Malta board rejects $70,000 Saratoga Lake feasibility study amid cost and scope concerns

The Town of Malta on Monday declined to join three neighboring municipalities in a joint grant application to the Hudson River Valley Greenway to study docks, moorings and other shoreline structures on Saratoga Lake.

Supervisor Young described the application as a $30,000 grant request (the larger project estimated at $70,000), with each of the four municipalities expected to contribute $10,000. Board members questioned whether the expense and scope were appropriate, whether individual municipalities should first develop their own rules and whether the study would simply produce recommendations without regulatory force.

"If someone's breaking a law right now, I think that's $70,000 just to tell us what we should be doing from an outside agency," one board member said, expressing skepticism about paying for an outside study. Another member said the town already struggles to enforce existing regulations and could not support a $70,000 study.

Board members also discussed hiring a grant writer who has successfully prepared similar applications in neighboring communities; supporters said that specialist could increase the chance of obtaining grant funding.

The motion to proceed with the intermunicipal grant application was subject to a roll-call vote and failed; Supervisor Young voted yes on the motion, but the motion did not carry.

Why it matters: Saratoga Lake spans multiple municipalities and the board said it is the town's largest shoreline stakeholder; the proposed study aimed to identify safety, stormwater and ecological issues and to propose consistent guidance across municipal borders. Opponents argued the towns should first develop or enforce their own rules before paying for a multi-town study.

What’s next: The board did not adopt the study at this meeting; participants said there will likely be further intermunicipal discussion outside this session.