Saratoga County committee reviews grants, timber plans and pushes countywide trails map

The Saratoga County Trails and Open Space Committee on May 5 approved its March 3 minutes and heard staff updates on grant reimbursements, timber-management plans and trail-usage monitoring before taking public input on a countywide trails map.

Jason Kemper, introduced in the meeting as director of planning, told the committee the agricultural-district inclusion process for the 2025–2026 cycle is complete after the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets included listed properties in Agricultural Districts 1 and 2 and the county notified town assessors and the office of real property. “So that process is complete,” Kemper said.

Kemper outlined the county’s open-space grant workload: staff are administering seven projects across multiple years and recently received three reimbursement submittals, including a 2021 Town of Malta project that now differs from its original application and will be returned to the committee for a decision on how to proceed. He said Clifton Park has closed its 2025 project and will soon submit a reimbursement request. Kemper added that some towns have revised internal environmental-assessment processes, which has delayed audits and reimbursements but that staff anticipate…