The Saratoga Springs City Council has approved leasing out a former senior center, but not without some community concerns.
The Saratoga Senior Center on Williams Street has been tied to conversations surrounding the city’s unhoused residents for some time.
Last year, a plan to locate a shelter in the building failed. A private Catholic school is located across the street, and the two would have shared a property line, raising concerns among parents and school employees.
The current city council moved forward with leasing the building to RISE Housing and Support Services.
Speaking during the council meeting’s public comment period, Barbara Whalen said she and other parents felt uninformed.
“The chain-link fence is the only thing that separates 8 Williams Street from the playground,” said Whalen. Administrative offices is one thing, but do they plan on having people coming visit who need services? And if so, what kind of services? Don’t get me wrong, I am all for helping the homeless, but if there is no screening being done to anybody how do we know that they’re not a sex offender? How do we know that they’re not on drugs?”
The previous attempt to locate a shelter at the building resulted in the city implementing a 1,000-foot buffer between any proposed shelters and school buildings. Lindsey Connors is RISE’s Associate Executive Director.
“Despite what media coverage might suggest, RISE’s services for those experiencing homelessness in our community are the newest and smallest part of what we do. We have been in this community since 1979, ensuring that those living with mental illness are supported in whatever way they need to live safely and happily in the community. We provided supportive housing to 330 community members in 2023 and have built 120 affordable apartments in this county between 2023 and 2024,” said Connors.
Conners said RISE does not serve sex offenders, and serves many local children who struggle with their mental health.
“We don’t provide services there now. We will not be providing services at the senior center. And, in fact, we are temporarily going to be relocating ourselves at the former senior center in order to build the building such that we can provide services for those folks in need in a proper location,” said Connors.
Former mayor Michael Lenz has a child who attends the Catholic school. He asked whether two sections of the building would be used to serve RISE clients on-site.
“If the answer to either of these specific questions is yes, then, of course, I believe these offices should not be located directly near a school. If the answer to either of these specific questions is no, as presumably Lindsey has stated, then I would respectively request that it be amended in the lease agreement to state specifically that no clients of the homeless court, the community outreach court, or the housing first program will receive any services at 5 Williams Street,” said Lenz.
A friendly amendment drafted by Commissioners Dillon Moran and Jason Golub was unanimously approved.
“And the new [section] E shall read, ‘no clients of the homeless court, the community outreach court, or the housing first program will receive any services at 5 Williams Street,” said Moran.
“I would just add, ‘for the entirety of this lease,” said Golub.
“‘For the entirety of this lease,’” added Moran.
According to RISE Executive Director Sybil Newell, the senior center will only be used to house the organization's administrative operations while it renovates the main office on Union Street in an effort to expand services.
The lease was approved in a 4-to-1 vote, with Mayor John Safford casting the sole “no” vote.
