Climate Smart Communities Task Force

Overview

In May 2018, the Board of Trustees adopted the New York State Climate Smart Communities pledge. The Village pledged to, among other things: inventory its emissions, set goals and make a plan for climate action; decrease energy use; shift to clean, renewable energy; implement climate-smart land use and support a green innovation economy. Trustees voted unanimously to adopt the pledge. Now, the Village is one of New York’s Bronze Certified Climate Smart Communities (CSC), the first in the North Country to be certified, and was the first community in Franklin and Essex Counties to enter the CSC program.

The Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Certification program provides local governments with a robust framework to guide climate action and enable communities to achieve recognition for their leadership matched with community goals. The Village of Saranac Lake has joined over 300 participating communities, within New York State, to engage their citizens and local governments on best practices for mitigating and adapting to climate change.

The goals of the CSC program are to engage and educate local governments in New York State, provide a robust framework to guide their climate action efforts, and recognize their achievements as they make progress. Participation in the program is free and voluntary; there are no fees or legal requirements. The program is designed to encourage ongoing implementation of actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help communities adapt to the effects of climate change.

Current Initiatives

We are working on an education campaign to help inform Saranac Lake residents and business owners on the benefits of cold climate air source and ground source heat pumps. Find out more on the HeatSmart Campaign Page!

The Task Force has drafted a Climate Action Plan (CAP) to help guide the Village on climate-smart initiatives for years to come. The Task Force recently sent out a survey to community members, their feedback will be used to re-evaluate and enhance elements of the draft plan. The tabulated results will also become part of the plan, showing residents’ support of the various initiatives.

Notable Achievements:

2018: $50,000 grant for LED street lights and plug-in hybrid EV
2020: Bronze Certification
2024: Bronze Recertification
2024: $275,000 CEC grant
2025: $482,164 CSC EV Charger Grant

Get Involved

The CSC Task Force meets on the first Wednesday of each month from 4:00 - 5:00pm. Check the calendar for the next meeting date and reach out to Garrett Marino at [email protected] to ask about joining a meeting. Meetings are open to the public.

Follow our progress on the climatesmartsl Instagram page.

The Climate Smart Communities Task Force meets on the first Wednesday of each month from 4:00 pm- 5:00pm.