Ulster County Excecutive Michael Hein mingles at Saturday’s event
KINGSTON – Dozens of electric cars were on public display this
weekend, at the Ulster County Office Building parking lot in Uptown Kingston,
part of the Sustainable Saturday program highlighting alternative energy
options. Monday starts Climate Week, aimed at raising energy awareness.
Other exhibits included solar farms, pipeline activists, composting collectives,
and electric powered bicycle demonstrations.
During the outdoor event, Ulster County Executive Michael Hein accepted
a Bronze Climate Smart certification for all of its accomplishments toward
sustainable energy from acting DEC Regional Director Kelly Tuturro. Ulster
County is New York’s third bronze certified government entity, following
Kingston and the Village of Dobbs Ferry.
The county is 100 percent carbon neutral as a result of the Hein administration’s
sustainable energy programs.
Tuturro challenged Hein to achieve the state’s first silver certification.
Kingston Mayor Steven Noble vowed to give Hein a run for his money. “Mike
and the county staff are going to be in for a little bit of fight, on
that silver certification,” Noble warned.
“The city was getting a little lonely in their bronze certified
category; we’re really glad to have a partner in this. The county
has done so much to be able to lead by example,” Noble said. “It’s
something that’s reasonable, prudent and the right thing to do,”
he said of the initiative.
Just last week, Noble said, the city council approved purchase of two
new Chevrolet Volt electric vehicles for the city fleet. “For each
of our cars, were saving $4,700 off the purchase price, by participating
with other communities,” he said. An additional grant of $5,000
each brings the total price tag down to $23,000 per car.
“It’s really wonderful for our taxpayers, because we are now
going to own vehicles that will continue to give us savings, year after
year after year,” Noble said.
“Now we need to work on increasing our electrical charging stations,”
Noble added. “The county executive has done an amazing job electrifying
Uptown Kingston. Anyone coming off the Thruway can plug in, stop and shop
at one of our restaurants,” Noble said. He noted the spaces are
getting full, making it harder for him to park and recharge his own personal
family EV.
“We have to make sure that Downtown and Midtown have the same type
of infrastructure,” Noble said of the electrical vehicle charging
stations provided free of charge by the county.
Existing stations include the County Office Building, the County Courthouse,
the County Jail, Social Services, Health Department at Golden Hill, and
the SUNY Ulster campus at Sofie Finn on Marys Avenue. Thruway rest area
also features high-speed EV charging stations. See interactive map http://www.plugshare.com.
Hein extending kudos to County Legislator Manna Jo Greene, chair of the
Ulster County Climate Smart Committee, who was joined by Rosendale Town
Councilwoman Jen Metzger, and members of the New Paltz Climate Action
Coalition.
“It pleases me to be able to say that Ulster County is the most
environmentally friendly county in the State of New York,” Hein
said. One 100 percent of electricity is renewable, and the municipality
is net carbon neutral, he said.
