Clean Energy Community News

High Impact Actions Completed (2,400 points earned):

Benchmarking, Community Campaigns, Energy Code Enforcement Training, NY Stretch Energy Code, Unified Solar Permit

Energy Champions include:

Heather McCarty, Town Council member

Kitty Gifford, Newfield Climate Task Force Coordinator

The Town of Newfield made a commitment in 2020 to saving energy and reducing carbon pollution in its government and community, and felt that joining Climate Smart Communities was the best way proceed, says Heather McCarty, Town Council member.

The most challenging aspect of CSC has been getting all the details together in order to submit the application, Ms. McCarty notes. Most beneficial? "We can serve as example for our residents and other municipalities," she says. "I would suggest that communities ask for help from the program coordinators, and individuals from other municipalities and who have completed actions in the program," she advises.

Southern Tier Clean Energy Communities:

Gina Cassidy, Coordinator, rcc268@cornell.edu

Guillermo Metz, Team Lead, gm52@cornell.edu

Kristina Zill, Delaware County CEC Coordinator, klz8@cornell.edu

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County

615 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY 14850

(607) 272-2292 x 284 www.ccetompkins.org/

High Impact Actions Completed (1,800 points earned)

Benchmarking, Clean Energy Upgrades, Clean Fleets, Energy Code Enforcement Training, LED Street Lights, Unified Solar Permit.

Climate Smart Communities member since: 2018.

Energy Champions:

Supervisor Steve Broderick

Town Board Member Rob Morreale

The Town of Lewiston "went above and beyond in getting electric vehicles and chargers, converting street lights to LED at little or no cost to the town," said Supervisor Broderick, citing in particular the work of Tim Masters, Town Building Inspector, who worked along side Council Member Morreale on all the projects that qualified the town for the Climate Smart designation.

"We already had projects in motion that qualified and found several projects that were cost effective for the town. Most challenging was getting bids and quotes for electric cars and chargers," says Mr. Broderick. Most beneficial was "knowing that we took the initiative to reduce our town’s carbon footprint for future generations."

The Supervisor's advice: "Be aware that there are great opportunities out there to take advantage of, programs to reduce energy costs to the taxpayers, and also qualify for Climate Smart designation and grants."

Western New York Clean Energy Communities Coordinators:

Jason Kulaszewski (at left) jasonkul@buffalo.edu

Matt Bourke, mjbourke@buffalo.edu

University at Buffalo Regional Institute

77 Goodell Street, Suite 302, Buffalo, NY 14203

(716) 878-2441

High Impact Actions Completed (200 points earned):

Energy Code Enforcement Training

Energy Champions

Mayor David Englert

Climate Smart Communities Chair Jim Wood and the CSC Committee

Jim Wood brought the information about Climate Smart Communities to the Board of Trustees back in 2015. Since that time, he has served as the Chair of the Town's Climate Smart Task Force. "He volunteers a great deal of time to make sure our efforts stay on course," says Mayor David Englert.

Mr. Wood has an active committee, the Mayor notes. Sandi Hamilton "keeps our feet grounded in reality" and asks pertinent questions. Kim Buell's knowledge is extremely valuable; Patty McKinny-Wood She records the CSC meetings and asks pertinent questions; and Karen Cline, the Village Clerk/Treasurer, is frequently tasked with finding records, entering data, or hunting down confirmations. "Nothing would be possible without Karen's support," the Mayor says.

The Village's main challenge: "We have a very limited staff. Sometimes, the required documentation can seem like an insurmountable hurdle." Most beneficial have been the ideas generated for improving systems and processes (and occasionally some funding to implement them). Advice from the Mayor: "View everything you do through a climate-smart lens. Where can you make choices that still meet your community's needs and reduce your carbon generation? Always keep records of everything you do!"

High Impact Actions (1,000 points earned):

Benchmarking, Community Campaigns, LED Street Lights

Energy Champions include:

Jill Nadolski, Town Council member

Members of the Climate Smart Hebron Task Force:

Paul Sokol, Hebron Town Councilman, and Captain of the Hebron Volunteer Fire Company.

William Throop, Associate Faculty, MS, Resilient and Sustainable Communities, Prescott College: and Elisabeth Baker, retired science teacher

The Town of Hebron is primarily an agricultural community with no major industry. However, with some innovative, outside-the-box thinking, the Town is hoping to make the most of the opportunities offered. "Municipal leaders increasingly recognize that clean energy and reducing greenhouse gases is not just good for the environment," said Jill Nadolski. "Using resources more efficiently will help save taxpayer dollars. That was a major consideration for the Hebron Town Council." The technical support we are receiving has been very beneficial in helping us think through our priorities, Ms. Nadolski notes.

Capital District Clean Energy Communities Coordinators:

Tara Donadio Tara.Donadio@cdrpc.org

Haley Balcanoff Haley.Balcanoff@cdrpc.org

Josh Dranoff Josh.Dranoff@cdrpc.org

Capital District Regional Planning Commission

One Park Place, Suite 102, Albany, NY 12203-2626 (518) 453-0850

High Impact Actions (2,000 points earned):

Benchmarking, Clean Fleets, Climate Smart Communities Certification, Community Campaign, Energy Code Enforcement Training, LED Street Lights, Unified Solar Permit.

Energy Champions include:

John Strough, Supervisor

Kathleen S. Lindberg Bozony, Environmental Consultant

Lisa Adamson, Outreach

https://www.queensbury.net/climate-smart-communities-program/

In 2019, the Town of Queensbury passed its Climate Smart Communities resolution, stating,"We believe that our response to climate change provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to save money, and to build livable, energy-independent and secure communities, vibrant innovation economies, healthy and safe schools, and resilient infrastructure, the resolution stated. "We believe the scale of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions needed for climate stabilization will require sustained efforts, and even if emissions were dramatically reduced today, communities would still be required to adapt to the effects of climate change for decades to come."

To become a Bronze Certified CSC was challenging, says Kathy Bozony, as pulling together documentation for all completed projects took time and much effort to submit. "Fortunately, the Town of Queensbury has many dedicated residents who pulled together to become a Clean Energy Community. The enthusiasm of the Committee is what helps drive the momentum for various projects and accomplishments," she says.

The Town's successful campaigns have included ReUse/Recycle Day; Compost Bin Sale; Promoting Electric Vehicles and Community Solar, and in so doing, it has achieved CEC Leadership Campaign goals. It also completed a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory; installed Electric Vehicle Charging stations; and replaced seven of its gas-powered vehicles with EVs and PHEVs.

Capital District Clean Energy Communities Coordinators:

Tara Donadio Tara.Donadio@cdrpc.org

Haley Balcanoff Haley.Balcanoff@cdrpc.org

Josh Dranoff Josh.Dranoff@cdrpc.org

Capital District Regional Planning Commission

One Park Place, Suite 102, Albany, NY 12203-2626 (518) 453-0850

Mid-Hudson Clean Energy Communities Coordinators:

Carla Castillo, ccastillo@hudsonvalleyrc.org

Eleanor Peck, epeck@hudsonvalleyrc.org

Mary Lambert, mlambert@hudsonvalleyrc.org

Hudson Valley Regional Council

105 Ann Street, #2, Newburgh, NY 12550

(845) 564-4075

High Impact Actions Completed ( 700 points earned):

LED Street Lights

Energy Champions include:

Supervisor Ed Lenz

Councilmember Nancy Martin-Mathewson, Climate Smart Communities chair

Town Highway Superintendent Don Smith, Town Clerk Charlene Wells, and Town Board members: Flo Loomis, Brian Ryther and Bill Whitaker, Also, CSC Committee Members: Alyx Braunius, John Braunius, Vicky M. Lentz, Ph.D., Florence Loomis, Julia Nadeau, Thomas Riso, Shannon Cesarski, Trevor Fuller, Ph.D., and Danny Lapin, AICP.

The Town joined Climate Smart Communities in 2019 to provide a vehicle for the Town to examine its GHG emissions and ways to reduce them. The Town sought to make a public demonstration of the Town's concern about global climate change, and to raise awareness among Town employees and residents about the Town's GHG emissions and the Town's efforts to reduce them, says Supervisor Ed Lenz.

Most challenging has been getting residents to participate actively, Lenz notes, as well as finding to reduce GHG emissions given that the source of the majority of the Town's emissions are from mobile sources, specifically, the Town's dump/plow trucks.

Most beneficial aspect has been he satisfaction of knowing that "we are doing as much as we can (within reason) to reduce the Town’s GHG emissions and of being a regional leader of the effort to reduce GHG emissions. We're bringing awareness of the seriousness of climate change to the community," Lenz says. His advice: "You need a couple of devoted committee members to keep each other motivated and wanting to continue because at times, for a very small town the actions can seem daunting," says the Supervisor.

Today, the Town of New Lisbon is a proud Bronze Certified Climate Smart Community. Now that the town officials have achieved several CEC actions, they are looking forward to their next phase of Climate Leadership by focusing on NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities Program in 2023.

Mohawk Valley Clean Energy Communities Coordinators:

Amanda Kaier akaier@mvedd.org

Amy Wyant awyant@mvedd.org

Mohawk Valley Economic Development District

26 W Main St, Mohawk, NY 13407

(315) 866-4671, (315) 525-1312

High Impact Actions Completed ( 1,600 points earned):

Benchmarking, Climate Smart Communities Certification, Energy Code Enforcement Training, LED Street Lights, Unified Solar Permit.

Energy Champions Include:

Rose Rivezzi; co-chair of the CSC Joint Task Force; Village and Town of Potsdam

Fred Hanss - Village Planning and Development Office;

Also Susan Powers, Alex French, Erik Backus, P.E., LEED AP BD+C

The Town and Village of Potsdam joined Climate Smart Communities in 2017. The reason was simply "the reality of the situation," according to Rose Rivezzi.

Most challenging has been finding time and money to pursue substantive actions, Ms. Rivezzi notes, and benefits have included "the partnerships with the local universities, high school, and hospital," she says. For communities without municipal sustainability coordinators, a partnership with an organization in the community that has a commitment to seeing the success of climate actions in the community is important. "Our association with Clarkson University was critical for us!" Ms. Rivezzi notes.

High Impact Actions Completed (600 points earned):

Benchmarking, Clean Fleets, Community Campaigns, Energy Code Enforcement Training

Energy Champions Include:

Jennifer DeSena, Town Supervisor

Meagan Fastuca, Environmental Control Specialist and Climate Smart Communities Coordinator

Mindy Germain, Consultant, Eco Leap

The Town’s Climate Smart Communities Task Force members have been integral to guiding its planning process by reviewing planning documents, actively helping to plan events and workshops, spreading the word about the Town’s programs, and sharing ideas and suggestions for programs and projects. The members are:

Residents Patricia Katz, Jael Ferguson, Jean Celender, Paula Groothuis, Rosemary Mascali, Stephen Cipot, Carol Frank, Harriet Becker, Patrick Farrell, Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey, Councilwomen Mariann Dalimonte, and these Town officials: Michael Levine, Wes Sternberg, Victor Thomas, Joseph Canzoneri, Eileen Kraneber, Marshah-Reaff Barrett, Mitchell Pitnick, Rachel Brinn, Romina Tehrany, and Erin Molyneux.

The Town of North Hempstead recognizes the detrimental impact of climate change on residents and the natural environment, including sea level rise, more intense weather and flooding, higher temperatures and more frequent droughts," says Ms. Fastuce.

Most beneficial has been that "the CSC framework is helping us determine what the best actions are for North Hempstead to adapt with the changing climate," says Ms. Fastuca. "It is great that other community actions are shared publicly so we can see what has been successful and get inspiration for our own programs."

The Clean Energy Coordinators, from left: Sarah Oral, David Tepper, Andrew Manitt:

Sarah Oral PE, LEED AP BD+C SOral@cameronengineering.com

Associate, Civil Engineering and Planning

Andrew Manitt, amanitt@molloy.edu

Deputy Director, Sustainability Institute at Molloy College

Dave Tepper, AICP, dtepper@cameronengineering.com

Director, Cameron Engineering, LLP

177 Crossways Park Drive Woodbury, NY 11797