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Saranac Lake advisory board advances Climate Smart Communities silver pathway as $90,000 DEC grant funds vulnerability assessment
Summary
The Climate Action Advisory Board reviewed a $90,000 DEC-funded Climate Vulnerability Assessment and a Roadmap to Silver Certification, setting timelines and assigning re-documentation tasks to meet the 300-point Silver standard; RFQ responses are due July 31 and the CVA is expected in 2027.
The Saranac Lake Climate Action Advisory Board on July 1 outlined steps to pursue Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Silver Certification and confirmed a $90,000 New York State DEC grant to carry out a Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) and a subsequent climate adaptation plan.
Garrett Marino, who helped write the grant with Bayle Reichert and Sunita, said the project will run in two phases: a CVA to identify hazards, community assets, infrastructure and vulnerable populations, followed by an adaptation plan with place-based narratives, future scenarios, actionable recommendations and a monitoring framework. "Community listening sessions — talking to business owners and general residents —" are central to the methodology, he said.
The board reviewed its documented CSC Roadmap and found it totals 352 points across completed items needing re-documentation, in-progress items and new priority actions; the CSC Silver threshold is 300 points (bronze is 120). Garrett said re-documenting expired credits is an administrative burden that will largely fall to Bayle Reichert and Katrina. "Carolyn Dodd (ANCA interim CSC Coordinator) has confirmed the silver pathway is achievable," the board noted.
Key deliverables and deadlines discussed: RFQ responses for the DEC grant are due July 31; the CVA is expected around 2027 and the adaptation plan by the end of 2028. Garrett said the CVA is intended to open funding pathways for implementation projects and to integrate its outputs into existing municipal plans rather than produce a stand-alone report.
The advisory board also reviewed priority technical items on the roadmap, including interior lighting upgrades tied to a Department of Public Works grant (#275), a potential green power procurement policy, climate-related public events, a local climate action website, expanded climate education and measures to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from government vehicles.
Next steps recorded in the meeting minutes include circulating the CSC portal and Roadmap for scoping at the next meeting, and assigning re-documentation and evidence-collection tasks to specific members. The board will continue work on the CVA procurement and on documenting credits needed for Silver certification.
