Council establishes Climate Smart Community Task Force, names coordinator

The Niagara City Council voted to approve a resolution establishing a Climate Smart Community Task Force and appointing its coordinator. The resolution passed unanimously by roll call.

Josh Bridal, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Niagara County natural-resources educator and a member of the Niagara beautification commission, addressed council members before the vote and described the task force's purpose and volunteer role. "Climate smart communities across Western New York have already earned $3,000,000 over the last few years by participating in various actions," Bridal said, adding volunteers could help the city with heat-resilience mapping, walkability projects, and training through the Climate Stewards program. He described mitigation actions (reducing greenhouse gases) and adaptation actions (making the city more resilient to flooding and other climate risks) and said volunteers could be trained at low or no cost with support available from the state Department of Environmental Conservation for task-force activities.

Council member Brian Archie was thanked on the floor for taking a leadership role on the effort; council approved the motion and appointed the coordinator as outlined in the resolution.

Ending: The new task force aims to coordinate volunteer efforts and position Niagara City to compete for climate-related grants and technical assistance; the council directed staff and the coordinator to begin task-force organization and report back on initial activities.