My goal is to have a park or green space within a 5-minute walk of every child in our city. We are committed to increasing green space and parks available for our families. We are currently building Flat Rock Park next to the city center, expanding the outdoor facilities and parking at the Rec. Center, and building a playground and other amenities at Waterfront Park. We are working with Saratoga Shredders to make a Mountain Bike park a reality, making Saratoga Springs a premier recreation destination and creating a new revenue stream for the city.

DPW can communicate better. We can be more transparent and responsive to community members. To achieve this, we are implementing a technology that many cities across America have utilized, which allows the community and the DPW workforce to communicate in real-time around issues spotted, concerns and resolution. 2-way communication with residents around critical public works needs. We are empowering the community to be a partner in identifying our biggest concerns and providing transparency around project progress and completion.

Saratoga Springs has the potential to be a leader in the transition to clean energy. From transitioning to smart-city lights downtown to electric DPW vehicles and machines, we have begun an ambitious transformation as a city. We are working with the SiFi network to build out ultra-high speed internet for our city. We have already begun a city recycling program, which we will expand in ’23 to all city streets and city buildings. We are committed to protecting our environment, including the Green Belt, and making significant progress on building out our connected city infrastructure (bike-lanes, trails, etc) . These are important structural changes we need in order to provide our kids a future built on sustainable energy and make Saratoga Springs a healthy, connected community. This transformation will also save the city significant money and attract new residents and businesses to our city.

The homeless problem is getting worse in Saratoga Springs and we must come up with better solutions. I am committed to working with local community organizations, the county, and the City Council to develop creative, long-term solutions. This summer we are rolling out a DPW Work Program with the homeless that will provide an opportunity for work, food and support for the homeless population.

We need to provide more affordable housing options in our community. Too many of our community members, including essential workers and small business owners and employees, cannot afford to live in our town. We cannot become a town that is only accessible for the select few and must identify opportunities to expand our workforce and affordable housing in the city.

Regardless of the issue, DPW will be a service first organization. Our goal is to always provide the best service to the community of Saratoga Springs, including transparency into process and progress. We will always ensure that the community has the public works services they need - from clean water and waste removal, to paved streets and snow removal, the DPW team is first and foremost, committed to a service first approach with our community members.