Croton's Sustainability Committee tackled a wide-ranging agenda at its June 28 meeting, its last before a summer recess, with members navigating project delays, scanning new state funding opportunities, and pushing forward on a second battery energy storage system. The meeting, held via Zoom, was chaired by Sustainability Committee Chair Lindsay Audin. Mayor Brian Pugh and Deputy Mayor Len Simon attended as village liaisons.

EV Chargers and Municipal Vehicles

The committee reported steady progress on 18 electric vehicle charging ports at the Croton-Harmon train station, with a project update approved by NYSERDA on June 27. The chargers are expected to be operational by early next year. New York State's latest budget significantly boosted incentives for municipal EV purchases, raising the rebate from $5,000 to $30,000 per vehicle. Healy identified two 2015 Ford Escape vehicles — one assigned to the Recreation Department and one used as a staff car — as the next candidates for replacement. Simon agreed to check whether the Municipal Building's four existing non-police charging ports can handle two additional EVs, and to look into the purchasing timeline. With funding distributed on a “first come, first granted” basis, the committee noted that acting sooner would be advantageous.

E-Bike Program Gaining Traction

Croton's e-bike program, which reopened in April after a winter shutdown, saw strong usage in May with approximately 300 rides per week, Simon reported. The committee looked to Dobbs Ferry, another grant participant, as a model: after adding a hub at the Mercy College campus, monthly community rides there jumped from 200 to 1,400. Croton's next step will be adding a hub at the foot of the Route 9 pedestrian overpass from North Riverside Avenue.

Solar Projects Hit Snags

The train station solar canopies need minor repairs this summer, including replacing panels cracked by large birds dropping seashells onto them — a behavior the birds previously performed on the blacktop before the canopies were installed. The DPW solar canopy project faces a more significant delay. Con Edison is requiring a Coordinated Electric System interconnect Review (CESIR) because an adjacent rooftop solar installation from 2020 already exists on the property. Rivertown Solar challenged the requirement, arguing the rooftop system is on a different circuit owned by Ecogy Energy, but was unsuccessful. The minutes warn: “The CESIR process may add several months to the expected completion date (we had hoped to get it done in this calendar year).” Pugh asked whether the Village could contest the matter. Audin responded that a protest to the New York Public Service Commission would likely take longer than simply working through the CESIR process. Separately, Frank Balbi, Superintendent of Public Works, is seeking a variance from New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection to allow concrete footings for the canopy's pedestals, as the DEP has authority over the aquifer beneath the site.

Heat Pump Prospects Still Limited

The committee reviewed the state's new $15 million "Innovation for Affordable Building Electrification" program (PON 6162). Committee member Dan Colombini researched high-temperature air-to-water heat pumps designed to replace residential fossil-fueled hydronic boilers, but found them still prohibitively expensive, with some showing very low coefficients of performance on cold days. Corey Cummings, a new committee member officially appointed June 17, reviewed similar products that could achieve a COP above 3.0 but only for domestic hot water, not for the radiators common in older Croton homes. The minutes summarize his assessment: “Corey said to check back in 5 years when better systems may be available.” David Goldman noted that his own home's sub-150-degree hydronic system maintained comfortable heating even on cold days, but only because he had heavily insulated the roof and walls, installed double-glazed windows, and made other efficiency improvements.

BESS 2.0 Moves Forward

On June 24, Audin asked the Village Board to hire Keiko Niccolini, a food scrap program volunteer, to help seek competitive bids for one or more battery energy storage systems on Village-owned properties. The Board approved the request. Niccolini's contract is now in process, and she will help Audin assemble a Request for Information and a Request for Proposals to assess developer interest. A second BESS could generate significant revenue, a portion of which could flow to the Village's Sustainability Fund for future projects.

Food Scraps to Compost for Schools

Simon is scheduled to meet in July with Mothers Out Front and CET officials to discuss next steps for recycling Croton schools' food scraps into compost. The informal task force previously met in May.

State Budget: Mixed News

Simon and Audin reviewed NYSERDA's new budget and found limited direct benefits for municipal energy projects. The state's $1 billion Sustainability Fund focuses primarily on programs to help low-income families retrofit homes with efficient appliances and clean heating systems. They found no allocation for the Clean Energy Communities program that has provided most of Croton's existing grants. The budget includes residential electric bill rebates based on annual income, but no rebates for commercial or municipal accounts. A separate $5 million allocation will fund insulation for public housing, public hospitals, and school districts — but not other municipal facilities.

Harmon Firehouse Rooftop

The Village has a NYSERDA grant to install heat pumps and solar panels at the Harmon firehouse, but the 27-year-old roof must be replaced first. Healy applied for a state grant to fund the roof replacement and expects to learn the outcome by late summer.

Recognition and Outreach

Audin was notified on June 18 that his April 2025 article in the International Journal of Energy Management, about the train station solar project, was selected as the “Best AEE Journal Article for 2025” by the Association of Energy Engineers. The award will be presented at the AEE World Energy Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida, on September 15. On July 12, Pugh, Simon, Audin, and Goldman are scheduled to attend a private screening of "Little Town That Could," a documentary film about Croton's sustainability efforts. The committee also discussed decorative painting for the exterior of the new food scrap shed with the Croton Arts & Humanities Advisory Council. Audin will review the idea with the Council at its August 4 meeting. The Sustainability Committee's next meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 20, 2026.