Welcome
The Climate Crisis is at a critical stage. Urgent action is needed.Our planet is experiencing more intense heat, bigger storms, longer droughts, increased flooding, raging wildfires, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels. And yes, man-made greenhouse gases are causing our climate to change.
That's why the Saugerties Town Board took these actions:- Took the Climate Smart Communities Pledge back in 2009, the first town in Ulster County to do so.
- Appointed the Saugerties Climate Smart Task Force in March 2018 to help Saugerties continue to honor that pledge, and set new goals – further reduction of greenhouse gases and certification by New York State as a Climate Smart Community.
- October, 2019 — The Town of Saugerties has achieved NYS certification as a Climate Smart Community at the bronze level, the first town in Ulster County to acheive this.
- April 2024 - The Town of Saugerties achieved recertification at the Bronze level.
NEWS 2024
Saugerties Awarded NYS Climate Smart Recertification
Climate Smart Communities, a New York State program, has recertified Saugerties climate smart at the Bronze level in April. Saugerties is the only community in Ulster County to be recertified bronze. The town was initially certified bronze in 2020.
Saugerties Repair Cafe
The Climate Smart Saugerties Task Force cosponsored a Repair Cafe at the Greco Senior Citizen Center 207 Market St. on June 1 from 10 am - 2 pm. Sixty-two people attended; forty-five items were repaired. Next Repair Cafe is Saturday, October 5, Same place, same time. Items fixed for free.
Clean Energy Actions Qualify Saugerties to Apply for $100,000 Grant
Saugerties completed and documented 12 New State State Clean Energy Communities Program high-impact actions that qualified the town to apply for a $100,000 grant to implement more clean-energy projects.
Among the high-impact actions completed by the town is converting streetlights to LED. By replacing conventional streetlights, municipalities can reduce streetlight energy use by as much as 65 percent. LED streetlights last up to 100,000 hours and require much less maintenance than conventional streetlights.
Saugerties has also converted to LED lighting at Town Hall, installed five electric vehicle charging stations and received $32,000 from NYSERDA for four of the charging stations.
The town participated in a Community Solar program whereby residents may subscribe to a solar farm and receive up to 10% off their electric bill.
The town has purchased a fully electric vehicle (EV) for the Water/Sewer Department and a hybrid vehicle for the Police Department. Compared to gasoline-powered cars, electric vehicles are more energy efficient and cost about 50 to 70% less to operate per mile.
Additional high-impact actions completed are: benchmarking, energy code enforcement training, unified solar permitting, and Community Choice Aggregation - a program that offers residents and small businesses the opportunity to obtain a renewable energy source for their electricity at a fixed rate.
By working together — Town government, residents, and business owners — we can reduce greenhouse gas emmissions while building our local economy, and be part of the solution to the climate crisis. Here are some suggestions:
There is an immediacy to this threat that requires all of us to be proactive and take responsibility for our little corner of the world as we work to further reduce our municipal greenhouse gas emissions and develop additional mitigation policies to address current and future impacts.
Our town's Climate Smart Saugerties task force is a perfect example of how volunteer efforts are bringing us closer to an energy sustainable future. The work of the task force couldn't be more important.”
