{"id":36204,"date":"2023-03-21T10:56:14","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T14:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=36204"},"modified":"2023-03-21T10:56:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T14:56:14","slug":"lake-george-mayor-key-tourism-official-in-region-leaving-public-office-after-52-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2023\/03\/lake-george-mayor-key-tourism-official-in-region-leaving-public-office-after-52-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake George Mayor, Key Tourism Official In Region, Leaving Public Office After 52 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Bob Blais has been Lake George mayor since April, 1971.
Paul Post<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Paul Post<\/p>\n

When Bob Blais took the office of village of Lake George mayor decades ago, there was only one special event in Lake George, a weekly Tuesday night band concert.<\/p>\n

Now there\u2019s an endless variety of year-round attractions such as Americade motorcycle rally, Adirondack Nationals car show, Ice Castles and a full lineup of events at Charles R. Wood Park\u2019s Festival Commons like the Adirondack Wine & Food Festival and numerous concerts.<\/p>\n

Together they draw tens of thousands of visitors to Lake George each year, which drives the local tourism economy. But without Blais\u2019 leadership, it may not have been possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople say, \u2018How come you\u2019ve been mayor for 52 years?\u2019 It just takes me longer,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I like to think when we get it done, we do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blais\u2019 career as America\u2019s longest-tenured mayor is scheduled to end March 31 when his retirement takes effect. But his contributions to the area\u2019s economic development will be felt for many years to come.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>\u201cHis greatest attribute is his clear passion for the area,\u201d state Sen. Dan Stec said. \u201cIt comes through in everything he says and does. Any time you talk to Bob Blais you can see this true love of Lake George. He\u2019s been so long-tenured there, he\u2019s synonymous with Lake George. He\u2019s an icon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m astounded at his longevity, continued energy and health,\u201d Stec said. \u201cI always tell him, \u2018Bob, you need to find a way to bottle and sell it.\u2019 He should because he\u2019s got the Fountain of Youth secret somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blais, 86, plans to keep promoting Lake George after he leaves office in a new $35,000 director of special events position funded by the village, town and Warren County.<\/p>\n

A 2022 study conducted for a proposal to dissolve the village (it was voted down) found that the mayor spent more than half his time working on tourism and special events.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe ran 82 special events out of this office last year,\u201d Blais said.<\/p>\n

Plans call for him to continue in this capacity, giving new Mayor Raymond Perry, who\u2019s running unopposed, a chance to get acclimated to the job without losing any of the tourism momentum that\u2019s been built up over the past several decades.<\/p>\n

This impact pays huge dividends for the entire region, but especially for Village of Lake George residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I leave office the village will have somewhere around $9.3 million in its coffers,\u201d Blais said. \u201cBetween $3 million and $4 million of this is in the general operating checking account and there\u2019s more than $3 million in surplus funds, which comes principally from parking meter revenue ($1.4 million annually). We put that in a separate account. We don\u2019t even use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year we only raised $1.5 million from taxpayers for our $7 million budget. That\u2019s unheard of,\u201d he said. \u201cAll the services and special events we developed bring us a tremendous amount of money. If somebody wants a street light in front of their house or a sidewalk, we\u2019ve got the ability to do that because of the tourism and special event fees.<\/p>\n

The village gets about $1 million annually from sales tax, occupancy tax and special events fees.<\/p>\n

During his 14 terms in office, Lake George was honored with an unprecedented four Empire State Local Government Achievement Awards. One was for saving taxpayers large sums with an aggressive policy of shared services with the town. In early February, the village and town boards and their department leaders met jointly to discuss every single shared service, looking for ways to make them better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the type of cooperation you need between two communities,\u201d Blais said. \u201cWe share more services than anywhere else in state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lake George was the second village in the state to eliminate its police force, and relies solely now on Warren County Sheriff\u2019s Department and state police patrols.<\/p>\n

Another award was for starting the Greater Glens Falls Trolley System that carries people between Lake George and Glens Falls during the summer months. In addition to tourists, it\u2019s a primary mode of transportation for many seasonal employees who staff local restaurants and hotels, which are essential to healthy tourism industry.<\/p>\n

A third award was for working with Student Connection, a program that brings many foreign exchange students to Lake George, filling much-needed hospitality- and tourism-related jobs each summer.<\/p>\n

Lastly, the village was recognized for creation of the Lake George Recreation Center, which was paid for strictly by grants, no local funding, and built with volunteer labor.<\/p>\n

Things haven\u2019t always come easy, though. For example, it took Blais a long time to convince property owners about the benefits of creating a Lakefront Walkway. \u201cPeople said, \u2018You want to put that in back of my business? I\u2019ve got docks there with boats on it. People will steal boats, damage docks and damage my property\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s turned out to be a highly popular feature with visitors and brings foot traffic to numerous lakefront businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been resistance any time we ever tried to do anything here that involved change,\u201d Blais said.<\/p>\n

However, he never quit and has never been one to rest on his laurels. Just a few weeks ago he oversaw the first meeting of a new Winter Task Force designed to create new activities for people to enjoy when visiting Lake George from December to March. The goal is to specifically give guests things to do when Mother Nature doesn\u2019t cooperate, and there\u2019s little snow or ice for outdoor festivities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure there are stores and restaurants open,\u201d Blais said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at a whole wide array of things like an indoor skating rink, and drive- or walk-through light show. We should always been looking at something new.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Paul Post When Bob Blais took the office of village of Lake George mayor decades ago, there was only one special event in Lake George, a weekly Tuesday night band concert. Now there\u2019s an endless variety of year-round attractions such as Americade motorcycle rally, Adirondack Nationals car show, Ice Castles and a full lineup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":36205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nLake George Mayor, Key Tourism Official In Region, Leaving Public Office After 52 Years - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2023\/03\/lake-george-mayor-key-tourism-official-in-region-leaving-public-office-after-52-years\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lake George Mayor, Key Tourism Official In Region, Leaving Public Office After 52 Years - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Paul Post When Bob Blais took the office of village of Lake George mayor decades ago, there was only one special event in Lake George, a weekly Tuesday night band concert. 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