Climate Smart Communities Certification Report
Download PDF Versionbronze Certified
This is the Climate Smart Communities Certification Report of Woodstock, Town (Ulster). Woodstock, Town (Ulster) is a bronze certified Climate Smart Community.
Woodstock, Town (Ulster) was certified on September 25, 2021 with
220 points earned from 21 completed actions. Listed below is information regarding
Woodstock, Town (Ulster)’s Climate Smart Communities efforts and materials associated with its certified actions.
The certification for Woodstock, Town (Ulster) will expire on September 30, 2026.
Contact Information
The designated Climate Smart Communities contact for Woodstock, Town (Ulster) is:
Name: | Erin Moran |
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Title/Position: | CSC Coordinator / WEC |
Address: | 45 Comeau Drive Woodstock, NY 12498 |
Actions Implemented
Each approved action and supporting documentation for which Woodstock, Town (Ulster) was approved for in 2021 appears below. Note: Standards for the actions below may have changed and the documentation listed may no longer satisfy requirements for that action.
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1. Build a climate-smart community.
PE1 Action: CSC Task Force
20 PointsBronze Mandatory Silver MandatoryProgram Summary: Certified Woodstock Town Board Resolution 71-2020 establishing the Woodstock Climate Smart Task Force and defining the mission of the task force. Minutes of task force meetings for 2020 and 2021 provided.
PE1 Action: CSC Coordinator
10 PointsBronze Mandatory Silver MandatoryProgram Summary: Certified resolution from the Woodstock Town Board annual organization meeting of January 7, 2020 appointing Erin Moran as Coordinator for the Woodstock Climate Smart Task Force. Certified Woodstock Town Board Resolution 71-2020 establishing the position of climate smart task coordinator and defining the coordinator's role and responsibilities.
PE1 Action: National/Regional Climate Program
3 PointsProgram Summary: Woodstock Environmental Commission, in partnership with Woodstock Land Conservancy, Woodstock transition, and the Catskill Center, is a member of the national and northeast pollinators pathway project. Woodstock joined Project Drawdown, a global research organization that identifies, reviews, and analyzes the most viable solutions to climate change, and shares these findings with the world. Woodstock’s Participation in Project Drawdown is through the programs of the Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York, Woodstock Transition, and the Woodstock Land Conservancy.
PE1 Action: Partnerships with Other Entities
3 PointsProgram Summary: Woodstock has been an active collaborator with the Ulster County Climate Smart Committee (CSC) since November 2014. The Climate Smart Committee has five members, appointed by the legislative chairman, and hold their positions during the term of the legislature. The committee meets monthly and provides a forum for communities in Ulster County that have taken the climate smart pledge to share their experiences, progress, problems, and opportunities in implementation of the pledge. Reports for the year 2020 added. The most recent is from December 28, 2020.
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2. Inventory emissions, set goals, and plan for climate action.
PE2 Action: Government Operations GHG Inventory
16 PointsBronze Priority Silver PriorityProgram Summary: Revised versions of Woodstock's 2019 GHG calculations are attached and have been recalculated in full compliance with LGOP. The base emission's data for 2011 has been recalibrated in full compliance with LGOP. A PowerPoint presentation used at public information sessions.
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3. Decrease energy use.
PE3 Action: LED Street Lights
10 PointsProgram Summary: For the April 2, 2021 review cycle, the town submitted documentation from Central Hudson confirming conversion of 124 of the town's 127 municipal streetlights to LED fixtures.
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4. Shift to clean, renewable energy.
PE4 Action: Renewable Energy Feasibility Studies
5 PointsProgram Summary: Addendum to the Micro-Hydro Feasibility Study submitted. The Town of Woodstock investigated photovoltaic solar, a wind power ESCO, micro-hydro, and run of the river hydro. The town eventually subscribed to hydroelectric generators on the Wallkill and at Wappingers Falls for hydroelectric power available through the Natural Power Group under the terms of Community Distributed Generation. With these contracts, Woodstock will be receiving 90% of its electric power from zero-carbon electricity sources.
PE4 Action: Heat Pumps
17 PointsProgram Summary: This addendum updates Woodstock’s documentation for installed heat pumps to reflect the changed requirements of the PE4 action item. The previous submission, based on Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Certification Action Checklist - Version 3.6 (Jan. 3, 2020), was limited to ground-sourced geothermal installations. The recently released Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Certification Action Checklist - Version 4.1 (April 8, 2021) changed the requirements to allowed air-sourced heat pumps. Air-source heat pumps were installed during the renovation of the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center. Woodstock previously submitted two ground-based, geothermal heating and cooling systems: one at the highway garage and another at the town hall. Fossil fuel heating systems were replaced at the highway garage and town hall with ground-sourced heat pumps.
PE4 Action: Solar Energy Installation
14 PointsProgram Summary: The town has two PV solar arrays: one on the highway garage and another on the town hall totaling over 30 KW installed.
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6. Implement climate-smart land use.
PE6 Action: Comprehensive Plan with Sustainability Elements
15 PointsBronze Priority Silver PriorityProgram Summary: The town of Woodstock adopted it's Comprehensive Plan in 2018. A copy of the plan and required elements are attached. They include: The comprehensive plan with sustainability elements, adopted in 2018. Resolution where the plan was formally adopted and approved by the town board. A memorandum explaining how the plan reflects the sustainability elements, including the specific page numbers where the relevant information can be found.
PE6 Action: Unified Solar Permit
5 PointsProgram Summary: NYSERDA's certification of Unified Solar Permit High Impact Action. Woodstock Unified Solar Permit Application.
PE6 Action: Alternative-fuel Infrastructure
8 PointsBronze Priority Silver PriorityProgram Summary: Woodstock installed two, Level2 EV charging stations for public use. Each charging stations has two ports. Attached are: 1) Clean Fleets Inventory, 2) EV Charging Station Grant, 3) ChargePoint usage report for 3QTR 2019, 4) NYSERDA email approving High Impact Item certification, 5) two newspaper articles. Uploaded ChargePoint invoice for December 2020 showing continued usage and support of the EV charging stations.
PE6 Action: Natural Resources Inventory
10 PointsBronze Priority Silver PriorityProgram Summary: Included are Woodstock's project plan for creating the NRI, the final NRI document, and PDF of the PowerPoint NRI presentation given to the public. Also two Town Board resolutions are attached: the first authorization the NRI project and the second accepting and adopting the final NRI document.
- pdf Woodstock Town Board NRI Authorizing Resolution
- pdf Woodstock Natural Resources Inventory.pdf
- pdf October 5, 2020 – NRI Public Presentation "Taking Stock of Nature: The Woodstock Natural Resources Inventory"
- pdf Woodstock TB Resolution Accepting & Adopting NRI.pdf
- pdf PE6 NRI Inventory Project Plan.pdf
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8. Support a green innovation economy.
PE8 Action: Farmers’ Markets
3 PointsProgram Summary: The Woodstock Farm Festival has run every year since 2008. The Farm Festival is located at 6 Maple Lane in Woodstock, NY, 12498 and operates every Wednesday from 3:30 until dusk, rain or shine, from late May through mid-October. The weekly festival features fresh, local and organic food, live music, prepared foods, family-friendly programming, and a vibrant atmosphere for convening with friends and neighbors from near and far. The schedule for 2020 is attached. The town hosts the market in a municipal parking lot, and does not charge the $5 parking fee on Wednesdays to support the market. 2021 UPDATE: The town has approved, at no cost, the Woodstock Farmers Festival (WFF) Farmers Market will be held at the Mountainview Municipal Parking lot for the 2021 season. The schedule & website link with additional information is attached.
- image Permit for 2019
- word 2019 Schedule
- word WFF - Town Sponsorship
- word Town Sponsorship of Farmers Market doc
- pdf TB approval of WFF in muni lot
- word 2021 WFF Schedule
PE8 Action: Rooftop Solarize Campaign
5 PointsProgram Summary: NYSERDA Certification email of Solarize High Impact Action. Newspaper announcement.
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9. Inform and inspire the public.
PE9 Action: Social Media
3 PointsProgram Summary: The Woodstock Environmental Commission has a Facebook page.
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10. Engage in an evolving process of climate action.
PE10 Action: GHG Tracking System
5 PointsProgram Summary: GHG Tracking Report showing yearly GHG emissions beginning with 2011 for Woodstock governmental operations and with final results for 2019. The tracking report has been completely rewritten to strictly conform to the format of Local Government Operations Protocol (LGOP) for reporting emissions. GHG emissions are shown for all fuels in all years from 2011 to 2019.
PE10 Action: Annual Progress Report
4 PointsProgram Summary: Progress reports on Woodstock's initiative to become carbon neutral have been provided to the town broad beginning with fiscal year 2011. Provided is a summary of the process and time frame for developing these reports, and reports for the years 2018, 2017, and 2016. Reports back to 2011 are available.
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12. Performance
Performance: Reduce GHGs from Government Facilities
45 PointsProgram Summary: Resubmitted supporting documentation that includes municipal street lighting in the calculations for reductions in GHGs. The purpose of this revision is to bring Woodstock’s documentation for the reduction of GHG emissions from government facilities into full conformance with the current requirements of the PE12 action item. The previous submission was based on Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Certification Action Checklist - Version 3.6 (Jan. 3, 2020). Since then, the requirements have been revised to require the inclusion of street lighting and traffic signals in calculations of reduced GHG emissions for government facilities. This submission includes emissions from Woodstock’s Lighting Districts. Between 2011 and 2019, GHG emissions from Woodstock's governmental operations were reduced by 95.9 metric tons, CO2e, or 41.2%.
Performance: Reduce GHGs from Government Vehicles
15 PointsProgram Summary: During the period 2011 to 2019, Woodstock reduced its GHG emissions attributed to government owned, light-duty vehicles by 11.9%. In 2011, GHG emissions from light-duty vehicles were 203.3 MTCO2E, and by 2019, the emissions had been reduced to 179 metric tons.