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By Paul Post

Glens Falls was a shadow of the proud, prosperous community people called “Hometown USA” when Ben Miller left home to pursue a music career.

Vacant storefronts lined Glen Street, attractions were far and few between, and dysfunctional traffic patterns made trips downtown a nightmare.

When visiting home, however, Miller saw a steady resurgence that has blossomed, making Glens Falls one of upstate New York’s more vibrant small cities.

“It was really within the last five years that things really started to explode and more and more, every time I came home I saw Glens Falls as a place where I could see myself some day,” he said. “There’s been a huge amount of work done by the business community to make Glens Falls a place where people want to live and have the amenities they’re looking for.”

Paul Scimeca, who has served Glens Falls Hospital for three decades, was named the hospital’s president and CEO after serving in an interim role since Jan. 1. Glens Falls Hospital is a member of the Albany Med Health System.

He succeeds Dianne Shugrue, who retired in December 2021.

Announcing Scimeca’s appointment to staff, Glens Falls Hospital Board of Governors Chair George Ferrone said, “Over his 33-year career at Glens Falls Hospital, Paul has learned every aspect of our clinical and administrative operations. He is respected and admired not only for the depth and breadth of his health care knowledge, but also for his commitment to the Glens Falls Hospital teams he leads, and the communities they serve.” 

“Paul was the unanimous choice of our Board for good reason,” Ferrone added.

Scimeca earned a bachelor’s degree in planning from New York University and a master’s degree in health services administration from Russell Sage College in Albany. He has held positions of increasing responsibility since joining Glens Falls Hospital in 1989 as communications manager.  

Scimeca was promoted to director of community services in 1994 and executive director of Adirondack Medical Services in 2000. He later became vice president of physician practice and community health, overseeing the hospital’s 16 primary and specialty care practices, and led the development and implementation of the hospital’s community health programs. 

By Paul Post

Downtown Glens Falls’ slow, steady resurgence just got a boost with the July 21 grand opening of Queensbury Hotel’s $3.8 million new Adirondack Ballroom.

The 5,200-square-foot facility more than doubles the historic hotel’s capacity for hosting conferences and special events, which can further fuel the local economy.

“We’re already sold out now on Friday and Saturday nights, almost year round, hosting 300 people that need things to do. They want to go shopping, go to restaurants, events at Wood Theater or Cool Insuring Arena,” said Tyler Herrick, hotel general manager. “Before the expansion we were hosting 750 events a year. This is just going to help accelerate that by bringing midweek conventions to Glens Falls, which means more business for our property and all of downtown.”

The New York State Sheriff’s Association was the new facility’s first customer. Scores of law enforcement personnel attended the multi-day event that began Sunday, July 24. Several large weddings and another state conference have already been booked this fall. 

Tricia Rogers is the new president and CEO of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC), the board of directors announced on Aug. 1.

The appointment is effective immediately.

The announcement was made after a months-long search following the retirement of previous ARCC president Michael Bittel.

“On behalf of the ARCC board of directors, I am extremely excited to share the news that we have promoted Tricia Rogers to the position of president and CEO,” said Marc Monahan, said ARCC board chair and regional executive vice president of NBT Bank.

“After an extensive search process by the executive team and board of directors, we came to a unanimous decision to select Tricia to lead our organization. The passion and dedication Tricia has for both ARCC members and our community clearly set her apart from the other candidates during the process. We are looking forward to her stepping in to the role of CEO immediately and are excited to support her in this transition,” he said.

Rogers began her relationship with the ARCC as an ambassador in her early career, and took on the role of membership manager in 2016. She has since worked closely with ARCC members, and the greater business community, on building relationships, promoting growth, and supporting the community in volunteer positions.

By Brian M. Johnson, MBA, CLTC

Many clients have qualified assets they intend to use for retirement income. However, there is one risk that could potentially jeopardize even the most well thought out plan—the need for long-term care or extended healthcare. 

Long-term care is defined as needing assistance or supervision with everyday activities of daily living or ADL’s. A long-term care event is generally not cure oriented and the need for services, whether in home or a facility, is expected to last longer than 100 days. This type of care of referred to as custodial care, and a reason why traditional health insurance, Medicare and/or Medicare Advantage plans don’t cover it. Our default plan includes trying to qualify for Medicaid, which is a financially means tested program, which typically covers a nursing home, zero assisted living and limited home care or to use our own assets and income. 

A hybrid long-term care policy is another popular way to address the risk. It’s a type of permanent life insurance policy which offers three core benefits: An income tax-free life insurance death benefit long-term care services aren’t needed, cash indemnity benefits to pay for home care, assisted living and/or skilled nursing and a return of premium rider, which allows the insured to surrender the policy and receive either all or a portion of their premiums back with no penalty or charges.

Unlike a traditional long-term care policy, policy premiums are guaranteed and can never increase and benefits for are paid in cash to the insured, meaning the insured can use the funds however he/she sees fit, whether it’s to offset other bills, pay a family member or licensed providers. It’s an asset allocation approach to financing long-term care needs. 

In what the Lake George Association believes to be the world’s first use of a woodchip bioreactor at a municipal wastewater treatment plant, the Town of Bolton is using woodchips to reduce the release of algae-causing nitrate into groundwater and a tributary that feeds Lake George.

A 27-month monitoring study conducted by the LGA, Lake George Waterkeeper and the town, found that the town’s woodchip bioreactor removed 38 percent of nitrate from the wastewater that flowed through it, compared to 0 percent removal of nitrate from the rest of the plant’s effluent stream.

The study was funded by a Lake Champlain Sea Grant. 

Nitrate is a chemical compound present in organic waste that, when discharged to water in high quantities and over long periods of time can result in human and ecosystem health problems and foster the growth of algae, including harmful algal blooms (HABs). The Bolton wastewater treatment plant was constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s and, like other plants of that era, is lacking the denitrification stage found in modern-day plants that converts nitrate to nitrogen gas and releases it harmlessly into the air. 

Instead, nitrate is discharged as part of the effluent to sand infiltration beds where it enters the groundwater and sometimes resurfaces and flows into nearby tributaries, the LGA said. The bioreactor adds a wholly natural denitrification process to Bolton’s treatment capabilities.

By Jim Siplon

It is certainly not news to say that the last two years of COVID have reshaped our area economy and the work we do to support it. 

One of the often acknowledged aspects of the COVID era is the observation that the pandemic often exposed and accelerated shifts that were already underway but perhaps not yet fully understood. Our economy and its dynamic elements , things like an aging workforce and a lack of new housing, are perhaps the greatest example of this. Constructing the framework that will underpin the post-COVID economy requires us all to lean into this together-to understand and retool around the “Economy of Now.”

EDC Warren County has long been focused on the strategic work required to attracting, growing and retaining business for our community. Classically, this was a process built around enticing new business to locate here and utilize our workforce to run them. Our programs, incentives and resources were deployed primarily in ways designed to capture transitory or relocating business ventures. 

While that work continues, it is transitioning before our eyes to a model that flips the traditional approach on its head. We are now in a competition for workforce, and those areas that have it will attract and grow the most successful business and economic entities while those that do not will struggle to build a sustainable economy. 

This need for workforce is not new, in fact it has been building slowly in the demographics for years. Baby boomers are aging out, birth rates have declined and flight of our young has been going on for some time. But today this problem is not limited to the North Country or other less populated areas but is now almost universal. 

By Christine Graf

In the early days of the pandemic when non-essential businesses were forced to close, companies relied on information technology professionals to help keep their businesses running.

At Glens Falls-based TIMIT Solutions, software professionals helped customers by writing software that allowed them to work remotely. TIMIT works with small to medium-sized companies around the globe to develop software applications that improve efficiency.

“If people are working from home, they are having to do things that normally they might have done in the office using old fashioned paper and pen. We help to digitize some of those things on the software end of it,” said Tim Montgomery, one of TIMIT’s three principal owners.

When the pandemic shut down non-essential businesses, many companies reached out to TIMIT to write COVID screening software which in some cases needed to be HIPPA compliant.

“We had some local customers that deal with the medical and healthcare industry, and they need a HIPPA-compliant screening setup where they would have fully encrypted end-to-end data and people could do that on their cell phones from wherever before they were to come into the office or meet with somebody outside of the office. We did that for customers in multiple states.”

Within these application, all personal health information was fully encrypted to ensure patient privacy.

By Jennifer Farnsworth

Adirondack Axe  has moved to a new location in the Aviation Mall. Owner Steven Greene said the new spot allows for more space for not only axe throwing, but also other activities.

The business has added a knife throwing room, a private throwing room and a paint room experience “where you get a 16×20 canvas, choice of paint colors, a suit, and goggles to make your masterpiece,” said Greene.

Adirondack Axe was created to bring a unique experience to the North County which used to be the heart of the logging industry, according to the company website. 

The Greene family started the business in 2019 as a way for people to experience the sport of axe throwing. With over 20 years in the tourism attraction business, Greene said they are especially excited about the mall location near Dick’s Sporting Goods.

“We have a lounge area which helps us with parties and events. The new location is working well with better exposure, foot traffic, and just a better overall presentation,” said Greene.