HVRC outlines county climate adaptation plan aiming for NYS Climate Smart Silver

Sofia DiTommaso, Resilience and Adaptation Coordinator with the Hudson Valley Regional Council, told the Putnam County Physical Services Committee the collaboration aims to advance the County toward New York State Climate Smart Silver Certification by completing three Climate Smart actions.

"creating a climate vulnerability assessment, writing a climate adaptation plan, and evaluating policies for climate resilience," DiTommaso said, adding the first two actions should be completed by Winter 2026 and work on the adaptation plan will begin in Spring 2027 with a target completion in early summer 2027. She said the plan will need formal County adoption to count toward the Climate Smart Communities Program and to improve competitiveness for grant funding.

Commissioner of Planning, Development and Public Transportation Barbara Barosa introduced HVRC and said the effort will help Putnam County "understand and evaluate existing resiliency progress and gaps" and identify hazards so the County can better prepare. Legislator Montgomery asked whether the County’s five-year hazard mitigation plan would be incorporated; DiTommaso said the existing draft hazard mitigation plan has already been a valuable resource and conversations are underway to keep the projects aligned.

The presentation framed the work as a combination of hazard identification, asset vulnerability assessment and tangible strategy development, with opportunities for public feedback during the adaptation-plan drafting. The committee did not vote on the plan itself; next steps described were continued interagency coordination and public engagement scheduled during 2026–2027.