Skip to content Skip to left sidebar Skip to footer

Climate Smart Community Task Force

Everyone deserves clean air and water. And many in our community depend on predictable and stable weather for our livelihood, safety, and enjoyment, so we are proud to lead our community’s efforts in being environmental stewards. 

The Climate Smart Communities Program and Committee

Formed in 2021 with a resolution by the Town Board, the Clermont Climate Smart Communities Committee seeks to enact projects from the NYS Climate Smart Communities Program. This program guides municipalities through actions and projects designed to create a healthier and more resilient local environment while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and saving the town money. For each action we take and submit, we gain points. With enough points, we can certify our community and open up access to grants and partnerships to help us continue this work. 

What We Do

Our work so far has largely been guided by the NYS Climate Smart Communities actions list. There are several initial actions we must take to earn points in the Climate Smart program: 

  • Develop a municipal GHG inventory
  • Conduct government building energy audits 
  • Education and Engagement 

In addition, the recent Clermont Comprehensive Plan created several recommendations for our committee to complete:

  • Create a sustainability plan to guide municipal actions 
  • Help the town to use renewable energy and make infrastructure improvements that will also benefit municipal emissions by providing research, evaluating options, and making recommendations 
  • Help Clermont install EV chargers and provide resources about funding programs to homeowners 
  • Research Opportunities to reduce waste going to the landfill in Clermont through freecycle programs and composting 
  • Create purchasing guidance that will help the town make purchasing decisions that do less harm to the environment 

Our work so far 

As of March 2026, we have completed: 

Town of Clermont Government Operations Greenhouse Gas Inventory

In the spring of 2025, we completed a full inventory of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for government operations in Clermont.  This report tallies all the municipal energy usage, including buildings, fleet, and street lights, to create a baseline that can be used to track progress on reductions. By converting all our energy usage into greenhouse gas emissions, the report presents analysis and recommendations for the town to reduce energy use and GHG emissions while saving money for the town. 

Recommendations included: 

  • Engage NYSERDA to conduct individual building energy audits through the Flextech or Green Jobs / Green NY program. This inexpensive report will detail opportunities to improve building envelope and mechanical systems, improve operational efficiency and save money on utilities. The recommendations of this audit can be used to research and propose changes to optimize the heating and cooling systems in Town buildings, and strategize on improving building insulation.  
  • Coordinate with National Grid to replace existing street lights with high efficiency LEDs to reduce cost and further lower GHG emissions.
  • Investigate opportunity and cost analysis of adding solar to Town buildings.
  • In a collaboration with the Clermont CSC and Highway Department, detail the use and function of each vehicle in the fleet, identifying opportunities for improved operator efficiency and to establish a replacement schedule for vehicles with EV or hybrid options.
  • Establish a plan to replace existing lawn care equipment with electrical equipment at end of life, following the NYS DEC recommendations and the Highway Department’s preferences.
  • Investigate opportunities for land management plans with less intervention and mowing to reduce emissions and cost.

Comprehensive Plan Participation

The Comprehensive Plan sets goals and a vision for Clermont for the next decade. Several CSC members participated in the Comprehensive Plan update that the Town conducted over 2024 and 2025 to advocate for sustainability in our town plans. The CSC successfully advocated for:

  • Cluster Development – changes to zoning that would encourage people to develop buildings in greater density where buildings already exist, leaving unbuilt land open. This promotes wildlife habitat and movement, open land, and scenic views while also allowing for badly needed additional housing. Read more about this unique way of planning on the Hudson Valley Alliance for Housing and Conservation website (LINK?) 
  • Improving EV Charger infrastructure in the town
  • Creating a municipal sustainability plan
  • Reducing waste to landfill
  • Creating purchasing guidelines for the town that would consider environmental impact of purchase decisions

Street Light Replacement 

  • Clermont’s existing seven streetlights used old incandescent bulbs that were not only expensive to power but also frequently needed replacing. Taking advantage of a grant program with National Grid, The Clermont CSC led the effort to replace the existing streetlights with high efficiency LED streetlights. These not only need a fraction of the energy to power (and therefore saves us both carbon pollution and money), but the bulbs also need replacing far less frequently. The new lights were installed in April 2026. 

CSC website for Clermont with information on our town’s projects and resources

You are here! 

Projects in Process:

Flextech Energy Study on town buildings 

  • As part of a 2009 NYSERDA sponsored study, experts evaluated the municipal buildings for their energy efficiency. Their report made recommendations on how to improve energy efficiency and indoor comfort while reducing costs of running the buildings. Our current CSC chair, David Szlasa, is reviewing these recommendations and working with the town board to identify changes we can make in 2026. 

EV Charger Installation 

  • The taskforce is exploring opportunities to install public EV charging stations at Hettling Park and the Town baseball field on County Route 6.  The chargers would provide the only publicly available EV charging access points in Clermont.  The project is currently in design and exploring state and federal incentive opportunities to offset cost of installation.  

Ready to take action? 

Check out resources on actions you can take at home to make Clermont a more sustainable place. 

Join us!

Our Team

David Szlasa (he/him)
David Szlasa, Principal, DS2.design works with arts and culture organizations to design and realize capital projects with ambitious, innovative programming and sustainability goals.  Szlasa supports all levels of project development from design and planning to resource development, fundraising, project implementation and construction management.  Current clients include Art Omi (Ghent NY) and Art Omi Pavilions (Chatham NY), Basilica Hudson (Hudson NY), Kite’s Nest (Hudson NY), Bethany Arts Community (Ossining NY), Shaker Museum (Chatham NY), Hawthorne Valley Association (Ghent NY), Hispanic Society Museum and Library (NYC), Arts Center of the Capital Region (Troy NY), PS21 (Chatham NY), and Mohonk Preserve (New Paltz NY).  Prior to helping build buildings, Szlasa spent 20 years designing theatrical scenery and projection environments for performance and live events at venues worldwide.  Szlasa has taught design at Stanford University, St Mary’s College, NYU, and Bard College.  www.DS2.design

Jen Phillips (she/her)
Jennifer Phillips has been on the faculty at the Bard Center for Environmental Policy at Bard college since 2001, and teaches graduate courses in Environmental Science for Students gaining a Master of Science degree in Environmental Policy, with a focus on climate science, land use, and nature-based climate solutions.  She also runs Gansvoort Farm in Clermont, producing grass-fed livestock, experimenting with agroforestry, and enhancing wildlife habitat.  Jennifer has served on the Town of Clermont Planning Board for over 15 years, the Columbia County Climate Smart Communities Task force for 3 years and the Clermont CSC for 2 years.

Zannah Bradley (she/her)
Zannah has a decade of experience in the solar industry as a system designer, project manager, marketing director, and business strategist. She currently works as a project manager for prefabricated, high performance residential home builds. She’s been a member of the Clermont CSC since its beginning and volunteers for the Sawkill Watershed Alliance and TapRoot, a community land trust in Kingston. She’s also a gardener, artist, and mom. 

Jesse Cutaia
Jesse has over 20 years experience in the renewable energy industry having held a variety of roles including those in project development, people management, construction, operations, strategy and sales.  Jesse is a graduate of Bard’s MBA in Sustainability program and has served on the Clermont Planning Board since 2022.  Jesse lives in Clermont and has two children in the Red Hook School District.

Jeff Scales 
Jeff Scales is Chair of the Riverkeeper Advisory Board, President of the Center for Post Carbon Logistics, a board member for the Workers Justice Center of New York and the Rhinebeck Farmers Market, and an advisor to Bard College Programs in Sustainability. He is a member of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the Town of Clermont Climate Smart Taskforce, and actively stewards 140 acres of woods and Hudson River watersheds in Columbia County, NY. His prior firm, JSA Sustainable Wealth Management, earned B Corp certification and recognition by Green America for its commitment to community and environmental benefit. Jeff and his partner Leola can often be found repairing deer exclosures, removing invasive plants, cycling local errands, or kayaking the Hudson River at dawn.

Lindsey Lusher Shute 
Lindsey has served on the Clermont Town Council since 2020. Lindsey and her husband Ben own and operate Hearty Roots Community Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Clermont. Lindsey is the CEO and Co-Founder of GrownBy, and she previously Co-Founded and led the National Young Farmers Coalition as Executive Director for a decade. Lindsey holds a MS in Environmental Policy from the Bard Center for Environmental Policy. Lindsey is mom to Piper and Eleanor, and she loves running on Clermont’s roads and trails.

If you are interested in joining us, please email David Szlasa.