Climate Smart Task Force

Minutes Climate Smart Task Force of Saratoga Springs April 19th, 2023 In Attendance: Chair Laura Faulk, Rayna Caldwell, James Gallagher, Dianna Goodwin, Anita Morzillo, Ben Foster, Dan Barusch, Tara Donadio - Capital District Regional Planning Commission (CDRPC), Jamil Khan (Ravenswood Generating), Ted Orosz (Complete Streets Advisory Board) City Staff in Attendance: Heather Crocker, Jen Dunn, Michael Dutre, Brooke VanBuskirk Absent: Marilyn Rivers, Deirdre Ladd Public Comment: There was no public comment. Approval of March Meeting Minutes: The minutes were accepted as read. Community Transportation Emissions Reduction/Complete Streets: Ted Orosz updated Climate Smart that Congressman Tonko obtained a Congressional earmark of $300,000 for the Crescent Avenue Connector project’s engineering and design. Further, Complete Streets and the mayor’s office is waiting for the consultants, JMT to provide their final assessment on enhancing Union Avenue as the state begins work on their roadway jurisdiction. Finally, CDTC is conducting a study around the Grand Avenue neighborhood for Reconnecting the West Side which endeavors to link suburban development to the city’s inner core. Delta Development Group CFA Grant Priority Feedback Request: Chair Faulk reviewed the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) list that Delta Development supplied and feels conversations with DPW as well as Engineering would be appropriate. The list along with Delta’s ‘Due Diligence Report’ have been uploaded to the shared workspace, Basecamp for Climate Smart’s review. LED Streetlight Project Status: Brooke VanBuskirk explained that DPW met with a contractor on the streetlight conversion. The former commissioner, Anthony ‘Skip’ Scirocco felt that the historical look of the Sternberg lights was crucial to preserve. DPW business manager, Mike Veitch also sees there is cost savings however a lot was lost in the staff transition so progress has been slow. Jen Dunn added there is a meeting next week that includes the mayor’s department, finance, DPW and National Grid to work on this matter. Municipal GHG Inventory: Michael Dutre said Scott Gresens of National Grid provided additional 2022 energy benchmarking data for city traffic signals and traffic lights. He uploaded the latest documents to Basecamp. DPW Fleet Software Details: Brooke VanBuskirk outlined that DPW has software that tracks mileage, fuel, maintenance schedules and the locations of city-owned vehicles. A member of DPW’s staff manually collected the data and input it into a spreadsheet. A copy was given to Rayna as part of her work to understand what data is currently available for use by the consultants who will work on the Climate Action Plan. There are more expensive tiers of this program that may offer GHG data that Climate Smart is looking for. Champlain Hudson Power Express Community Benefit: The County will receive community benefits funding for 30 years starting with $100,000 a year and increasing to $300,000 by year 30. They have developed a method for distributing the funds to local governments within the County. Jen Dunn informed the group that a representative from CHPE is meeting the mayor this week on the city obtaining surface rights. Jim Gallagher mentioned it would be helpful to meet before to discuss strategy and the group agreed to have an internal meeting first and to postpone the meeting with CHPE. Jim will attend the prep meeting on behalf of the Task Force. Climate Action Plan RFP: Chair Faulk ended the meeting so a Climate Smart working group could finalize the Climate Action Plan and RFP language that Rayna Caldwell drafted so it can be submitted to the mayor’s office and then go out to bid. Meeting Adjourned.