Clifton Park councilman retires

CLIFTON PARK (Dec. 26) — Sandy Roth is retiring from the Clifton Park town board after 17 years as a councilman.

“Seventeen years and 1 month,” said Roth, 72, who was appointed to the council in 1991 and won has first election the following year.

Roth says there are two accomplishments that stand out in his council career: the establishment of the town’s Hazardous Waste Day and the development of a housing center for middle-income seniors.

Hazardous Waste Day was based on a similar event in Schenectady. Roth thought it would be a good idea to keep things like leftover paint, batteries and fluorescent lights out of the town landfill. He and other officials figured maybe the town would hold a hazardous waste collection every 2 years or so. But it was such a success that it has been held every year since.

Sandy Roth, who is retiring after 17 years on the Clifton Park town board, talks with Supervisor Phil Barrett at his final council meeting.

Sandy Roth, who is retiring after 17 years on the Clifton Park town board, talks with Supervisor Phil Barrett at his final council meeting.

“The first year we had about 350 cars,” he said. “This year we had over 1,000 cars come through.”

The groundbreaking on the senior housing was much harder to achieve. Roth said developers and builders only wanted to build housing for higher-income seniors. None of developers wanted to build low-income senior housing. But eventually the town was able to persuade Rochester-based Conifer Realty to build Clifton Park Senior Living, a 70-unit apartment development at 579 Waite Rd.

Another thing he is proud of is meeting tens of thousands of residents during his tenure, starting with visiting 5,000 households during his first election campaign.

Roth has seen a lot of changes since he and his family moved to Clifton Park 40 years ago.

“The mall (Clifton Park Center) was just getting started, and there wasn’t much else at exit 9,” he said. “So the community has really grown.”

While the town has tried to control growth, Roth said residents need to realize it is limited in its powers.

“People sometimes just don’t understand we have to comply with the laws and regulations,” he said. “If a land owner comes to us with a legal request we can’t stop it.”

Still, he praises the town’s efforts to preserve open space.

“As the land becomes available, if we can afford it we are going to buy it,” Roth said.

Despite leaving the town board, Roth — who retired as the COO and CFO of Bellevue Woman’s Hospital in the late ’90s — hopes to remain active. He plans to work for a Schenectady firm during tax season and hopes to remain on a couple of town committees.

“It’s really an excellent community,” he said. “Of course, I’m being a little prejudiced.”

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