By Kate Hill

Staff Writer

On July 1, the Village of Cazenovia Board of Trustees was updated on the work of the United Climate Action Network (U-CAN) — a local grassroots organization that advocates environmentally sustainable policies and actions in New York’s 22nd Congressional District.

Long-time Cazenovia resident and U-CAN member Anne Saltman and U-CAN steering committee member Geoffrey Navias spoke to the board about the group’s background, current work and desire to collaborate with the village on upcoming projects.

Prior to her retirement last year, Saltman worked as an environmental planner for the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board (CNY RPDB). During her time at the agency, she worked with the Village and Town of Cazenovia to develop the Cazenovia Climate Action Plan.

The report, which was adopted in 2015, serves to guide the community’s efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

“The recommendations focus on energy efficiency, emissions reductions and the use of renewable resources,” Saltman said. “The report was always designed to be a fluid document, so we had hoped that a local group would be formed whereby we could take a look at the goals and objectives on an annual basis and modify them accordingly.”

A few years later, Saltman partnered with the League of Women Voters of Cazenovia to identify changes in the community since the adoption of the Climate Action Plan.

The resulting report documented the tremendous efforts made by the town, the village and a number of local organizations like the Cazenovia Public Library, Cazenovia College, Cazenovia Central School District and the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association, to implement the plan’s recommendations.

“What we learned was that while many groups were being very productive, there was no central focus,” Saltman said. “There was no central organization taking responsibility for modifying the goals [of the plan], and there was minimal communication between the groups.”

Saltman added that when she first learned about U-CAN, she recognized the organization’s potential to help unite the various groups already working to address climate change.

According to Navias, U-CAN was formed in 2016 by a small group of individuals dedicated to raising community awareness of climate change and ways to protect the environment.

“We came into this and suddenly realized that there was a great foundation already laid and that there was great work already gong on,” Navias said. “That helps a lot. Not only that, but here in Cazenovia, there are some very knowledgeable people.”

In 2018 and 2019, U-CAN sponsored the “Seize the Power” Climate & Energy Action Fair, which was coordinated in partnership with Cazenovia College.

In March 2019, the organization held its first Climate Action Leadership Summit — a historic event that brought together more than 40 community leaders to develop strategies to address climate change on a local level.

A follow-up meeting was held on June 1, during which the attendees shared their accomplishments and divided into small working groups to set goals for the summer.

According to Navias, the groups focused on a number of topics, including renewable energy, agriculture, plastics and recycling, water, advocacy, communications, and networking with other communities engaged in similar work.

U-CAN is also working to form an “advisory resource network” to help educate the public.

“We have incredible resources that people don’t know how to tap into,” Navias said. “We are really working to create an information network.”

Navias noted that the Cazenovia Climate Action Plan includes a recommendation for the creation of a “permanent sustainability committee” to facilitate the implementation of the strategies outlined in the report.

“I looked at that [section of the plan] and thought, ‘oh, well that’s what we are doing,’” Navias said.

Mayor Kurt Wheeler said the board would look into passing a resolution to officially designate U-CAN as the village’s permanent sustainability committee.

The presentation concluded with a discussion of two upcoming U-CAN projects.

First, Navias invited the village to help organize a weeklong celebration of the environment in April 2020.

The community celebration will be timed to include the third annual “Seize the Power” fair on April 18; the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22; and Arbor Day on April 25.

Navias said Cazenovia College, Cazenovia Public Library and Stone Quarry Hill Art Park have already expressed interest in joining a celebration committee.

“We haven’t really stepped much beyond that yet, but I thought it would be really great to have the board [involved] . . .” He said. “That’s one project that I would really love the village to be officially part of.”

Wheeler said the village already collaborates with Project CAFÉ to conduct an annual student-led Earth Day clean up. He suggested that next year’s event be expanded to include the entire community.

“For the 50th anniversary, I’d love to see that done on a broader scale,” he said. “We are sort of limited by how many students show up that day . . . but I’d love to see us get a bunch of neighborhoods and adults involved . . . I think it would be great to expand upon something that we already have going.”

Navias also invited the village board to help the community prepare for the implementation of the recently passed New York State Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA) — a progressive climate-equity policy that will move the state to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.

“Wouldn’t it be great if Cazenovia could get ahead of the ball so that . . . when [the state] starts looking for people to take leadership, we can be in a position to say ‘we are ready,’” Navias said.

Navias requested that the board help examine the CCPA to determine its impact on Cazenovia and the measures that the town and village can take to prepare for the bill’s implementation.

Following the presentation, the board voted to officially appoint Trustee David Porter to the position of Sustainability/Climate Action Plan Coordinator & U-CAN Liaison.

In other news

Reelected Mayor Wheeler, reelected Trustee Fritz Koennecke and newly elected Trustee Susan Light were sworn into office.

The board made its annual appointments to village positions and committees.

“For the purposes of smooth transition, we are going to all retain our duties [on the board],” Wheeler said.

Light will take on Trustee Amy Mann’s duties as public works commissioner and tree commissioner. Porter will take over as deputy mayor and continue his work as commissioner of water and sewer and fire commissioner. Koennecke will remain police commissioner and in charge of parking initiatives. Trustee Maureen Fellows will maintain her duties as parks and recreation commissioner and court liaison.

The board approved the hiring of Chris Matteson as a full-time officer for the Village of Cazenovia Police Department.

The board passed a resolution approving a new police officer conduct manual, pending approval by the village attorney. According to Police Chief Michael Hayes, the model for the document is from the National Institute of Justice’s accreditation program.

Fellows announced that the current village waterfront hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

The village board meets on the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Village Municipal Building, 90 Albany St. To learn more, visit villageofcazenovia.com.