concerns about the severity of the DPW staff cuts. At the August 3 Council Meeting, you addressed the impacts being observed by the community and the specific problem of excessive algae accumulations in Congress Park’s myriad ponds and streams Your explanation was stated eloquently and directly stated during your portion of the agenda—

To address your shortage of “people,” I would like to supplement the current 3-person staff you’ve assigned to the Casino and The Park. My sole work assignment would be to keep the water bodies clear of floating algae, removal of excessive sub-surface weeds, and retrieval of foreign objects from the water bodies within Congress Park.

To perform the required work, I’ve observed that all the required equipment used in the past seems to be available for my use, of course ONLY when such required items are NOT being used by any DPW employees. The specific items I would require are as follows:

• The POOL SKIMMER and its expendable pole
• The FISHERMAN’S HIP WADERS with built-in boots
• One or both SMALL FLOATING SKIFFS to transport waste
• One LARGE GARBAGE PAIL to allow collection of waste
• Many HEAVY-DUTY GARBAGE BAGS to line the Garbage Pail

Assuming that liability concerns would deny me the use of the motorized transport cart, my plan would be to REMOVE each plastic liner from the garbage can once it was filled, then I would leave the bag(s) in place at the edge/shore of the water body. Each bag will be cut to allow drainage of excess water until such time as any DPW employee can use a motorized transport cart to move the bags to the designated collection point. The trailer now utilized in The Park (see photos) would be ideal if it is to be assigned to The Park for the remainder of the year.

My PRIORITIES would place the highest priority on removal of surface algae wherever it might grow. Water features would be addressed in order of their relative aesthetic importance…all difficult calls,
all subject to your approval:

o Priority 1 would be the central DUCK POND
o Priority 2 would be the BAND SHELL POND
o Priority 3 would be the TRASK FOUNTAIN
o Priority 4 would be the CASINO REAR POND
o Priority 5 would be the STREAM feeding the Duck Pond
o Priority 6 would be the STREAM from the Italian Gardens
o Priority 7 would be the FISH POND near the “New” memorial
o Priority 8 would be the large SOUTHERN POND

In reality, I believe the Priority list will not be necessary if the Commissioner will allow me to perform any and all volunteer work on an “as needed” basis. I propose that I do the work when I see any issues… although I would happily perform work at the request of the Commissioner, any DPW Park employee, or at the request of Casino Manager Betty French.

My LIABILITY will be addressed by my signature upon any such Release(s) prepared by the City Attorney, the Manager of Risk and Safety, the CSEA representatives, or any other City Agent with legal concerns. My offer comes with an UNCONDITIONAL Activity Waiver and Release where I, Kyle D. York release the City, its Departments, and its employees from any and all liability claims that may come as a result of my efforts. I give up all future claims against the City, its Agencies and/or its Agents.

I am sincere in this offer and I am eager to get to work without delay.
As part of my commitment, I made a thorough inspection of The Park’s features on August 4th and 5th. My inspection was motivated by your words spoken during City Council Meetings, my own observations, and the alarming editorial published in the August 1, 2010 edition of THE SARATOGIAN. In part—


Editorial: Let’s keep our gem sparkling

Published: Sunday, August 01, 2010

Congress Park is one of the gems of Saratoga Springs.
The City Council must make it a point to keep it that way. If you were in the park Saturday, you might have seen overgrown weeds that have rendered the pool behind the Canfield Casino unlivable for fish and scummy-looking growth overtaking some of the ponds — in particular making the pond near the Katrina Trask stairs, in a word, yucky.

Public Works Commissioner Skip Scirocco, the City Council member who oversees maintenance of city-owned property, was inspecting Congress Park Friday, looking at work that needs to be done with his barebones park staff. Scirocco says he just doesn’t have enough staff to clean the ponds. Someone has to go into the pond in waders dragging an old rowboat, haul out the weeds with a pitchfork, dump them into the boat and drag the gunk to shore. Doing the Katrina Trask pond could be a week’s work. And when the water is clear and the sun shines, the weeds return with a vengeance.


My personal inspection rewarded me, quite frankly, with immense relief and great excitement. It appears that The Park’s 3-person team has been supplemented with many additional DPW workers. Perhaps my offer is rendered moot by what appear to be new priorities and assignments at The Park. In any event, it was my good luck and pleasure to see you supervising/inspecting work on both days.

There is always work to be done and I am ready and willing to do it.
It is my hope that your review of the recent activity in The Park can define/refine this Proposal.


-Yours Truly,

Kyle D. York
59 Railroad Place
Apartment #403
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866


As the old song says-- "What a difference a day makes..."
xxxxxCONGRESS PARK, AUGUST 4 2010 (pm)xxxxxxXXxxx CONGRESS PARK, AUGUST 5 2010 (am)


























































"I don't have the people to do it."

"Skip" Scirocco
August 3rd, 2010

City Council Meeting