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VOL.âŻ33âŻNO. 11
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GLENS FALLS, NY 12801 PERMIT #600
HHâThe Business Newspaper of Warren and Washington CountiesâŻHH
www.glensfallsbusinessjournal.com
JANUARYâŻ2022
Expanded Teaching Classes, More Tubing Phase I Of Historic Fort William Henry Lanes Part Of West Mountain Growth In 2022 Hotel Project Begins; Includes Rebranding
After nine years of an infrastructure rebuild, West Mountain will now embark on Stage 2 of development, a luxury ski/stay resort development at the north side of the mountain. West Mountain kicked off its 2021-22 season, opening Christmas weekend for skiing, riding and tubing. âThe progress continues at West Mountain,â said Sara Montgomery, general manager of West Mountain. âOur snow sports school continues to grow, and this year we have expanded our learning center to accommodate more skiers and riders. We are excited to welcome newcomers who will be making their first winter sports memories at West. Itâs going to be a fun-filled season.â
Courtesy West Mountain
West Mountain offers beginner through advanced terrain and will be open for day and nighttime skiing, riding, and tubing. There are some additions to the mountain, as well as a continuation of West Mountainâs lesson programs. That includes a newly expanded learning terrain/bunny hill and more snow tubing lanes added to the Tubing Park. Being continued are the individual and after school program, the Academy and Club Race Team Continued On Page 16
Fort William Henry Hotel improvements will include this three-season, wrap-around porch, portrayed in this rendering of the project, officials said. While Fort William Henry Hotelâs charms have been cultivated over more than 166 years of history, it never ceases to evolve and remain relevant to todayâs guests. The next iteration of Fort William Henryâs continued evolution began in December with the unveiling of a new brand and the start of the first phase of a complete renovation. Phase one includes 36 annex guest rooms, a new kitchen, and the creation of an expanded outdoor three-
season porch overlooking the magnificent view at the southernmost point of Lake George. Officials said much of the first phase of the project will be completed over the winter months and first half of 2022. A three-year plan includes renovations of the conference center, the standard 64 units, and the Grand Hotel. The guest rooms renovations will be finished in three stages to ensure only a limited impact on Continued On Page 16
Adirondack Thunder Hockey Team Is Back Sen. Stec Wants State To Help Businesses To Having Strong Area Economic Impact Recover From Adverse Effects Of Pandemic BY PAUL POST The Adirondack Thunder, the ECHLâs smallest-market hockey team, is outperforming many of its biggest rivals both on and off the ice this year. The Thunder, bolstered by a solid New Yearâs Eve crowd (4,111), averaged 3,448 fans through their first 11 home dates, ranked 11th in the 27-team league. And by winning seven of 10 games (7-2-1) through Jan. 2, the team had moved to within six points of first-place Newfoundland in the tightly-packed North Division standings. âItâs been a very strong start,â team president Jeff Mead said. âSeason tickets, group numbers and walk-up sales are all up and corporate support is in the leagueâs top 10. Obviously we had a year off last year because of COVID, so thereâs a lot of pent up demand. But the community is really embracing the Thunder and quality of play.â Itâs hoped that two major upgrades currently under way at Cool Insuring Arena will be completed before the ECHLâs Kelly Cup playoffs begin in April, perhaps even in time for the state high school boys basketball tournament in March. Rozell Industries is hard at work constructing five new luxury suites, extending out from the press box, on the north side of the building. âJust like the rest of the world, theyâve been dealing with supply chain issues,â Mead said. âWe canât wait to see it finished.
Adirondack Thunder president Jeff Mead said the community is embracing the team. Paul Post
All arenas have private seating areas now. Itâs a big investment, but we think the return will be great for us long term.â The suites are expected to generate considerable extra revenue, the same as other recent improvements such as the large video scoreboard that has created new advertising potential. The suites project is being funded by the Adirondack Coalition, which is in the second year of a five-year lease to operate the building with Continued On Page 9
BY STATE SEN. DAN STEC The 2022 Legislative session in Albany marks a historic first with Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York stateâs first female chief executive, at the helm. Gov. Andrew Cuomoâs resignation in August, after resisting calls to do so for months, was a welcomed relief for me and I know many New Yorkers. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been eager to turn the page and begin a new chapter that we hope is much less contentious or controversial. I wish Gov. Hochul well as our session gets underway and look forward to good conversations and productive debates with her and my colleagues. The state budget is always our focus from January until the beginning of April. This year we have the additional early session focus of the once-a-decade process of redistricting. Following the U.S. Census, new legislative maps are drawn for all of New Yorkâs congressional, state Senate and Assembly districts. Unlike years past when lawmakers exercised complete control and engaged in the oft-criticized process of gerrymandering, a voter-approved amendment to our State Constitution in 2014 created an independent redistricting commission. The commission has held hearings statewide over the past half a year to gather input from citizens and concerned groups about how best to redraw the lines. I appreciate people from our region made the effort to submit testimony. It is very important that, in the best interests of representative democracy, the commission complete its work on-time this month and propose lines which, ideally, the State Legislature
Sen. Dan Stecâs 45th District includes Warren and Washington counties. will accept. This is something to keep an eye on as the process continues over the next several weeks. Going back to the budget, I think it is important that Gov. Hochul set an optimistic tone. One way of achieving this is to commit to helping our businessesâbig and smallârecover from the impact of the pandemic. Many of our businesses showed remarkable resolve and resilience the past year and a half; others tried extremely hard but the sustained shutdown was too big a blow to their bottom line. Continued On Page 4