Moby Rick’s and Olde Bryan Inn reopen
Steve Thurston (2021)
Moby Rick's
Moby Rick’s Seafood shop, which the city government in Saratoga Springs forced to close in order to complete paperwork, has reopened, at least for curbside pickup, signs on the front of the store say. Texts to the manager went unanswered earlier this week. [Read more here.]
Similarly, the Olde Bryan Inn had shutdown because of a COVID exposure, but the signs saying they are closed have been removed from their doors.
Negotiating for sidewalks in Queensbury
As the Town of Queensbury prepared, Monday night, to OK a zoning change on two parcels of land that the West Mountain Ski area owns, town board member Harrison Freer asked about sidewalks.
Steve Thurston, via zoom (2021)
Harrison Freer
“What’s it worth for us to do this, to the organization requesting it?” Freer asked, adding that he was asking because he believed the town needs more and better sidewalks but has no funding for them.
(West Mountain applied for the zoning change so that they could use two parcels to expand their parking lot. Read more here.)
An affirmative vote on the zoning change should elicit some amount of money from the ski area that the town could put toward sidewalks.
“What can we negotiate that it would be worth to the commercial company?” Freer wondered.
After a brief pause, Tim McNulty asked, “Where would you want sidewalks, Harrison?”
Freer said he was not thinking of a particular location, though he mentioned areas around schools, but added that the Association of Towns says localities can negotiate for payments toward civic benefits when they are about to give a benefit, such as a zoning change, to a commercial enterprise.
McNulty, the newest member of the board, wondered if they had asked this of others in the past. Freer said no, and the discussion moved on.
A couple minutes later, as the final vote to approve the ski area’s zoning change was called, McNulty said he thought that Freer’s idea had some value, but that doing it just before a vote without discussing the idea first was troublesome.
“I think maybe discussing it at a workshop or some other place so we can develop, across the board, an understanding and an approach, I think would be very appropriate,” McNulty said.
Supervisor John Strough responded, “We can add that to a workshop.”
The vote proceeded and West Mountain’s application to change the zone from residential to commercial/recreational use passed unanimously.
Queensbury maintains COVID plan
The Town of Queensbury voted to maintain, through February, the COVID plan it designed in January.
“This is the plan for February. We’ll play it month-by-month,” Supervisor John Strough said. For more, read here.
The Bond 1786
The Town of Warrensburg waived the 30-day filing requirement for a Liquor Application for Lotus Estate, LLC, at The Bond 1786. This is the new name for the former Merrill Maggee House, inn and restaurant at 3 Hudson Street. Lotus bought the establishment last month and wants to reopen less than a month from now, the board said.
Possible COVID Exposure
Warren County lists just one business as having had a possible COVID exposure:
Northway Diner, 51 Main St., Queensbury, Jan. 28, individuals wore masks but not while dining.
The county asks if you were at these businesses during these time periods, please self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19. If experiencing these symptoms, contact your medical provider, an urgent care center or your local public health agency. Warren County Health Services can be reached at 518-761-6580. For other possible COVID exposures at businesses, read here.