In the closing minutes of Monday’s Common Council meeting, the 19th and final resolution on that night’s crowded agenda passed. The council authorized creating a climate-smart task force for the city of Peekskill.

The task force, made up of one council-appointed staff member and two additional community members, allows the city to apply for bronze-level certification under New York’s Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program. Under this program, Peekskill will have better access to grants and other state resources.The deadline for grant applications for 2023 is July 28. 

“Once we hit these points, we’re able to get grants to make sure that we’re heading in the right direction with climate change and making sure we’re becoming a sustainable city,” said Mayor Vivian McKenzie at Monday’s meeting.

By appointing this new task force, Peekskill completed one of the mandatory requirements for bronze certification. In addition, participating municipalities must implement at least three actions, across twelve different categories, deemed a priority by the program. These include joining a regional climate program, such as Sustainable Westchester, creating an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions from the city, and installing electric vehicle charging stations.

If the city implements enough of the recommended programs, it could apply for the silver certification level. Nearby Croton-on-Hudson is already at the silver certification level as are Bedford and Hastings. 

“A lot of the kind of initial actions that are needed to get to bronze are more about benchmarking,figuring out where you are as a community. Doing the inventories and benchmarking facilities and fleets,” said Jamie MacDonald of the Center for Economic and Environmental Partnership, who has worked with Peekskill on sustainability efforts since the fall of 2022. “But to be able to get up to silver, have to start showing evidence that you’re making greenhouse gas reductions and saving energy.”

The city joins a growing number of towns and villages in Westchester County and across the state that have enrolled in the CSC program.