July
• The Schenectady County Legislature unanimously approves entering into an agreement establishing a centralized dispatch system that would house all dispatchers in one building at an undetermined location. The Schenectady City Council already approved the new plan and the remaining municipalities later sign on to the agreement. The plan is said to save Schenectady $195,000, Glenville more than $160,000, Niskayuna around $115,000 and Rotterdam nearly $160,000. The towns of Duanesburg and Princetown would pay a flat fee that increases annually for the first four years.
• General Electric holds a grand opening for its $100 million advanced manufacturing battery facility in Schenectady and announce plans to invest an additional $70 million to expand production capabilities. The extra millions will effectively double production and add 100 new jobs, bringing the total factory workforce to 450 employees at full capacity. The new factory, as large as four football fields, is located near GE’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, where the new Durathon batteries were developed.
• “All I want to do is cook again,” Scotia Diner Manager and Chef Terry Kyratzis says from inside the restaurant’s new location, which is beginning to take shape. The diner was forced to leave its former location on March 21, just down from its new storefront on Mohawk Avenue, after being evicted to make way for an apartment complex. The dinner opens its doors several weeks later.
• The Albany Roman Catholic Diocese opens the Capital District’s first “natural burial” ground at the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery in Niskayuna. Natural burials, devoid of the careful primping shown to typical gravesites, are blossoming as a green alternative to traditional burials because there is less impact on the environment. The cemetery’s new Kateri Meadow Natural Burial Preserve serves as a more “wild” area for the green burials.
• A building partially collapses at the former Scotia Navy Depot, and the town calls on federal officials to demolish the former administration and commissary building. Months later, federal officials agree to demolish the collapsed building.
• Scotia officials announce the beach at Collins Park will be closed for the rest of the season after failing to open at the start of the season in June. The state Department of Health requires all public beaches to have four feet of visibility in the water for swimming, but flooding from Hurricane Irene left significant deposits of fine clay silt in Collins Lake that reduced visibility. Village officials are uncertain when the beach will reopen for recreational swimming.
The Schenectady County Public Library opens its new 6,700-square-foot Children’s Wing at the Central Library Branch in downtown Schenectady. County legislators provided $1.5 million in county funds for the expansion, with private grants and donations from the Library Board of Trustees matching the county’s contribution. The legislature also committed $2 million in county funds for upgrades to the building’s heating and cooling, electrical, fire safety and ventilation systems and for asbestos abatement.
August
The women’s auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Rotterdam Junction hosts its second Interfaith Iftar Dinner at its mosque on River Road. Women of different faiths come together in a day of fasting to show solidarity and support during the month of Ramadan. Several people from different faiths join together in a traditional Muslim prayer before breaking the fast and partaking in a feast.
Schenectady County Community College and The United Group of Companies offer the media a tour of nearly completed student housing, College Suites at Washington Square, which welcomed students on Aug. 31. The $13 million project places student housing adjacent to SCCC’s main campus on Washington Avenue. The 112,000-square-foot facility has 69 rooms with 264 beds.
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services issues a new “A+” rating for Metroplex’s serial bonds totaling $13.6 million, which is the highest upper medium grade bond rating. Moody’s Investors service also assigns an equal rating of “A1” to the serial bonds. Both ratings represent the authority holds a low credit risk and has a strong capability to repay debt. The ratings will help Metroplex as it seeks to refinance its debt, with Moody’s projecting a savings of 5.5 percent and S&P slightly higher at 5.7 percent.
A big league celebration launches the Niskayuna 15-year-old division Babe Ruth baseball team’s long trip to a field many of them had only dreamed of reaching. The Niskayuna Warriors had an undefeated run through the Mid-Atlantic Regional series and advanced to the Babe Ruth World Series in Van Buren, Ark., marking the first time any team from the town has reached the pinnacle tournament.
The Flood Recovery Coalition, along with the Schenectady County Historical Society and Schenectady County Public Library, holds an event at the Mabee Farm Historic Site in Rotterdam Junction commemorating the one-year anniversary of the flooding. Free food, beverages and treats were offered at the event, along with musical performances.
The Town of Niskayuna wins the 26th annual New York State Drinking Water Taste Test. The contest is held at the state fair in Syracuse and more than 400 people voted on drinking water samples from 10 communities across the state.
September
County legislators approve a sales tax distribution agreement for the start of December 2012 to Nov. 30, 2020. The agreement grants an increase of $600,000 for the city, but towns will continue to receive the same distribution.
Schenectady County Community College officials and local representatives formally unveil the college’s new music building, which is a $3.9 million, 12,600-square-foot addition. The addition connects to the current music wing, which also received several updates through the project.
The Rotterdam Town Board is expected to award Columbia Development Companies’ bid to purchase the ailing Curry Road Plaza for $1.23 million and redevelop the 12-acre site, but a resolution doesn’t surface. Columbia’s bid was nearly triple that submitted by the only other bidder, Forum Industries, Inc. Columbia sought to purchase the adjacent Palma Lumber property for development efforts at the site, but The Golub Corporation bought the adjacent land. Columbia withdraws its bid at the start of the next month.
Four Niskayuna Class of 1962 graduates work together on a documentary featuring 25 classmates for their 50th reunion. The film, “Turning Pages,” premiers Saturday, Sept. 29, on the big screen at the Mainstage at Proctors. The project started as a simple video for the class reunion, but ended up as a documentary chronicling the struggles and triumphs of a generation.
October
The Schenectady County Legislature holds a special meeting and votes to override the tax cap to allow County Manager Kathleen Rooney to present a budget exceeding a tax levy increase of 2.95 percent, the maximum allowed. Legislators opposing the override are Republican James Buhrmaster, Conservative Holly Vellano and democrats Angelo Santabarbara and Thomas Constantine. Rooney unveils her proposed spending plan holding 7.5 percent tax levy increase and totaling $296 million.
Rotterdam Councilman Robert Godlewski submits a legislative request to Town Supervisor Harry Buffardi urging the town to participate in the state buyback program for properties damaged by Irene. Town Board members later deny entering the state program.
The former Kmart Plaza on Route 50 in Glenville starts a new chapter as Target opens its new 135,000-square-foot store. The 13.2-acre site had been vacant since August of 2006 and town officials focused on redeveloping the blighted property to spur development at the town center.
Janet Hutchison announces plans to retire from running The Open Door Bookstore in Schenectady after working 30 years at the independent bookseller. Hutchison took over ownership of the store in 1992 and had managed it for several years.
November
Angelo Santabarbara emerges victorious on Election Day from a contentious race against Thomas Quackenbush in the newly redrawn 111th Assembly District. This was Santabarbara’s third consecutive year of campaigning. He lost a bid against George Amedore for the Assembly two years ago and retained his county seat last year.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany celebrates the grand opening of its new warehouse in Rotterdam Corporate Park. The warehouse stores furniture and house wares donations for low-income individuals and families, with more than 500 households served annually. The Rotterdam warehouse is more centrally located in the charity’s 14-county area, and has about 1,500 square feet more space.
The Schalmont Board of Education selects Carol Pallas, chief academic officer at Greece Central School District in Rochester, after a six-month search for a new superintendent to replace Valerie Kelsey when she retires at the end of the year. Pallas signs a three-year contract with a starting salary of $157,500.
The Glenville Planning and Zoning Commission approves the site plan for a part-time microbrewery at the Glenville Grange building. The proposal from two residents for a “nanobrewery” spurred the town to add zoning amendments regarding microbreweries and microwineries to the town code earlier in the year. The brewery holds a name fitting of the hamlet it will call home — Wolf Hollow Brewing Company, after the nearby road.
December
The Saratoga Academy for the Arts and Science and Capital Region Maritime Center officials announce an agreement to create a new middle school serving fifth to eighth graders at the Alplaus facility along the Mohawk River. The new school, Saratoga Academy for Leadership and Maritime Programs, will open its doors to students next September. The Maritime Center searched for about a year for a new tenant after Capital Region BOCES left the center when its lease expired.
Ellis Medicine representatives, local officials and community leaders gather and cut the ribbon on Bellevue’s contemporary 32,000-square-foot addition connected to its existing hospital. The construction took a year and cost $16.8 million, which was mostly obtained through federal Housing and Urban Development financing and philanthropy. The new Bellevue Woman’s Center features more spacious rooms, modern amenities and warm color palettes.
Nearly six weeks after Election Day, the ballot counting in the 46th Senate District race ends and Republican George Amedore grasps a thin lead over Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk. Acting Montgomery County Supreme Court Justice Guy Tomlinson certifies Amedore as holding a 37-vote lead after the final disputed paper ballots are counted. Amedore garners 63,141 votes and Tkaczyk falls short with 63,104 votes. Democrats vow to appeal Tomlinson’s ruling.
An outpouring of community support leads Niskayuna Board of Education members to describe closing Van Antwerp Middle School as a dire, last-ditch option. Closing the middle school is estimated to save $800,000, which would help close the district’s $4.3 million budget gap. Superintendent Susan Kay Salvaggio urged board members to keep all options open until the governor’s budget is released in January.