Saratogian

Business

Schuylerville residents spruce up village

JENNIFER MAPES, The Saratogian

October 16, 2002

SCHUYLERVILLE -- ''Schuylerville is springing back to life,'' said Tim Holmes from Olympian Hall as fresh concrete is poured onto the sidewalk outside on Broad Street.

Holmes runs the Schuylerville Visitor Center and is staffing Olympian Hall, which serves as a museum during the village's celebration of the 225th anniversary of the Battles of Saratoga.

''It's all happening and it's all happening now around here,'' he said.

The state Department of Transportation had promised the village new sidewalks, but postponed the project from 2002 to 2008.

''We gave up waiting for the DOT,'' Holmes said. ''We'll do this ourselves,'' he said villagers decided.

New concrete was donated by a subsidiary of Pallette Stone, said Micah Bowden, who was working on the sidewalks Tuesday afternoon.

Bowden and other members of the New Covenant Community Church are pouring the sidewalks themselves.

They're starting with a portion in front of three buildings the church is fixing up.

The church recently bought four buildings on Broad Street. Bowden said they plan to fill them with a diner, dance studio, art gallery and church offices.

''We've been blessed so much that we want to turn around and bless others,'' he said.

Across the street from the church's property, a home next to the village Laundromat is being repainted by a group of volunteers.

The group is being led by Michelle Larkin, a member of the village's New England Presbyterian Church.

Larkin said she and her children have worked with a national group fixing up homes in other places. When she heard about the Schuylerville fix-up, she decided to act.

''I said, well, here's my opportunity to put my money where my mouth is, locally,'' she said.

With the help of Curtis Lumber, which is offering buy-one, get-one free paint to village house painters, Larkin found a home that needed some TLC.

She brought her group of volunteers, from ages 7 to 80, to the house, and they began scraping and painting its exterior and replacing its laticework.

''The family who owns the house has been out there working just as hard,'' Larkin said. ''They're very grateful.''

Larkin said her long-term plan is to establish a local chapter of the national organization Rebuilding Together, to continue work on Schuylerville.

''The short-term goal was to help some neighbors,'' she said.

Mike McLoughlin, a Saratoga town board member who works at Curtis Lumber, has been coordinating the company's offer, as well as a raffle for those who bring in before and after pictures of their projects.

''We've been selling a lot of paint,'' he said. ''It's been working out very well.''

Stewart's President Bill Dake said he's very excited about the changes taking place in Schuylerville.

Dake led a group of community members planning to spruce up the Old Saratoga area before the anniversary of Gen. John Burgoyne's surrender on Oct. 19.

While he has looked at the painting projects in town, Dake said he is worried that visitors who stay on Route 29 haven't seen some of the greatest changes in the village's business district.

''It looks dramatically better,'' he said, ''but the lion's share of what makes it more attractive isn't seen.''

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