Exclusive: Were you seen by Seen in Saratoga at Book Fest? City attorneys fees. Y's new ED.
PLUS: Sidecap vodka-n-coffee founders tell all about their race to expand.
Welcome to the Daily Dispatch, the future of Spa City news straight to your inbox.
In this edition:
Exclusive pics: Were you seen by Seen in Saratoga at Book Fest?
Price is right? Closer look at city attorneys fees and new police station.
What’s new: The Y’s new ED opens up
An amazing race: A boozy and caffeinated Saratoga start-up is on the clock for meeting expansion obstacles.
Were you seen by Seen in Saratoga at the Saratoga Book Festival?
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Will the new laws make it?
Mayor John Safford plans to put up for a vote a new law that spells out more completely how and when city council members might expect the city to pay for their attorneys fees if they need to hire an attorney on their own. The law replaces Chapter 9 of the city’s code with the “Defense, Representation and Indemnification” law. It attempts to address the problems that came to light during a lawsuit brought by the Saratoga Springs Republican Chair Mike Brandi. The law has been through a couple of public hearings and revisions.
“At this point, we have modified this to not include how a lawyer is chosen, and we will provide some kind of guidance on that as we go into the future,” the Mayor said at the pre-agenda meeting Oct. 3. Some council members feared that too much political power could be given to the board in selecting attorneys for another board member.
What likely will be the final public hearing for the law will take place at the Tuesday City Council meeting, Oct. 7, 7 p.m.
Read all about it:
Judge sides with GOP on legal payments (July 14)
Police Station cost to get another look
A proposal to build a new Saratoga Springs Police Department building on Lake Avenue across the street from City Hall met with some stiff resistance at the roughly $26 million price tag.
The police currently operate out of the bottom floor of City Hall. The engineering firm LaBella Associates last year helped the city estimate the “police facility that would include all programmatic police operations offices and divisions, holding cells, evidence storage and processing, training facilities, locker rooms, an enclosed vehicle sallyport and necessary file and storage spaces that will be right-sized for modern police operations,” documents at the time said. Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Coll will ask the city council to approve another $6,500 for a “more precise estimate, because there’s a concern that the estimate was too excessive.” That amount will be added to the original contract bringing the total to $254,000.
The new executive director for Saratoga Regional YMCA’s Saratoga branch opens up
Aaron Ditch calls for more volunteers and touts the Y’s (really) long history in Saratoga Springs.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — Referred to as “the Y” by many locals who love its gym, childcare and swank amenities, Saratoga Regional YMCA (SRYMCA) is also an incredible charitable association focused on strengthening community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
And now the Saratoga branch’s new executive director, Aaron Ditch, wants to spread the word even farther. With more than 15 years of experience working at area YMCAs, he’s thrilled to take on this new leadership role in the organization that operates a total of six branches and offers dozens of diverse programs for guests of all ages and from all backgrounds.
Q: How did you first become involved with SRYMCA and how has your role changed over the years?
A: I joined the SRYMCA after serving 10 years with the CDYMCA in various roles and branches. Once I came on board with our SRYMCA, I progressed into the role of Wilton Branch Executive Director. Our Wilton Branch has tennis, gymnastics and a field house within the same building so there was a learning curve initially. It was also unique that the Saratoga Branch is in such close proximity to Wilton, especially given the size of the Saratoga Branch. Recently taking over as Saratoga Branch Executive after 6 years at Wilton, it has been nice to see familiar faces from our Wilton Branch early on.
Q: What do you enjoy most about being part of the SRYMCA team?
A: Members often say, the Y is their home away from home and it is no different as a staff. We are surrounded by amazing people all day long and everyone who walks through our doors are looking to better themselves through spirit, mind and body. Also, who can say they have the ability to walk down the hall and run on a treadmill, swim in a pool, enjoy a steam room or relax on a hydro massage chair throughout the day?
Q: What’s something most people don’t know about SRYMCA?
A: We provide scholarship assistance for membership, programs, childcare and summer camp. I am also proud to share that our YMCA was originally founded in 1866. Though it experienced a brief hiatus, it has continued to evolve in positive ways ever since.
Q: What is your vision for the future of the Saratoga branch?
A: To continually provide quality service to our community for those who seek a healthy lifestyle as individuals and families. I would also like to continually grow our partnerships and increase our reach into the community, fostering relationships with other non-profit organizations to strengthen collaborative support.
Q: How can the community be involved in supporting SRYMCA’s mission?
A: Our community can help by volunteering in our many program opportunities, fundraising efforts and by donating to our Annual Campaign, which funds financial assistance for membership, childcare, summer camp, programs and evidence-based health interventions (cancer survivorship, Parkinson’s programming).
More information about the SRYMCA is available at srymca.org.
This news was brought to you by…
Start-up Sidecap looks to expand
But they have two problems in their path.
By: Stephen Thurston
[For a shareable link to this story alone, click here.]
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — What started as an idea among friends, maybe while enjoying an adult beverage by the pool one July 4, turned into Sidecap Cold Hard Brew — a vodka/coffee beverage that now has a much better shot at scaling than it did when it premiered at Purdy’s liquor store last May.
The concoction is the brainchild of entrepreneur Adam Feldman and two friends, Dave Dolinsky and Case Fell, all locals (although Fell has since moved away).
The company grew in Saratoga, uses Saratoga’s Kru Coffee in the recipe, and is canned by Ninth Planet Beverage Solutions in Saratoga Springs.
“We are clearly the best-tasting hard coffee product on the market,” Dolinsky said in May when the product launched. They were shooting for a drink that was just as good on its own as it was as a mixer, he said, adding that the alcohol per quarter-liter can was supposed to be about the same as a beer or glass of wine. It is listed as 6.9% alcohol on the labeling.
Dolinsky was the research and development head, testing the drink not only to make sure it tasted good but would be “shelf stable,” which means that it will taste as it should even after a long while on a shelf, that it would not separate into its component parts, that the process did not introduce bacteria into the mix, and that the can’s lining would not be affected by the contents of the can.
“You have to acidify it a little bit,” Dolinsky said, but that process also gives the beverage a bit of an aftertaste.
According to Purdy’s GM Jim Scotti, the product sold well, especially as a mixer for a coffee martini or other cocktail. The team overall has sold about 850 cans, one four-pack at a time, a number Feldman said makes it possibly worth the next step: more production if they can get a distributor.
So they pitched the idea to a local distributor that covers a large swath of New York State. The distributor’s team took part in a taste test and were interested, with two caveats: Sidecap had to get rid of the aftertaste, and they have to get the rejiggered product to the distributor before that company found a similar product to distribute instead.
So now they’re on a time crunch.
“Right now, the taste is probably a seven out of 10,” Feldman said. “A small business like this — it’s so hard already — really needs to be at a nine. Honestly, it needs to be 11 out of 10, to make it work, and we’re just not there yet.”
They have to get the taste right so that the beverage is fun to drink (i.e. buy) on its own — not just as a mixer. Those stronger sales are needed in order to make the costs of production worthwhile, Feldman said.
Even if they can get the tastier product and get it out quickly, they still need to jump through all the regulations before anything is approved for sale.
The recipe, the can’s label design, and the box design must be approved. The shelf stability must be tested. Each state has its own regulations, and the federal government controls interstate commerce, Feldman said. Even figuring out what path to follow through the regulations can be tough.
“The process through the lens of an entrepreneur and a startup is really, really, really, really, really, really hard,” he said.
Still, he remains convinced and is keeping up the work to see just what the next step may bring.
Keep reading about other small biz!
