2015 State of the Town AddressColonie Town Board Meeting

January 22, 2015

Good evening, and thank you for being here. Before we begin our regular Town Board

meeting tonight, I’d like to take a few minutes to share my 2015 State of the Town Address with

you. I really do look forward to presenting the State of the Town each year, because it gives me

an excellent chance to let everyone know what we achieved over the past year and what we look

forward to accomplishing in the year ahead.

When talking about our success in 2014 and in years past, it is very important to

acknowledge the work of all our Town employees and elected officials. None of it would have

been possible without their willingness to rethink the way we do business and deliver services.

We’ve asked a lot of everyone, and everyone has risen to the challenge.

With that in mind, I’d like at this time to give a very special thank you to the members of

our Town Board. All of them have dedicated many, many hours to serving the Town, and I’d

like to ask them to stand and be recognized. Also, several of our Town Department Heads and

staff are here, and I’ll ask them to stand as well. Let’s give them all a show of our appreciation.

Let me begin by saying that 2014 was a very productive year for the Town, and I expect

more of the same in 2015. I think we would all agree that there’s an incredible sense of energy

and forward motion in Colonie, and I know this momentum will continue. We will continue to

see exciting commercial and residential developments. We will continue to enhance our

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recreational facilities. And very importantly we will bring a new focus to rebuilding the Town’s

aging infrastructure.

Just as an aside, we were all incredibly thrilled when Colonie was named “Best

Community” in the Times Union’s 2014 annual readers’ poll. This was the first year “Best

Community” was a poll choice, and I am so proud that Colonie was chosen. I really can’t think

of a higher honor for all of us. And I assure you, it is my most important goal as Supervisor to

be sure that Colonie remains the best community ever!

I think it’s easy to see why Colonie won the Times Union poll. We’ve been ranked

among the nation’s safest communities for years. We can all be grateful that we have

outstanding Police and EMS Departments, which have been recognized for excellence many

times over. And our twelve volunteer fire departments ensure our residents of an outstanding

response to fires and other serious incidents. We have a stable government, one of the region’s

lowest tax rates, and a full range of services. What’s not to love?

Last year, having stabilized Town finances, we were really excited to be able to begin

focusing much more aggressively on the Town’s infrastructure. Now we’ve entered what, for

lack of a better term, I’ll characterize as an era of “Better Bricks and Mortar.” Our infrastructure

is not only the key to our quality of life today, it’s the key to our success in the future. We got

off to a very productive start in 2014, and I will come back to this in more detail a little later on.

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In other very good news, we increased the Town’s fund balance for the third year in a

row. After adding more than $1 million dollars in reserves, we now have a fund balance of $2.6

million dollars. Believe me, this is a very big achievement when you consider that we started

with a fund balance of zero! Our goal, which I believe is now within view, is to reach the $4

million fund balance recommended by the New York State Comptroller in the very near future.

I’m also very proud that our conservative financial practices have allowed us to keep our

budgets low while at the same time providing an excellent level of resident services. I’d just like

to point out that our 2015 budget of $85.5 million is LESS than our expenditures of $91.8

million in 2008. How is this possible at a time when, like every other municipality, we see ever-

increasing costs for labor contracts, employee benefits, and mandated payments to the NYS

Retirement System? It’s possible only because we have worked very, very hard every year to

find new ways to make Town government cost our taxpayers less. This is a major

accomplishment.

This year, Colonie will once again meet the requirements of the Governor’s Tax Levy

Cap, which actually limited our tax levy growth to just 1.56 percent. By meeting all of our tax

cap requirements, our residents will be able to benefit from the NYS Tax Rebate Program

expected this fall.

Incidentally, this is the fourth year we have met the tax cap requirements. I remain

committed to the tax cap as long as it’s in effect, which now appears to be at least through 2016.

We are fortunate that Colonie has one of the lowest tax rates in the region, and it is very

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important for us to keep taxes as low as possible. Nevertheless, the ongoing revenue limitations

of the tax cap present very real challenges, but we will continue to put forth our best efforts to

honor the tax cap.

Also, The Town has been working with County Executive Dan McCoy and other

municipal leaders to explore the potential for shared services that can help all of us deliver

services as cost-effectively as possible.

At the same time that we have dealt successfully with fiscal constraints, we have made it

a top priority to safeguard key services, with a very strong focus on public works and public

safety. I’m proud to note that we have had consistent new hires for our police and EMS

departments so that these critical departments can operate at full strength.

We have also honored my promise to keep funding programs for seniors and youth. At a

time when many municipalities are cutting such services, I am very pleased that we have

remained steadfast in our commitment to funding them in full. In fact, this year we are adding a

new program by creating a Youth Advisory Board for middle school and junior-high school

students from our area schools. This follows on the success of our Youth Advisory Board for

high-school students.

As you know, recreational opportunities are enormously important to our quality of life.

Recognizing this, we have worked hard to find ways to enhance the Town’s recreational

facilities at minimal cost to our taxpayers. We’ve had great success. Last year, we completed

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our beautiful new passive park on River Road. As you may remember, the park was developed

at minimal cost to the Town through a mix of public and private assistance.

We also began site work for our second dog park, which will open this spring on Town

land adjacent to the Town Golf Course. We’ve had a great response to our first dog park,

located at the Town Park on Schermerhorn Road, and many people are waiting anxiously for the

second one. With engineering plans donated by CHA and fencing donated by Waste

Connections, both dog parks will have been constructed at virtually no extra cost to the Town.

I was also very pleased last summer by the opening of a new connection to the Mohawk-

Hudson Bike-Hike Path. It joins the Shelter Cove residential community to the Bike-Hike Path

at the Colonie Town Park over a beautiful new bridge. Both bridge and connector were

constructed by the developer as a public service, and we are all grateful for his support – as we

are grateful to everyone in the business community for their support in helping us achieve our

goals.

Last year, the dining room at our Golf Course Clubhouse was completely renovated by

Martel’s Restaurant. It looks beautiful! And the fact that Martel’s will be open year-round,

means we hope next year to be able to open the course for cross-country skiing and other winter

sports.

Last summer, a $10,000 grant from the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club helped fund

roadway improvements at the Town Park on Schermerhorn Road. We also improved the pool

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area and resurfaced the tennis courts, which really needed a facelift. Looking ahead, we are

planning major improvements to the playground and pool this year, and we anticipate receiving

grant funding to help underwrite some of that work.

Like every municipality we have a critically aging infrastructure, and as you know, it gets

to a point where it’s more expensive to keep patching things up than to replace them. That’s

why we’ve begun implementing several strategic initiatives to address our infrastructure – for

our drinking water and sewer systems, and for our highway and storm water management

systems. I’m very pleased with what we’ve accomplished so far.

Last year, we completed our first five-year, $10 million paving and drainage

improvement program. In 2010, when the program was begun, more than 46 percent of the

Town’s roads were in need of repair or nearing the end of their useful life. So far, we have

repaved a total of 55 road miles on 182 Town roads and completed 98 major storm sewer repairs.

This is an excellent start, but with 320 miles of Town roads, you can see that there’s still lots

more work to be done. That’s why we will begin another five-year paving plan this year.

Also last year, we completely rebuilt Sand Creek Road from Norbrick Drive east to

Everett Road. One of the goals of this project was to help alleviate flood conditions in the West

Albany area of Town. As part of that project, the Latham Water District installed 4,300 feet of

new water main and the Division of Pure Waters installed 900 feet of sewer pipe. Just to give

you one small idea of the age of our infrastructure, the existing water mains there were unlined

cast-iron mains dating from the 1930s and 1940s!

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Last year’s completion by CapCom of its new headquarters on Winners Circle and its

construction of a new roundabout at Marcus Boulevard provided the first phase of a project that

will ultimately extend Maxwell Road from Route 9 all the way through to Sand Creek Road.

This year, the Town will conduct the second phase of the project, in which Winners Circle and

Aviation Road will be realigned to connect to the Marcus Boulevard roundabout and renamed

Maxwell Road. In the final phase of the project, a connection will be created from the Marcus

Boulevard roundabout to Albany Shaker Road, creating a parallel route to Wolf Road that will

help alleviate traffic congestion and enhance economic development opportunities. I am

genuinely grateful to CapCom for helping us get this project started.

The construction of the sidewalk from Siena College to Newton Plaza has been

completed, and it really feels good to look out my window at Town Hall and see that students

and residents have a safe place to walk. We have received many positive comments on this

project.

In other areas, preserving our drinking water and our sanitary sewer systems in top

working order is fundamental to every aspect of our lives. But the age and complexity of these

systems mandate major long-term improvements, and they’re needed now.

Just imagine what it takes for the Latham Water District to speed 3.8 billion gallons of

water along more than 428 miles of water main to 23,500 service connections every year! For

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starters, it requires the Latham Water Treatment Plant, five pump stations, and 15 huge water

storage tanks.

In addition, the Division of Pure Waters oversees treatment of 3.5 million gallons of

sanitary wastewater every day at the Mohawk View Pollution Control Plant on Onderdonk

Avenue. It also maintains 400 miles of pipe, 9,000 manholes, and 29 pump stations.

That’s why we have begun implementing ambitious strategic initiatives to strengthen

both the drinking water and sanitary sewer systems over the next several years. We completed

several major projects in 2014, and believe me we have a very full slate for this year and beyond.

Last November, the Latham Water District completed a $900,000 dollar rehabilitation of

the sixty-year old Miller Road Water Tank, which holds one million gallons of water. In May, it

will begin a $950,000 dollar rehabilitation of the elevated water storage tank on Osborne Road.

This year the Water District will also begin a $1.3 million dollar project to replace

pumps, motors, and electrical switching gear at the Mohawk View High Lift Pump Station,

which pumps about 60 percent of the water pumped into our distribution system. We expect the

work to be finished by the end of this year. In addition, we have targeted $1 million dollars to

strengthen security throughout the entire water system.

At the Division of Pure Waters, installation of new screenings and grit equipment at the

Mohawk View Water Pollution Control Plant was completed in October, replacing equipment in

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place since 1978. The screenings and grit processes are the essential first two steps in the

treatment of sanitary waste water, so you can see how important this equipment is. I’m happy to

report that this $3.3 million dollar project is expected to come in $400,000 dollars under budget!

We also expect this year to correct drainage problems at the Mohawk View Plant.

Also in 2014, Pure Waters replaced antiquated emergency notifications systems at its 29

remote pumping stations, and totally rehabilitated the Fonda Road Pumping Station, increasing

reliability and reducing maintenance costs.

Now in design is a $5.2 million comprehensive project to overhaul the Lisha Kill

Pumping Station, one of the largest and oldest of the Pure Waters pump stations. The result will

be increased pumping efficiency and reduced maintenance. We anticipate construction will

begin later this year and be completed in 2016.

In 2013, and again last year, I reviewed some of the many exciting development and

redevelopment projects underway throughout Colonie. And it’s certainly not hard to see the

results. Route 9, from the Village of New Loudon all the way through to Route 9R, has been

virtually transformed. In 2014, several new businesses took up residence in the Village of New

Loudon, and we welcome them all. Construction at the Latham Circle Mall site is well

underway, the Mabey’s Self Storage has sprung up at the corner of Sparrowbush Road, and the

Lia redevelopment at 860 Loudon Road is open for business.

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Construction of several new hotels along Wolf Road attest to the fact that Colonie

continues to be a popular destination. One of these, Staybridge Suites, has just received its

Certificate of Occupancy and has really transformed the area adjacent to Colonie Center.

I am very excited that Colonie Center was chosen as the home of the region’s first

Nordstrom Rack store, and also that a number of other retailers have chosen Colonie as the

location of their first regional stores – including Whole Foods, Panda Express, and a Sonic.

We continue to have great success in redevelopment, a sure sign that our new

redevelopment policies are bearing fruit. This year we learned that two properties in need of

new life would be getting substantial makeovers, including the former Bowlers’ Club at 1210

Troy-Schenectady Road. It will be redeveloped into Latham Plaza, with 40,000 square feet of

new office and retail space and a restaurant. And as the Boght Fire Company has a new home,

there are plans for redevelopment at the site of the old firehouse.

We were also very happy this year to welcome ThermoAura to its redeveloped state-of-

the-art manufacturing facility on Railroad Avenue. At its December opening, ThermoAura’s

CEO said the company had looked for months for the perfect space, finally finding it after taking

a tour with Colonie officials. These are the kinds of good-paying, high-tech jobs that

communities are vying to attract, and we are very happy that ThermoAura found what it needed

in our Town.

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I was also pleased last April to see in the Albany Business Review Tech Pages that seven

of the Capital Region’s top nineteen tech companies ranked by revenue are located or

headquartered here in Colonie. The list bears out that we in Colonie are making the most of our

Tech Valley location, as we continue to attract the kind of high-tech business that will provide a

strong economic future for our community.

In 2014, we estimate that 536 jobs were created, retained, or relocated to Colonie. In

addition, we estimate that more than 900 construction jobs were created just on the more visable

projects.

We have lots of impressive new commercial construction as well, including a 30,000

square-foot veterinary medical facility at 152 Sparrowbush Road, and a 31,000 square-foot

warehouse and distribution center being constructed at 291 Old Wolf Road. And I think we will

all agree that the beautiful new Albany RV facility has really changed the look of the area

adjacent to Exit 6.

In all, our Planning and Economic Development Department last year approved nine

major projects and 30 minor projects. These projects include 560,000 square feet of new retail,

office, and warehouse space, generating almost $1.3 million dollars in GEIS-related and other

mitigation fees. These monies can be deployed in many ways to help the Town adapt to its new

growth and development.

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All of this activity also continues to grow our tax base. In 2014 we saw a $39.8 million

dollar increase in the Town’s total taxable value of property. When added to the increases in

total taxable value since 2011, the total taxable value of property has increased by almost $128

million dollars – a 2.3 percent increase overall in just four years!

In 2014, 198 new homes came onto the tax role, almost doubling the number coming

onto the roles in the recent past. Moreover, we expect to exceed that number substantially for

the 2015 tax assessment role now in progress.

In conclusion, I’d like to say that it’s a very exciting time to be your Supervisor. So

much that we have worked for since I first assumed office in 2008 has been achieved – including

solid financial stability. Now it is very gratifying to be able to begin the challenging process of

rebuilding the Town’s infrastructure – inch-by-inch, foot-by-foot, and mile-by-mile. Colonie is

truly entering a new era – one of Better Bricks and Mortar. I look forward to the challenges

ahead, and I thank you all for helping Colonie be the “Best Community” in the Capital Region!

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