Information & Town News

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that the Town of Clifton Park achieved Bronze certification in the latest round of New York State’s Climate Smart Communities Certification program. The program supports local efforts across the state to meet the economic, social, and environmental challenges posed by climate change. Through planning and implementing climate smart actions, Clifton Park should see a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resilience.

Established in 2009, the Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program provides guidance and technical support to local governments to take locally driven climate action. The first step to becoming a Climate Smart Community is to register by pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.

To be certified, communities must demonstrate an active task force, which includes residents and municipal representatives, to lead the charge and advance local climate action. “Achieving this milestone is a testament to Clifton Park’s continued and expansive efforts towards reducing pollution, improving community resilience and taking substantive and positive actions to address climate change and the emission of greenhouse gases”, said Deputy Supervisor and Clifton Park Climate Smart Coordinator, Anthony Morelli.

The Town of Clifton Park established the CSC Task Force in 2024 and with the rigorous support of volunteers on the Town’s GREEN Committee, was able to accomplish significant steps in this effort, including but not limited to:

1. Installation of electric vehicle charging stations in multiple locations, including Town Hall, Clifton Common and Town Center Park.
2. Installation of LED Streetlights throughout the Town as well as utilization of LED lighting inside Town Hall, the Ice Arena, and other municipal buildings.
3. The Town of Clifton Park GREEN committee has held multiple Repair Cafes since 2023. These Repair Cafes were held at the Clifton Park Senior Center (free of charge) and promote reuse and repurpose of items that might otherwise be The Repair Cafe Teams typically consist of General and Electrical Repair, Mechanical Repair, Woodworking, Fabric mending/sewing, Computer Hardware and Software, Clock, Jewelry, and knife sharpening.
4. For Earth Day, the Town distributed composters and rain barrels to residents.
5. Establishment of a drop-off yard waste program as well as a drop-off food waste program at the Town Transfer Station. The Town also has an established community-wide curbside pick-up yard waste program. The quantity picked up and mulched annually has exceeded 22,000 cubic yards collected from residents, landscapers, and Town pickup. About 16,000 cubic yards of the mulch are given to residents, used in municipal projects, given/sold to landscapers, blended to make topsoil, and sold.
6. The Town expanded and improved bike/walking paths, bike lanes, and sidewalks; bike parking improvement projects; and improvement of signage for pedestrians and bicyclists.
7. The Town Board has permanently protected over 2000 acres since the inception of the open space plan in 2001 exponentially expanding our parks and recreational resources.