Early voting is well under way this election season. Voters throughout the state will decide on their future leaders and in turn the direction of their municipality. Local elections are increasingly more important as you vote for the government closest to you. The daily saga of politics in Albany and Washington will always be there and decisions by these levels of government also affect our lives. Locally, our focus is not on the politics in the national headlines. Instead, our focus is making the proper decisions for our community.
When you shop at stores and decide where you want to live, you seek the best value for your money. Real estate investors also analyze the prospects for future property value appreciation, programs and services for people of all ages, recreational opportunities, recreational facilities, trails, sidewalks, shopping and healthcare services close to home, a safe community, low taxes and other important elements that bring value to their decision to live in our town. There is no better value than Clifton Park. Saratoga County is the lowest taxed County in the state, Clifton Park is ranked 911th of 933 towns in state for taxes and Clifton Park does not have a general fund town tax, Public money is carefully budgeted and managed. When considering the incredible advancements we have made in all of the above categories and more, what is available to people of all ages, and the real estate appreciation we have experienced over the long term, there is no better value than Clifton Park. There are always new challenges and improvements we are working to achieve at all times. To provide more information about individual projects and initiatives we instituted a new program to make following our progress even more easily accessible. This program can be found at http://www.CliftonPark.org.
In 1999 the town had a population of 33,000, up from 30,000 in 1989 and far from the less than 5,000 who lived here in the 1950s. Just as the Canal brought people to Vischer Ferry many years ago, the construction of I-87 brought more people to Clifton Park and surrounding communities. Generally, the County has grown substantially as well due to low taxes, job opportunities, I-87, real estate appreciation, quality of life and many other factors. This reality has affected Clifton Park despite our population growth slowing over the last few decades. Working with our partners at the New York Department of Transportation and Saratoga County we have completed improvements and have many projects underway to improve our roadways.
In 1999, a general lament of many people living in Clifton Park was to shop, visit the doctor or other important services it required travelling to Albany and Schenectady Counties along with other areas in our region. This dynamic has changed as we have many more shopping, hospitality, entertainment and healthcare options close to home.
In 1999, I first ran for Town/County Supervisor because I and many others thought there were some improvements that could be made on various fronts. Exit 9, which is a very important economic driver for the town, was not in good shape. Exit 9 is incredibly important to help fund all town initiates, programs and services and we had to turn around the fortunes of the commerce area. The mall was half full and still had the 1970s orange color scheme, Builder’s Square was out of business leaving a large empty building, Grand Union Supermarkets were on their way out and generally there were many retail vacancies. Prior to taking office following the election in 1999, I began researching the prospect of Boscov’s interest in locating in our region. I and our team worked hard to recruit Boscov’s. Following a couple meetings with Mr. Boscov, he decided to locate in Clifton Park. Soon thereafter Target and Kohl’s filled empty buildings and the momentum began to move in a positive direction. A long-term planning process commenced in 2007 to diversify our economy and we have since been able to attract hundreds of millions in investment in hospitality and healthcare.
The Town’s water supply situation was also very concerning in 1999. I recently wrote a post for this blog that reviewed the history of our water plans that were successfully executed, eliminating this very concerning issue.
The singular ice arena at that time was in very bad condition and was a drain on the taxpayers. Through a public/private partnership in the early 2000s, we were able to expand to two arenas and our older rink has experienced positive cash flow. The structure of the successful partnership remains today.
Another priority was expanding our parks and recreational network while preserving property for future generations. The establishment of the Open Space Committee in 2000, the development of an Open Space Plan and partnerships with many landowners has led to the permanent protection of 2,000 acres of property leading to new parks and nature preserves such as large additions to Veterans Park, Garnsey Park, Dwaaskill Nature Preserve, Northwood Preserve, Town Center Park and many other areas for generations to enjoy. The town continues to manage the 700 plus acre Vischer Ferry Preserve and we have made many improvements with trails and bridges to provide safe and easy access to the beautiful property. We have also partnered with four farms on permanent conservation agreements and our Conservation Easement program has an additional 2,000 acres under protection. Through our Farmland Preservation Plan that is currently in progress analyzing the land uses in town found 3 percent of the acreage of the entire town has been developed(structures), 8% of the town’s acreage is impervious surfaces with a large portion of the town standing protected.
An emphasis on growing our trail and sidewalk network has led to 17 new miles of new pedestrian friendly access. We have secured funding for two new projects. The first is a trail/sidewalk from the Vistas along RT 146 to the Shen school entrance. This new improvement will be constructed on the North side of RT 146 to complement the sidewalk currently on the South side of the road. The project also includes closing the trail gap between the Common and Key Bank on the East side of Vischer Ferry Road. We will soon also have more pedestrian access along Clifton Country Road.
We are very proud of the Clifton Park Senior Community Center, which has grown from 620 to 1550 members following the town accepting operational responsibility for the Center in December of 2016. Our three pools had more than 40,000 individual visits in 2025. I am very proud of the creation of the town’s full day summer camp, which has been operating for a couple decades and complements our popular Half Day Camp for our children. These examples scratch the surface of the programs and services offered for people of all ages.
We do not know where we are going unless we know where we’ve been. Our focus in the future is to continually improve our financial condition, continue to invest in our parks and recreational facilities, complete the many road and trail projects that are underway, continually add services and programs for people of all ages and many other important ways to improve our quality of life. Some of the larger recreational/service projects currently under consideration include: a new roof at the Barney Road Pool building, liner replacement at Barney Road Pool, Dog Park improvements, work at the basketball courts on The Common, upgrades at the Country Knolls pool/building complex and a new vehicle for our senior transportation services.
Ultimately, we will remain focused on working to improve our town in every way possible. Local elected officials and town team members focused on local issues- not state and national politics!
Clifton Park and Beyond 