City approves leases for City Beach, downtown kiosk vendors

PLATTSBURGH | The City of Plattsburgh Common Council approved lease agreements for concessions at both City Beach and the kiosk at City Hall Park. The kiosk downtown is beside the Macdonough Monument, which reaches its 100th year anniversary this year. The City Beach food and beverage stand will be operated this season by 1UP Arcade & Pub, a local eatery owned by Chris "CJ" and Jill James on Margaret Street. 1UP's dining experience features vintage games, pinball and family fun at their downtown location. In their proposal to City Council, 1Up said they would add a mini arcade to the beach dining area along with games, including giant connect four, Jenga, Yahtzee and Uno. Dining fare would include Michigans, hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, Chinese food and various frozen treats. "1UP at the Beach would be unlike anything else in the area, providing guests with additional entertainment options," they offered. "We feel that our unique brand would add an additional draw to an already amazing beach experience." A second space at the beach would be licensed for alcohol sales, and 1UP anticipated a June start to operations, given the need to obtain liquor certification. They would be open Tuesday through Sunday during beach hours. Seasonal lease rental is $7,000 for both the dining and beverage areas. The city received three vendor proposals and a four-member committee reviewed each offer. Members of the committee independently scored each proposal and ultimately chose the vendor with the highest score. Owners of the Cabana Beach Bar had submitted a proposal as did Legacy Hospitality. CITY HALL PARK KIOSK Interest in running the kiosk at City Hall Park drew two proposals, and city staff used a similar method to make their recommendation to the council. Rainbow Wedding and Banquet Hall and Adirondack Retail Specialties both submitted proposals to lease the downtown space. Rainbow Banquet Hall owner Brannoin Sample won the bid. Sample has run and expanded the family-owned Rainbow venues in Altona for years and is well-known for hospitality throughout the North Country. His proposal would open the kiosk as the Barn Owl Downtown, suggesting: "We believe our proven hospitality expertise, deep community roots, and commitment to quality position us as an ideal partner for this opportunity." The seasonal bid was placed at $2,058.08. Sample's vision adds locally made treats, including Peck's Famous Cinnamon Roll Maple Sundae. Additional items include ice cream cones, sundaes, Oreo Razzles and the Bonfire Dubai Puck. The Barn Owl would be open Wednesday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. Sample told the Sun that they are excited about this opportunity. "We opened up during the Covid days and ran an ice cream stand from our barn," he said. "We're looking to venture out into more populated areas and adding a vibe to downtown Plattsburgh." He said they will be looking to hire local staff for the summer. Asked how they named Peck's special sundae, Sample said it's named after his dad, who everyone calls "Peck." "People still refer to the Rainbow Wedding and Banquet Hall venue as Peck's," he said. "We come from a party background and want to bring some of that party to downtown Plattsburgh. Our head chef makes her own recipe for Dubai bars, and they are the best Dubai bars anyone has ever had." ........................................................................... CITY LAW PROPOSAL: REGULATE ENERGY INTENSIVE BUSINESS PLATTSBURGH | At their first meeting in May, City of Plattsburgh Mayor Wendell Hughes announced there will be a Public Hearing for Local Law P-1 of 2026 to address proposed city regulation of energy-intensive-use development. The local law would regulate development of high-energy-intensive use in the city for facilities such as cryptocurrency mining, blockchain validation facilities and large-scale data centers. The law is available for residents to read in its entirety on the city's website: cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov/node/4689 Introduced on May 7, it says that the City of Plattsburgh, "with finite generation, transmission, distribution, and infrastructure capacity" has to manage demand in manner that is "in accordance with system reliability, ratepayer affordability and economic development objectives," among other points. The proposed law says: "Certain emerging industrial and commercial uses, including but not limited to: a. Cryptocurrency mining operations; b. Blockchain validation facilities; c. Large-scale commercial data centers; d. High-density computing facilities; and e. Similar energy-intensive computing operations consume extraordinarily large quantities of electricity while often employing relatively small numbers of workers." Such uses, the city law purports, may: a. Increase costs borne by municipal ratepayers; b. Accelerate infrastructure wear and replacement needs; c. Consume disproportionate shares of favorable-rate municipal electric supply; d. Create electric capacity constraints; e. Require substantial municipal infrastructure upgrades or advance expenditures; f. Reduce the availability of municipal electric resources for other commercial, industrial, or residential uses; g. Provide limited local economic benefit relative to their electrical consumption; and h. Produce speculative or extractive economic activity inconsistent with the city's long-term planning objectives. The stated purpose of the law is to protect the integrity and reliability of the municipal electric system, and to also "protect city taxpayers and ratepayers from disproportionate infrastructure and energy costs." The law as stated is designed to "promote employment-generating economic activity; establish objective standards governing high-energy-intensive uses; ensure equitable economic return relative to municipal electric resource consumption; prevent unreasonable adverse impacts on municipal infrastructure and municipal electric capacity; and to preserve the availability of municipal electric resources for diverse residential, commercial, governmental, educational, and industrial uses." The law presents additional energy use standards along with permitting and surety bond conditions for permits. It states in summary: "The Common Council hereby finds that protection of finite municipal electric resources, infrastructure reliability, and municipal utility capacity constitutes a legitimate governmental objective directly affecting the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City of Plattsburgh." The Public Hearing on Proposed Law P-1 will be held at City Hall on June 17 at 5:30 p.m.

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City approves leases for City Beach, downtown kiosk vendors

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