4.04 4.4
2023 ORGANIZATIONAL\Adirondack Balloon Festival—4-17-2023
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AGREEMENT BETWEEN TOWN OF
QUEENSBURY AND ADIRONDACK BALLOON FESTIVAL
RESOLUTION NO.: 12023
INTRODUCED BY:
WHO MOVED ITS ADOPTION
SECONDED BY:
WHEREAS, by Resolution No.: 484,2007, the Queensbury Town Board provided for the
Town's receipt of occupancy tax revenues from Warren County in accordance with the Local Tourism
Promotion and Convention Development Agreement(Agreement) entered into between the Town and
Warren County, and
WHEREAS, the Agreement provides that specific expenditure of the funds provided under the
Agreement are subject to further Resolution of the Town Board, and
WHEREAS, the Town of Queensbury received a request for funding from the Adirondack
Balloon Festival to assist in funding its Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival to be held in the Town of
Queensbury in September, 2023, which event draws thousands of people to the Town of Queensbury
and its surrounding area's hotels and motels, restaurants, stores and other businesses, thereby
benefiting the general economy of the Town and all of Warren County, and
WHEREAS, the Town Board wishes to provide funding to the Adirondack Balloon Festival in
the amount of $25,000 with occupancy tax revenues received from Warren County and accordingly
enter into a 2023 agreement with the Adirondack Balloon Festival, and
WHEREAS, a proposed Agreement has been presented at this meeting,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED, that the Queensbury Town Board hereby approves and authorizes the Local
Tourism Promotion and Convention Development Agreement between the Town and the Adirondack
Balloon Festival and authorizes and directs the Town Supervisor to execute the Agreement
substantially in the form presented at this meeting with funding not to exceed $25,000 and to be
provided by occupancy tax revenues the Town receives from Warren County,to be paid from Account
No.: 050-6410-4412, and
BE IT FURTHER,
RESOLVED that the Town Board authorizes and directs the Town Budget Officer to take all
actions necessary to amend the Town Budget and increase appropriations and revenues as necessary as
follows:
• Revenue Acct No. —050-0000-51113 Occupancy Tax Revenue $25,000;
• Expense Acct.No. —050-6410-4412 Use of Occupancy Tax $25,000; and
BE IT FURTHER,
RESOLVED, that such Agreement is expressly contingent upon the Town Budget Officer
confirming that the Town has unallocated occupancy tax funds available from Warren County.
Duly adopted this 17t'day of April, 2023,by the following vote:
AYES
NOES
ABSENT:
2023 AGREEMENTS1Adirondack Balloon Festival — Occupancy Tax Funds
LOCAL TOURISM PROMOTION AND CONVENTION
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT
This Agreement is made as of the 1 " day of January, 2023 by and between the Town of
Queensbury, a municipal corporation with its principal place of business located at 742 Bay
Road, Queensbury, New York 12804 (hereinafter referred to as "Municipality") and the
Adirondack Balloon Festival, with a principal place of business located at Box 883 , Glens
Falls, New York 12801 (hereinafter referred to as "Contractor").
WITNESSETH
WHEREAS, the Municipality has received from Warren County certain funding derived
from revenues received by the County as a result of the imposition of the Occupancy Tax
authorized by act of the New York State Legislature (Chapter 422 of the Laws of 2003 ),
hereinafter "Occupancy Tax Funds," and
WHEREAS, Municipality has agreed to expend the Occupancy Tax Funds for tourism
promotion and tourist and convention development and, more specifically, to enhance the
general economy of the Municipality through the promotion of tourist activities., conventions,
trade shows, special events and other directly related and supported activities for such purposes,
and
WHEREAS, the Contractor is ( 1 ) ready, willing and able to provide services and/or
materials consistent with the terms upon which the Municipality must expend the funds and as
more specifically described in the attachment annexed hereto as Schedule A and (2) possesses or
can make available all necessary qualified personnel, licenses, facilities and expertise to carry
out the terms of this Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises, responsibilities, and covenants
herein, the Municipality and the Contractor agree as follows:
1 . Services/ Materials
The Contractor shall provide services and/or materials as more specifically
described in the attachment annexed hereto as Schedule "A" . /Cownrctar — Please ataacle a detailed
description of services/nueterials to be provider!, ate costs crud the period for performance of services or supply of
nxrrterials./
2. Contract Sum
A. For the Services performed and/or materials furnished under this
agreement the Contractor shall be paid the sum of $25 ,000. The Contractor shall not be entitled
to out-of-pocket expenses. Contractor shall not be entitled to partial payment for services
rendered or materials furnished at the end of end of each thirty (30) day period as work proceeds.
S . Payment of amounts owed by the Municipality by virtue of this contract
shall be as set forth above for all services to be performed and all out-of-pocket expenses
incurred by reason of this Agreement. There shall be no other amounts due and payable by the
Municipality regardless of costs or expenses of the Contractor except for additional services
requested by the Municipality which are beyond the Scope of Services and those services
customarily performed as a part thereof.
3 . Payment
A . In order to receive payment under this Contract, the Contractor shall
Furnish:
i) a completed and fully executed Agreement;
ii) an invoice or other statement identifying and itemizing the services
rendered or materials furnished and charges for the same and if the
contract includes or requires payment for services at an hourly rate,
that rate shall be specified for each person charged for and
employed in the performance of the contract,
iii) such other documents as are required by the standard billing
procedures of Municipality,
iv) a detailed description of how the funds will be used, as well as
statistical information describing how the Town's financial
investment impacted the program' s success, including attendance
figures, demographics, etc.,
v) in the event that Contractor uses subcontractors or material
supplier in connection with the services and or materials furnished
under this agreement, the Contractor shall obtain from any
subcontractors or material suppliers the same documentation
required of herein above of Contractor and submit the same to the
Municipality to support Contractor's claim for payment, .
vi) the Contractor shall promote the Municipality in whatever media
in which they spend the Town' s contribution including, but not
limited to, the Town' s logo being incorporated into written
advertising materials, brochures, radio and/or television ads, etc.
B. Payment shall be made thirty (30) days from:
i) the furnishing of all materials and completion of required work, or
ii) receipt of all documentation required by this section, whichever
date is later.
4. Term
The initial term of this Agreement shall commence upon execution of this
agreement and terminate when the services have been completed or the material furnished as
provided for in Schedule "A." or December 31 , 2023 , whichever date is sooner. On December
31 , 2023 , in the event that there are any services or materials to be provided under this agreement
that the contractor has not provided, all work and services shall immediately cease unless
continuation after December 31 , 2023 is specifically authorized by Resolution of the Governing
Board of Municipality.
This Agreement may be terminated at any time upon mutual written consent of
the Municipality and Contractor.
The Municipality may terminate this Agreement immediately upon written notice
of termination to the Contractor, if the Contractor fails to comply with the terms and conditions
of this Agreement and/or any laws, rules, regulations, policies or procedures affecting this
Agreement.
Written notice of termination, where required, shall be sent by personal
messenger service or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The termination shall be
effective in accordance with the terms of the notice- Upon receipt of the notice of termination,
the Contractor agrees to cancel, prior to the effective date of any prospective termination, as
many outstanding obligations as possible, and agrees not to incur any new obligations at the
receipt of the notice without approval by the Municipality. In no event shall the Municipality be
liable for expenses or obligations arising from programs or other expenditures made pursuant to
the terms of this Agreement after the termination date.
S . Reports to be Filed Concerning Funds and Expenditures
At the end of the contract term or at the end of each calendar year, whichever
occurs first, the Contractor shall file with the Municipality a report which shall include:
i) the number of persons served by the services or materials provided
by Contractor pursuant to this agreement,
ii) an outline of plans for continuing the activity or project, and
iii) any and all other reasonable information that the Municipality may
deem necessary by further Resolution adopted by the Board.
6. Records/Audits
The Contractor shall establish and maintain complete and accurate books, records,
documents, accounts and other evidence directly pertinent to performance under this Agreement
(herein collectively "the Records") in accordance with the following requirements:
i) the Records must be kept for the balance of the calendar year in
which they were made and for six (6) additional years thereafter,
and
ii) the Municipality Chief Executive Officer, the Chairman of the
Warren County Board of Supervisors, the Tourism Committee of
the Warren County Board of Supervisors, the Warren County
Administrator of Fiscal Services, the County and Municipality
Attorney, or any other person or entity authorized to conduct an
examination, as well as the Municipality governing beard and the
Warren County Board of Supervisors, shall have access to the
Records during normal business hours at an office of the
Contractor, or, if no such office is available, at a mutually
agreeable and reasonable venue within the Municipality, for the
term specified above for the purposes of inspection, auditing and
copying. The Municipality shall take reasonable steps to protect
from public disclosure any of the records which are exempt from
disclosure under §87 of the Public Officers Law (the "Statute")
provided that;
a) the Contractor shall timely inform an appropriate
Municipality official, in writing, that said records
should not be disclosed; and
b) said records shall be sufficiently identified and
designation of said records as exempt under the
statute is reasonable. Noticing contained herein
shall diminish, or in any way adversely affect, the
Municipality' s or County of Warren's right to
discovery in any pending or future litigation.
7. Indemnification
The Contractor shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Municipality and
its officers and employees from claims, notices of claims, suits, actions, damages and costs of
every Find and nature, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys fees, arising out of
activities funded or otherwise carried out pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.
S . Nature of Aareement/Independent Contractor
This Agreement is a funding agreement. This Agreement is not intended to
create, nor shall it be construed as creating, a joint venture or partnership. The Contractor is an
independent contractor and may neither hold itself out nor claim to be an officer, employee or
subdivision of the Municipality, nor make any claim, demand or application to or for any right,
based on any different status.
9. Discrimination Prohibited
The services to be furnished and rendered under this Agreement by the Contractor
shall be available to any and all residents of Warren County without regard to race, color, creed,
sex, religion, national or ethical origin, handicap or source of payment; and under no
circumstances shall a resident's financial ability to pay for the services be provided be
considered, unless such consideration is allowed by State and/or Federal law, rule or regulation.
10. Non-Discrimination and Employment
The Contractor shall not discriminate against any employee or applicant for
employment because of race, creed, color, sex, national origin, age, disability or marital status.
Further, the Contractor agrees that neither it nor its subcontractors shall, by reason of race, creed,
color, disability, sex or national origin (i) discriminate in the hiring against any citizen who is
qualified and available to perform work; or (H) discriminate against or intimidate any employee
hired for the performance of work funded by this Agreement.
it . No Partisan Political Activity
Funds provided pursuant to this Agreement shall not be used for any partisan
political activity, or for activities that may influence legislation or the election or defeat of any
candidate for public office.
12. Non-Assignment/No Sub-Recipients
This Agreement may not be assigned by the Contractor or its right, title or interest
therein assigned, transferred, conveyed, sublet or otherwise disposed of without the previous
consent, in writing, of the Municipality, and any attempts to assign the contract without the
Municipality' s written consent are Trull and void, except that contracts entered in to by the
Contractor with third parties for commodities and/or services that are part of the services to be
performed as identified in Schedule "A" attached hereto shall not be deemed prohibited by this
clause.
13 . Workers' Compensation/Disability
This Agreement shall be void and of no effect unless throughout the life of the
Agreement, the Contractor shall secure compensation insurance and disability insurance for the
benefit of such employees engaged under this Agreement as are by law required to be insured by
provisions of the Workers' Compensation Law and New York State Disability Law. Proof of
compensation and disability insurance shall be in the form(s) approved by the Workers'
Compensation Board.
14_ Set-Off Rights
The Municipality shall have all of its common law, equitable and statutory rights
of set-off. These rights shall include, but not be limited to, the Municipality' s option to withhold
for the purposes of set-off any monies due the Contractor under this Agreement up to the
amounts due and owing to the Contractor with regard to this Agreement, any other Agreement
with any Municipality department or agency, including any contract for a term commencing
prior to the term of this Agreement, plus any amounts due and owing to the Municipality for any
other reason, including, without limitation, tax delinquencies, fee delinquencies or monetary
penalties relative thereto.
15 . Executory Clause
The Municipality shall have no liability tinder this Agreement to the Contractor or
to anyone else beyond the funds appropriated and available for this Agreement_
16. International Boycott
In accordance with §220-f of the Labor Law, if this contract exceeds $5,000, the
Contractor agrees, as a material condition of the contract, that neither the Contractor nor any
substantially owned or affiliated person, firm, partnership or corporation, has participated, is
participating, or shall participate in an International boycott in violation of the federal Export
Administration Act of 1979, or regulations thereunder. If such Contractor, or any of the
aforesaid affiliates of Contractor, is convicted, or is otherwise found to have violated said laws or
regulations upon the final determination of the United States Commerce Department or any other
appropriate agency of the United States subsequent to the Agreement's execution, such contract,
amendment or modification thereto shall be rendered forfeit and void. The Contractor shall so
notify the Municipality Manager within five (5) business days of such conviction, determination
or disposition of appeal.
IT Compliance with Law
The Contractor warrants, covenants and represents that:
i) it is aware of and familiar with the provisions of General
Municipal Law §SO t , 803 and 805-A, and of the Code of Ethics of
Warren Municipality,
ii) at no time during the term of this Agreement shall it 'knowingly
permit or allow performance of its services for the Contractor
under this Agreement to involve any violation of said statutory
provisions or of the Code of Ethics, and
Hi) it shall fully comply with all other general and special Iaws and
regulations of the State of New York, as well as with all local laws
and resolutions of the Municipality, applicable to the services to be
performed by the Contractor under this Agreement.
is. Disputes
Disputes involving this Agreement, including the breach or alleged breach
thereof, may not be submitted to binding arbitration, but must, instead, be heard in a court of
competent jurisdiction within the State of New York.
19. Amendment
This Agreement may not be amended, modified or renewed except
by written agreement signed by the Municipality and the Contractor.
20. Severability
If any term or provision of this Agreement or the application thereof to any person
or circumstance shall to any extent be held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this
Agreement or the application of such term or provision to persons or circumstances other than
those as to which it is held invalid or unenforceable, shall not be affected thereby and every other
term and provision of this Agreement shall be valid and be enforced to the fullest extent
permitted by law.
21 . Entire Agreement
This Agreement is the entire agreement between the parties and it shall be
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
Approved as to form . TOWN OF QUEENSBURY
By:
JOHN F. STROUGH, III, TOWN SUPERVISOR
Town Counsel
Date:
ADIRONDACK 13ALLOON FESTIVAL
By:
MARK DONAHUE, PRESIDENT, BOARD OF
DIRECTORS - ITS DULY AUTHORIZED OFFICER
Date:
STATE OF NEW YORK )
ss..
COUNTY OF WARREN }
On the day of April, in the year 2023 , before me, the undersigned, . a Notary Public in and For said
state, personally appeared JOHN F. STROUGH, if[ personally known to me or proved to me on the basis
of satisfactory evidence to be the individual whose name is subscribed to the within instrument and
acknowledged to rne that lie executed the same in his capacity, and that by his signature on the
instrument, the individual, or person upon behalf of which the individual acted, executed the instrument.
Notary Public
STATE OF NEW YORK )
ss..
COUNTY OF WARREN )
On the day of in the year 2023, before one, the undersigned, a Notary Public in and
For said state, personally appeared MARK DONAHUE personally known to me or proved to me on the
basis of satisfactory evidence to be the individual whose name is subscribed to the within instrument and
acknowledged to me that he executed the sarne in his capacity, and that by his signature on the
instrument, the individual, or person upon behalf of which the individual acted, executed the instrument.
Notary Public
SCHED ULE A
Contractor to attach a detailed description of servicesfmaterials to be provided, the costs and
the period for performance of services or supply of materials.
----------
April 4 , 2023
Mr. John Strough , Supervisor
Town Of Queensbury
742 Bay Rd
Queensbury NY 12804
Dear Supervisor Strough and members of the Town Board
Something very magical will be happening this September as the Adirondack Balloon Festival
celebrates its Golden Anniversary, I am sharing many of the CONFIDENTIAL plans for this
year's event, so I hope this will not be shared with media.
We truly consider the town our Partner in this venture and thank you for our previous occupancy
tax awards of $ 15,000 annually. This year we would like to request $25,000 to help fund many
special events highlighted below. It saddens me to share we requested $90,000 from Warren
County and were awarded $50,000. 1 truly believe this event is not given the respect or support
for all it has done for this community through the years. This event remains organized by all
volunteers and no one receives a paycheck.
The sport of ballooning and the travel industry are experiencing major milestones as the first
balloon festivals in the nation are celebrating their 50th anniversaries. The Albuquerque Balloon
Fiesta, the world's largest and oldest event turned 50 in October of 2022, Just one year later,
The Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival will celebrate its 50th as the largest event on the East
Coast of the United States and the third largest event in the nation.
Alburquerque draws 600 balloons and is one of our nation's largest tourist attractions with close
to 5 Million people attending over the 9 day event. The Great Reno Balloon race is questionably
second with 90 to 100 balloons and 125-150;000 spectators. Our event has had 90 to 100
balloons and attendance from 100 to 150,000 weather permitting. The Balloon Federation of
America gives the nod to Reno because they have a larger number of pilots who reside in the
host city of Reno than we do in Queensbury, NY Our ability to host and organize this event as
I r L.1 i I d
1 4
compared to the events held in 2 very large population based cities in our nation is no small feat
and one € hope is not taken for granted.
Other comparisons are important to note as well. The Budget for Alburquerque exceeds $10
Million Dollars with a paid staff exceeding 50 people. Reno's budget exceeds $2 Million Dollars
with 10 paid staff. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Balloon Fiesta in Youngstown, OH hosts 40
balloons, with 10 paid staff and a budget of $ 1 .5 Minion. Our event operates with no paid staff,
roughly 20 key volunteers and a budget of $200,000,(for our Golden Anniversary,
we hope to increase that to 300,000 to cover special events), quite a remarkable feat.
I defer somewhat to share my story as to why I do this and put so much of myself into it. € have
2 passions in my life: Supporting and advocating for people with disabilities and. . . .hot air-
ballooning. I just ended a 30 plus year career in Human services. For close to 25 years, I was
part of the amazing CWl (Community , Work and Independence, INC) family first as Chief
Financial Officer and then being appointed President and CEO 12 years, ago. I am now a
consultant with the NY Alliance, the largest disability advocacy group in NYS. I was their Board
chair for the 5 years prior. I had the honor of being CEO at CWI and planning their 50th
Anniversary celebration and gala as well as its first fundraisers in our community. I can tell you
from leading one of our region's 10 largest employers and the balloon festival, that Covid has
changed our community, and fundraising for not for profits has gotten much harder. Tight
budgets, staffing crisis, business closures and more make it much harder to raise funds today.
On a lighter, brighter note, I attended the very first balloon festival at the ripe old age of 2!! Yes,
in a stroller. In 1973, my mother started a scrapbook for me of this new event called the
Adirondack Balloon Festival. That scrapbook still builds today after 50 years. I took my first
balloon ride at this event when I was 10 years old. My first lesson as a student pilot was on my
14th birthday, the youngest possible date to do so . I became a balloon pilot one month after
graduating from graduate school and we bought a balloon , I say "we' as the balloon was named
"Family Affair" as my parents and all my siblings contributed. It became a family sport for us
travelling the country and flying on our vacations. The culmination of this dream though was to
fly in this event and that dream came true in 1994. On Friday afternoon from ACC, my sister
and € launched from the college and 35 minutes landed in Durkeetown, a lifelong dream
achieved for this 24 yr old. We flew one more time that weekend and that was very special too,
as it was the last time I flew in this event. One month later, I was asked to join the Board of
Directors for the festival and the following year 1995, 1 took over all flight operations. My
involvement in organizing this event is approaching 30 years.
Bringing us back to today, our committee has many fabulous ideas for the 50th but so much will
depend on community support and occupancy tax funding_ This is all confidential and it is my
hope it can stay this way as some of it may not even happen if we don't have the funding. We
hope to kick off the event a day early this year on Wednesday with a special Anniversary
celebration at Hiland Park. This will be a non formal cocktail reception to celebrate the
anniversary- It will be for our business community and sponsors,balloonists and our community
in general. We will be giving awards and acknowledgements to some of our sponsors, with
M
more than 10 being with us over 40 years and another 2 being with us all 50 years, Glens Falls
National Bank and Suburban Propane. In addition we have asked local artist Lynn Benevento
from Lake Luzerne to create her rendition of what the 50th anniversary should look like. This
painting will be unveiled and later auctioned off to benefit the balloon festival. We will also
create lithograph in a limited addition to sell as a fundraiser for the event. This event will end
with a Moonglow on Hilands golf course so it can be enjoyed inside or outside by guests- The
event will have nostalgia for all to enjoy_ We intend to invite all of our veteran and retired [pilots
to this year's event as well including some of those who were here in the first years. We hope
to have some of the early participating balloons, long dead and retired and sitting in people's
garage, inflated over the weekend for people to see if the FAA will allow us to. On Thursday
midday we hope to host a luncheon for these early pioneers who helped create our event and
make it what it is today. It is our hope to have this at SUNY Adirondack's new event center to tie
the college back into the event as it was in the early years. We had asked {President Christine
Duffy her thoughts on having balloons on campus for the celebration. After discussion with her
key staff, they decided too much change has happened at the college which would not make it
possible. Having this luncheon there is a nice alternative to having the college involved.
Thursday's opening ceremony will start with a kickoff parade from downtown Glens Falls to
Crandall Park and we hope to have balloon chase vehicles in the Parade. Due limited to space
and safety concerns we will limit Thursdays launch to 15 balloons but will feature the birthday
cake balloon with a 50th banner on it. Friday morning is our non publicized flight for media and
press. If the news day allows, all 4 Albany based stations will generally go live with us, however
any breaking news will trump us. In addition, WCAX out of Burlington will attend as well. They
cover Northern NY and from Rutland north in Vermont.
We hope to have all pilots credentials reviewed by the FAA in time for all balloonist to fly Friday
evening. Saturday morning will be another anniversary event featuring a Dawn Patrol flight.
This is very unique to the East Coast but popular out west. It requires additional FAA approvals
but I have had the concept verbally approved. About 30 minutes prior to sunrise, 5 to 10
balloons will inflate in the dark, similar to our huge moonglow in the evening, except, these
balloons will launch in the dark. It will be a truly unique sight to see. These balloons will fly 30
to 45 minutes and land once the sun rises. Our regular launch will occur after sunrise.
Midday we are putting out feelers about an antique car show and we will also be hosting our
balloons teams for an anniversary bbq. Our friends at Stewart's have verbally agreed to create
an ice cream in our honor this year for the community to enjoy. This will also be shared with the
pilots after their bbq .
We are also in early discussions with Price Chopper to consider being our baker of birthday
cupcakes to be given to our visitors on a limited basis as it would be impossible to give on to all
attending. Saturday evenings launch and Moonglow will then follow the public celebration.
Sunday morning's launch will be the raindate for the Dawn patrol. Exciting buzz in the balloon
community is that Ruth Lind has agreed to come. Ruth is a pioneer female -pilot and flew here in
the 70"s through about 2010. Since then she has become the voice of the Alburquerque
Balloon fiesta. She serves as master of ceremonies and shares the launches with the crowds
giving tidbits about ballooning and the pilots. You can watch this on Youtube_ She will he here
to announce our launches this year FREE OF CHARGE for what she calls the best ballooning
event she ever attended.
There is much more I can share and would be happy to if you wish to meet with us in person. I
do ask that this remain confidential as we wont release this information for many months and
some things aria dependent on funding.
On behalf of our Board of Directors and all volunteer organizing committee, we thank you for
your support.
Sincerely,-
Mark Donahue
Chairperson, Board of Directors