Solarize Hudson Valley July events

Solarize Hudson Valley is launching this summer, led by Sustainable Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountainkeeper with three year funding from NYSERDA. This community education and group purchasing program makes it easier and more affordable for households and small businesses to go solar with selected, pre-qualified installers, informative workshops and group purchasing discounts.  As more people participate, the price goes down for everyone!

The program is piloting in Kingston from May 1 – September 12, 2015.  It rolls out in the “hub” communities of Goshen, Warwick, Woodstock, Rosendale and Beacon, with workshops and events in these locations serving everyone in the Hudson Valley.  You may also sign up for a free site assessment online at www.solarize-hudsonvalley.org.

Learn more by participating in any of these July events:
Mon., July 13, 2015, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m., Solarize Woodstock launch workshop, Woodstock Town Hall, 76 Tinker St., Woodstock (with selected installers Apex Solar and Lotus Solar).
Wed., July 15, 2015, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m., Solarize Rosendale launch workshop,  Rosendale Cafe, 432 Main St., Rosendale (with selected installers Apex Solar and Lotus Solar).
Sun., July 19, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.,  Solarize Beacon +  (including Newburgh and Cold Spring focus). Open House at the solar powered home of Peggy and David Ross; call 866-205-2999 for info and directions (with selected installers Apex Solar and New York State Solar Farm).
Tues., July 21, 1 – 2:30 p.m.,  Solarize Warwick-Goshen community workshop at the Albert Wisner Library, 1 McFarland Dr, Warwick, NY 10990 (with selected installers SolarCity, Direct Energy Solar and NYS Solar Farm).
Wed. July 22, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.,  Solarize Kingston community workshop,  Kingston City Hall, 422 Broadway (with selected installers SolarGeneration, New York State Solar Farm and Hudson Solar).
Thurs. July 23, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., Solarize Beacon + Educational Workshop  at Howland Library, 313 Main St., Beacon, NY (with selected installers Apex Solar and NYS Solar Farm).
Sun., July 26, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.Solarize Warwick information/ signup table at the Warwick Valley Farmers Market, 1 Bank St., Warwick  (with selected installers SolarCity, Direct Energy Solar and NYS Solar Farm).

Introducing the Tivoli Commemorative Tree Program

The Green Committee of Tivoli is pleased to introduce its new commemorative tree program, offering Tivoli residents a meaningful “green” way of marking a significant event or to honor a loved one. This program, modeled on others like it, allows residents to purchase a commemorative tree to plant, along with a dedication plaque, in a public space within the village of Tivoli.

The Village of Tivoli has identified a number of public spaces where trees could be planted, as well as consulted with a professional arborist to identify suitable tree varieties to be planted in each location, and we will be updating the Google map with further information about each of the sites as we work our way more fully through the Village streets and pubic areas. If you have any recommendations for a site you think would benefit from a new tree, please don’t hesitate to let us know at info@tivoligreen.org.

The cost of purchasing a commemorative tree is $350, which includes a dedication plaque, assistance from the Village Department of Public Works and the Tivoli Green Committee to prepare the site and plant the tree, and regular watering in the critical few weeks immediately following the tree’s planting.

If you are interested in finding out more, or would like to suggest a potential public site for a commemorative tree, please email info@tivoligreen.org

 

Street Lighting meeting – Kingston 4/2/15

NOTES ON STREET LIGHTING MTG

KINGSTON 4-2-15

Manna Jo Greene, Chairman of the Climate Smart Committee (Ulster or Kingston?)

Matthew Edge, NYSERDA

Said there’s a NYSERDA Street Lighting Report on line.

— Reduced maintenance,

— Reduced consumption of energy.

Central Hudson has various options for switching over to LED’s.

Up-front financing is high. Recommends sitting down with Central Hudson rep to figure what’s best for us.

  1. A) Cent Hud own and maintain,
  2. B) Cent Hud own and we maintain,
  3. C) We own and we maintain.

Nina Orville, Village of Dobbs Ferry

Took the Climate Smart Pledge in 2009.

Took them 18 months to have their electrician install all LED lights throughout the Village.

Dobbs Ferry saved $100K and reduced greenhouse gases by 40%.

Yonkers followed up on Dobbs Ferry’s example. Brad Tito, Director of Sustainability for Yonkers spoke about project. They had Lumina Lighting Solutionos do the  installations. And they have not enacted mandatory green building standards

(all new constructions or all buildings?).

Jennifer Metzger, on Town Council, Town of Rosendale

Said they had 192 Street lights.

First they did a full assessment of all their lights.

They wanted to decommission those lights they did not need, and wound up eliminating 26. Others they reduced wattage.

Said Cent Hudson was offering FOUR options to convert to LED’s.

Ms Metzger still thinks might be good idea for municipalities to buy their own.

Pat Courtney Strong

Said NYSERDA has money for municipalities, but hasn’t gotten any requests for funding from them. We should all look into the “Existing Facilities Program.”

NYSERDA is looking for projects that could save 250KW hrs per year, and this could also include internal lighting (like Village Hall).

Tivoli should partner with Village of Red Hook and Town of Red Hook, to ensure that we meet this criterion of energy savings on the project. NYSERDA has $30K up to $2 million to give away. Deadline for applying for these monies Dec 31st, but the monies available usually get renewed from year to year.

Think this is the link we should check for NYSERDA monies available for municipalities.

http://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Programs/Cleaner-Greener-Communities

OTHER COMMENTS

One fellow said the Lumineer lights are hideous. Too white and too bright.

Another fellow cited one municipality, which he called “Town X,” which made a wrong decision on the type of lighting choice it made, and will have to pay for that decision for years and years.

You can choose a lower wattage/lumens LED light. Many municipalities like the white character of the light because it helps law enforcement identify the color of a perpetrator’s car or clotting.

LED lighting is directional. So evening light pollution is minimized.

Was suggested to put solar-power source on street lighting poles where applicable.

Good idea for towns to piggy-back with others on purchasing.

Bill Cotting, rep from Central Hudson  

Very willing to sit down with municipalities to discuss possibilities.

NYS is offering a “Prize Grid Facility” award. $100K to the best micro-grid island to service intra-communities in time of emergency. Have to submit for award by May 15th.

Notes prepared by Kathy OConnor.

Tivoli Green Committee

Links

4 Things You Should Know About Battery Disposal and the Environment
https://store.intellaliftparts.com/c/battery-disposal-and-the-environment.html

Red Hook Trail Plan
http://redhooktrailplan.weebly.com/

Village of Tivoli Curbside Solid Waste & Recyclable Collection
http://www.tivoliny.org/pdf/GarbageRecycle2012.pdf

Dutchess Division of Solid Waste Management
http://www.co.dutchess.ny.us/CountyGov/Departments/SolidWasteMgmt/SWindex.htm

Reimagining Highway Services for Red Hook and Tivoli
http://redhook.rondoutconsulting.com/home

Sustainable Hudson Valley
http://sustainhv.org/

How Red Hook became a tree town
http://sustainhv.org/resources/sustainable-communities-cookbook/and-and-waters-red-hook

Mid-Hudson Climate Smart Communities
The Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program
http://www.midhudsoncsc.org/

Resources and Tools of the CSC program
http://www.midhudsoncsc.org/resources.html

Winnakkee Land Trust
http://www.winnakee.org/

Bard Office of Sustainability
http://www.bard.edu/bos/recycling/

Cornell Urban Horticultural Institute – tree inventory
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/uhi/commfor/index.htm

 

Solar conference a success!

 

DSC01752

We counted over 94 people that attended our Solar Conference Tuesday night at the Tivoli Village Hall. It was a great success. The room was packed. The photo above shows the room just before most everyone arrived. There were lots of questions and people felt that this conference “got the ball rolling” toward them getting solar.

The four speakers are listed below with their contact info.

Ayaz Kiani – Solar City
akiani@solarcity.com
518-763-8596

Betsy Ferris Wyman – SunDog Soar
betsy@sundogsolar.net
518-392-4000, x 103

Carlos Newcomb – Hudson Solar
carlos@hudsonsolar.com
866-452-7652 x102

Jeffrey Domanski – NYSERDA
jeff.domanski@courtneystrong.com
646-483-1338

 

Tree inventory

The Tivoli Green Committee located a tree inventory of Tivoli that was done in 2006 by students from Cornell. Although the inventory is old, it is still useful. Click here to see the inventory (pdf)

80 new trees were purchased that year. Click here to see the details (excel)

Read the story here:

Copyright © 2006 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc.
This story may not be reproduced in any form without express written consent.

“S.W.A.T.” team to evaluate Tivoli

Tivoli – This weekend, a specialized unit of professionals dispensed by S.W.A.T. officials will roll into the village to evaluate a major local concern.

It’s not part of a TV reality op show, but rather, Tivoli ’s latest endeavor to protect the environmental master plan for the village. The S.W.A.T. team – or Student Weekend Arborist Team – from Cornell University will help the community and its public and civic officials to evaluate the quality and diversity of its trees.

“Maintaining the beauty and rural atheistic of our community is of the utmost importance to us here in Tivoli ,” said Mayor Marc Molinaro. “The work completed by these Cornell students will provide us with a professional assessment of where we stand now, what we need to do in the future to both protect and improve the plan we currently have.”

Tivoli recently completed the planting of more than 80 new trees within the village, as part of a beautification and traffic abatement program. The inventory completed by the S.W.A.T. team will help to establish a street tree program for the village.

“People underestimate the value of trees in our community,” said Tivoli ’s Deputy Mayor Thomas Cordier. “Trees are not only an important part of our community in terms of rural charm, but help to slow traffic and protect from severe weather.”

The Student Weekend Arborist Team helps small communities to manage their community trees and urban forests. It’s a means by which a small community can affordably get started in a street tree program.

The team works with a community to organize the completion of an inventory of all the street trees within the municipal boundary. The team will gather data on tree species, distribution, health and maintenance needs.

After the inventory is completed the data is used to help formulate a plan to manage trees within the community. After the inventory is completed it is recommended that a qualified, certified arborist evaluate potentially hazardous and/or risk trees in the community.

New bike signs in Tivoli Bays

Green Committee members, Joel and John, set the new bike path signs in Tivoli Bays. The path goes all the way to Bard through some beautiful meadows and forest.

The new signage makes it easy to find your way.

The new signage makes it easy to find your way.

About the Tivoli Community Garden

The Tivoli Community Garden is a  volunteer-run organic garden located in the Tivoli Rec Park (aka Tivoli Memorial Park), started in 2011 by Tivoli’s then-newly formed Green Committee.

The garden provides residents of Tivoli who otherwise cannot have a garden where they live the opportunity to develop their green thumbs, grow vegetables and flowers, and share organic gardening tips and tricks.

The garden has 20 8’x12′ plots: 18 individual plots, one community herb garden/visitor’s pick-your-own, and a plot where our communal table and garden implements are kept.

SIGN-UP FOR GARDEN PLOTS IS DONE ON A FIRST-COME FIRST SERVE BASIS, UNTIL ALL PLOTS ARE FILLED.

There is a $30 plot fee for the season, which goes toward garden maintenance and improvements, and toward supporting other green initiatives of the Village government.

If you’re interested in learning more about the garden or would like to sign up for a plot, please write to tivolicommunitygarden@gmail.com.