NEWS
Week of August 26 – August 30, 2013
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Saratoga Winter Farmers Market Out in the Cold Division Street No Longer Viable Venue by Chelsea DiSchiano Saratoga TODAY SARATOGA SPRINGS – After using Division Street Elementary as its winter market home for about seven years, the Saratoga Farmers Market Association is looking for a new venue after being told by the school district they can no longer use the space during the winter season. Charles Holub, president of Saratoga Farmers Market Association, received a letter from Saratoga Springs City School District in early July stating that the district received “recent legal advice stipulating that city schools are prohibited from allowing private entities to use school facilities to make a profit, ‘unless 100 percent of proceeds collected are distributed in the community for charitable purposes.’” Holub said no further details about the sudden change were enclosed in the letter. “They didn’t say anything else, they just said it was their attorney’s
‘reinterpretation of their policy,’” Holub said. “I’m confident we’ll find a new place, but it definitely made us scramble.” District Superintendent Michael Piccirillo reaffirmed the change was made due to legal advice the district received. “The policy was revised and in the process the legal advice we received was to make sure for-profit groups complied with regulations,” Piccirillo said in an email. “The district has had a great relationship with the Farmers Market and it is unfortunate we can no longer continue it in terms of use of our facilities.” Piccirillo did add that the district wants to continue its relationship with the Farmer’s Market and local farmers in other capacities in the future. Since receiving the letter, the SFMA issued a Request For Proposals as they search to find a new home before the winter market begins in November. The market hosts about 35 vendors, Holub said, and the amount of attendees range from in
Augie’s to open in New Location on Low Street BALLSTON SPA – Augie’s Family Restaurant has a new, temporary home in the former Manna’s on Low Street in Ballston Spa. Augie Vitiello’s location on Route 50 burned down on August 5 in an early morning blaze that completely destroyed the restaurant. Vitiello has said he wants to rebuild in his former location and has said he wants to work with an architect to “do it right.” The official cause of the fire has not been determined. The new location has approximately the same amount of seating as the old location, as well as a bar and large parking lot. Vitiello started a fundraiser through Indiegogo, an internet fund raising site to help the 15 employees who have been out of work because of the fire. Called Augie’s Will Rebuild Staff Fundraiser, the site
has raised almost $16,000 to date. With 22 days left, Vitiello’s goal is to raise $50,000. Since everything was destroyed in the fire, Vitiello has to start from scratch to open in the new location. The money raised will go towards the service staff ’s holdover budget and will be split as normally done with tips and money raised during normal business at Augie’s. Any remainder of the funds in case they are able to rebuild faster than estimated, will go towards local homeless shelters in the area. Those who donate will receive a one-time coupon good for a percentage discount off of their bill upon reopening, applicable for inhouse dining. To make a donation, go to www.indiegogo.com/projects/ augie-s-employee-fundraiser.
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the hundreds to a thousand during peak weekends. “We’re looking for something a little bigger than the last venue because we were turning farms away for our winter market there all the time,” Holub said. “We’re looking for ample parking like everyone else in Saratoga. We use an outside location early in the year, so if they had a setup space for our farmers outside, it’d be advantageous.” Other qualities the market is looking for include a minimum of 4,000 square feet within Saratoga Springs city limits, access between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Saturday from November through April, parking for 85 vehicles and heating to 60 degrees, with appropriate restrooms, lighting and electrical service. “We’re slated to open [the bids]
September 13 and our board of directors will accept one of the offers shortly after that, so I’d say within a week of opening the bids, we’ll have a new location selected,” Holub said. From November through April, the Association runs a winter market in Saratoga Springs with over 30 vendors, who typically sell produce, meat, fish, dairy, eggs, baked goods,
décor and gift items. The market will be open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information visit www.saratogafarmersmarket.org. “We’ve got a very successful winter market and we’re looking to grow and add as many more farms as possible,” Holub said. “There’s a lot of good agriculture and we’d like to add more diversity to the market.”