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Happy Fall!

This is the City of Beacon's second sustainability e-newsletter. Welcome to new subscribers - if you completed one of our recent surveys, we added you to this mailing list. Feel free to unsubscribe below if you'd prefer not to receive this quarterly newsletter.

Below, find some updates about what we've been up to since the last edition. A lot has happened. In September, we were awarded silver certification in the Climate Smart Communities program, making us one of only two cities statewide to have achieved this honor. We also received a grant for two more public electric vehicle charging stations to be located at the Churchill and Henry Street parking lots (stay tuned in 2021). And so much more, read all about it below!

If you have any questions or concerns, or want to learn more about anything you see here, please email Eleanor Peck, Beacon's Climate Smart Coordinator, at beaconclimate@gmail.com.

Reducing Municipal Emissions

Two interns from Clarkson University, Amanda Collins and Stephanie Barajas, helped City Staff conduct a preliminary analysis of transitioning the City of Beacon's vehicle fleet and building heat to electricity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thank you, Amanda and Stephanie! Please watch their presentation to City Council on August 31 here. They start around the 9 minute mark.

Climate Resilience Vision

Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County, The City of Beacon, and Green Beacon Coalition have collected information on Beacon’s vision for a sustainable and climate resilient community, and now we need your comments on the draft document! The draft Sustainability and Climate Resilience Vision is now open for public comment until Monday, November 16th. You can find the document by clicking the link below.

Sustainability and Climate Resilience Vision

Any questions, comments, or feedback can be directed to Danielle Salisbury:

Email: ds778@cornell.edu
Phone: 845-677-8223 Ext. 138
Mail: Attn: Danielle Salisbury, 2715 Route 44, Millbrook, NY 12545

Photo by Ron Donofrio

Sustainable Beacon Update

Sustainable Beacon is an initiative moving Beacon towards leadership in our area as the “greenest” community in the Hudson Valley. We have established working groups and partnerships among our boards, city employees and community. We presented initial ideas to City Council on July 27. Since then, things have been happening behind the scenes:

With the support of Land to Learn's Princeton University Intern, Calif Chen, the composting working group has been investigating composting programs led by other municipalities in the Hudson Valley. Their goal is to reduce incinerated waste by turning trash into compost, a natural garden fertilizer, on a municipal level. The Committee distributed a city-wide survey designed by two teen members in partnership with Ms. Chen. (See the results here!) Educational outreach has emerged as a priority, starting with a flyer to explain composting.

The recycling and waste reduction working group is helping City staff plan a pilot to get recycling back on Main Street, get fresh stickers for our residential recycling bins, and will rework the City's webpage on recycling soon.

A member of the green energy working group has become an Energy Navigator with Cornell Cooperative Extension. She will help folks who receive SNAP, HEAP, TANF, and other assistance get free home energy upgrades like high efficiency lighting, attic and wall insulation, and more! If you or someone you know may qualify, please visit midhudsonenergychoices.org or email h.ogrady.en@gmail.com for more information.

Sustainability Planning

The Sustainability Planning Subgroup of the Conservation Advisory Committee has been reviewing the plans of other cities to prepare to create Beacon's Sustainability Plan. When it is completed, the plan will be adopted by the City Council. Stay tuned for more information and public comment in 2021.

Some of our favorite plans are linked via the images below: Princeton, NJ; Ann Arbor, MI; Los Angeles, CA; and Lakewood, CO. What do you like about these plans? Have you seen another city's plan that you really loved? Let us know by emailing beaconclimate@gmail.com.