In this month’s edition of the G/FL Economic Recovery Series, we are featuring a number of topics on energy as well as updates around the region. |
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Retail Real Estate's Next New Normal |
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Retail was one of the hardest hit industries by the pandemic. The conventional rules of the retail environment have undoubtedly changed – perhaps permanently. As such, the retail real estate market has been forced to innovate and adapt to these changes at a rapid pace. The following white paper provides four proven approaches to accommodate change in the retail real estate market. |
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Schools and Libraries have Access to Emergency Connectivity Fund |
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Schools and libraries can apply for financial support to purchase laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connections for off-campus use by students, school staff, and library patrons. During this 45-day application filing window, which will run from June 29 to August 13, eligible schools and libraries can submit requests for funding to purchase eligible equipment and services for the 2021-22 school year.
This is one element of the American Rescue Plan to address the digital divide. The Fund will help support school age children and address the Homework Gap. The fund will be administered by the Universal Service Administrative Co.
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2021 Round of the Municipal Zero-emission Vehicle (ZEV) Program |
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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has a total of $2.8 million available to help municipalities purchase or lease electric vehicles for fleet use and to install public charging stations. Applications are available through the New York State Grants Gateway. The DEC is accepting applications on a rolling basis from now through October 29, 2021, or until funding is exhausted.
Questions about the Municipal ZEV programs can be directed to the DEC’s Office of Climate Change by emailing zevrebate@dec.ny.gov or calling (518)402-8448.
ZEV Rebates
The municipal ZEV rebate program provides rebates to cities, towns, villages and counties to purchase or lease eligible zero-emission vehicles for fleet use.
The Up to $300,000 in rebates are available for municipalities that purchase (or lease for a minimum of 36 months) eligible vehicles from a dealership in New York. Plug-in hybrid, all-electric, or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are eligible for rebates of up to $7,500 per vehicle, depending on the electric range of the vehicle and provided they were placed into municipal service on or after March 1, 2020.
ZEV Infrastructure Grants
The ZEV infrastructure grants will provide grants to towns, villages and counties to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Up to $2.5 million is available for municipalities to install public hydrogen filling station components or electric vehicle chargers. Equipment, installation, electricity for electric vehicle supply equipment and site preparation are also eligible expenses. All expenses must be incurred June 1, 2020, or later to be eligible. A variable local match of zero to 20 percent of the total project cost is required based on the community's median household income. The maximum grant amount for any location is $250,000 and $500,000 to any one municipality.
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2021 Round of Climate Smart Communities Grant Program |
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The New York State Department of Energy Conservation (DEC) has a total of $10 million available for eligible climate change mitigation, adaptation, and planning and assessment projects. This competitive program provides 50/50 matching grants to local governments for eligible climate change mitigation, adaptation, and planning and assessment projects. Applications are only accepted through the New York State Consolidated Funding Application. Applications are due by 4:00 pm on July 30, 2021.
Questions about the Climate Smart Communities Grant program can be directed to the DEC's Office of Climate Change by emailing cscgrants@dec.ny.gov or calling (518)402-8448.
Implementation Funds Up to $10 million is available for grants of between $50,000 and $2,000,000 for implementation projects focused on greenhouse gas mitigation or climate change adaptation. No more than 15% of an implementation grant may be used for design and engineering costs.
Certification Funds An additional, $1,000,000 is available for grants between $10,000 and $100,000 for planning and assessment projects aligned with Climate Smart Communities Certification. The 16 specified actions are focused on planning, inventory, and assessment projects in the areas of greenhouse gas mitigation, transportation, organics management, climate adaptation, and land use.
Any city, town, village, or county of the State of New York is eligible to apply for both implementation and certification funding. An applicant does not have to be a registered or certified Climate Smart Community to be eligible for a grant. Applications from participating communities will, however, receive points in the competitive scoring criteria.
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CEC Spotlight: Town of Geneva |
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The Town of Geneva has been very successful in the Clean Energy Communities program! The Town has completed seven high impact action items, including the four required to become a CEC designated community. To date the Town is only 600 points away from potentially receiving an additional $10,000 in grant funding for future sustainability projects. "We were grateful to have a roadmap for improving our energy usage in the town, it allowed us to tackle each goal, one at a time," says Jacob Fox the Town of Geneva Climate Smart Coordinator. "We have many sustainability goals, and it is not always so easy to know where to start”. Currently the Town of Geneva is working on passing the NYStretch Energy Code which will allow them to meet and exceed the necessary points to unlock significant grant funding.
NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities program helps communities across the state access resources and funding for clean energy and sustainability projects. The Leadership Round of the CEC program opened for funding this year provides even more opportunities for you to improve your community, access increased grant funding, and earn recognition.
To learn more about the Clean Energy Communities program and how your community can unlock clean energy grant funding in the Genesee-Finger Lakes region please contact Rob Richardson at the Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council: rrichardson@gflrpc.org, 585-454-0190 x21.
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Working to Reconnect the Core of Our Region |
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G/FLRPC is proud to be on the Community Advisory Committee for the Inner Loop North project in Rochester. Following the success of the Inner Loop East Transformation Project, the City of Rochester is moving forward with planning the reconfiguration of the remaining portion of the Inner Loop Expressway: Inner Loop North.
Limited access highways often act as barriers in communities, a fact that was unappreciated or ignored when they were planned and built from the 1940s to 1970s. Now, communities across the nation are considering ways to correct these past mistakes and reconnect the places torn apart by highway construction (Freeways Without Futures 2021 | CNU). Rochester is at the forefront of these efforts. Both the Inner Loop East and ongoing Inner Loop North project have garnered positive press for Rochester, including in the New York Times (Can Removing Highways Fix America’s Cities? - The New York Times (nytimes.com)).
From the forests and farms of our rural towns to the streets and sidewalks of our cities and villages, the planners at G/FLRPC are working across the 188 municipalities of our region. Learn more about this nationally recognized project on their website - additional articles, project concepts, and much more information about Inner Loop North.
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Fall Local Government Workshop Update |
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Planning is well underway for the Fall Local Government Workshop. The tentative dates are October 18 through November 5, at least four sessions per week. Training sessions will again be online this fall but we are tentatively planning a return to an in person Local Government Workshop in the Spring of 2022, likely in the Victor to Canandaigua area.
Your comments, critiques, and suggestions for the Local Government Workshop are always welcome! Contact Jason Haremza at jharemza@gflrpc.org or 585-454-0190 x12.
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My name is Rob Richardson, and I am the Clean Energy Communities (CEC) Coordinator in the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region. In 2016, the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) launched the CEC Program to help municipalities across New York State save money & shrink their carbon footprint. Since then, 77 communities have completed 233 High Impact Action Items with 38 municipalities earning a Clean Energy Communities Designation. In total, the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region includes 188 municipalities across 9 counties. The size of our region is a challenge in and of itself and reaching all these communities and supporting their clean energy initiatives is even more challenging with just one Staff member supporting CEC.
Since my first day on the job, I believed we can do better building on the strong foundation laid by my predecessors. The CEC program will utilize all the talented planners on Staff at G/FLRC to become a true learning organization that facilitates the growth of its members and build institutional knowledge that can be shared with others, including the communities we serve and any new staff who join G/FLRPC. Having additional support will increase our capacity for proactive outreach, to reengage communities building lasting relationships of support, increase participation, and plan events/webinars as additional resources & learning opportunities for our region. We can provide more hands-on and/or on-site technical assistance, and increase our ability to assist with project planning, grant applications, and ensuring completed HIAs get submitted in a timely fashion to maximize the funding opportunities available in the Leadership Round. Most importantly, these changes will allow us to give each community that engages the CEC Program the attention and individualized approach to guarantee the success of every community we work with.
If you have any questions or would like to explore the Clean Energy Communities Program, please feel free to reach out. We look forward to working with you and helping your municipality achieve its clean energy goals.
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A semi-regular feature of G/FLRPC’s communications that highlights the history, geography, and culture that make our region unique.
This summer, G/FLRPC would like to highlight the region’s connections to the abolition of slavery and African American history.
June 19th has long been celebrated as Juneteenth in the African American community and now designated as both a New York State and US Federal holiday. It commemorates the day in 1865 when Union troops landed in Galveston, Texas, and informed the slaves there that they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Gordon Granger, the Union General who proclaimed this message of freedom, was born in Sodus, NY and raised in Phelps, NY. Much more on Gordon Granger on the excellent website of the Town of Sodus Historical Society.
July 5, 1852, was the date Frederick Douglass gave his famous ‘Fifth of July Speech’ at Corinthian Hall in Rochester. Douglass was one of the greatest public speakers of the era, a conscience of the abolitionist movement and beyond and a popular choice for summing up American ideals, failings and challenges. His withering 1852 speech ranks high among American oratory and is still widely cited as a compelling reminder that Independence Day’s celebrations were not always for all Americans.
Ten years later, the nation and Douglass were in a very different place. In a speech in Himrod, NY, in rural Yates County, on July 4, 1862, 2,000 people listened as Douglass spoke about the ongoing Civil War and its shift to a fight for freedom for enslaved people in the United States. President Lincoln would begin drafting the Emancipation Proclamation in the summer of 1862.
August 1st has been celebrated as Emancipation Day in Canada and throughout the former British Empire since 1834. This was the day the Slavery Abolition Act went into effect, abolishing slavery throughout most of the British Empire. Prior to the Civil War, Emancipation Day was celebrated by free people of color in the north as an alternative to July 4 (see Frederick Douglass’ Fifth of July Speech). This was especially true in Upstate New York, given our proximity to Canada and cross border connections. The first Monday in August has long been a holiday in most of Canada, but just this year, the Canadian Parliament designated it as Emancipation Day to be recognized nationwide.
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