Mount Kisco Village Board accepts climate action plan

By MARTIN WILBUR

The Mount Kisco Village Board has approved a Climate Action Plan that lays out steps the village can take to reduce emissions and make itself eligible for more grant opportunities to combat flooding and other weather-related problems.

Climate Smart Task Force members John Rhodes and Robert Liebman presented the group’s findings to the board on Monday, saying that while the village is making progress in achieving some of its goals, it should continue to lead by promoting actions and policies that would improve its emissions and mitigate existing problems. The state has set its goals of reducing fossil-fuel emissions by 70% by 2030 and 100% by 2040.

During the presentation, they suggested strategies that can be employed in Mount Kisco to make the community more resilient against flooding and extreme heat and to save energy. 

“What we wanted to do is present a very clear plan, step-by-step plan, for the Village Board and the town to adopt,” Rhodes said. “What can we do to advance the state plan to reduce statewide emissions and hopefully help people all over the world, to look at specific actions that Mount Kisco can take.”

He and Liebman presented a list of six actions for the village to undertake in hopes of setting the tone for residents to follow: accelerate the transition to electric vehicles by installing more charging stations; reduce vehicle trips and miles by making walking and biking easier and safer; update the building code to encourage developers to build or convert structures with electric heat rather than oil and gas; retrofit existing buildings; expand local solar installation opportunities; and continue to support and expand recycling and composting.

Acceptance of the report should help Mount Kisco reclaim its bronze status under the state’s Climate Smart Communities certification, and could eventually raise that level to silver, Rhodes said. By doing that, the village could be in contention for state grant money to help pay for projects that would mitigate flooding or make it more resilient against other extreme weather.

To work toward that goal, the village should assign various department heads or employees to help bring and develop a resilience action matrix that devises the scope of projects, costs, potential funding sources and time for implementation. Then Mount Kisco can advance grant-ready projects related to flooding and weather resiliency.

Rhodes said it is unrealistic for the board to be able to do many projects, but the plan enables officials to rank priorities and evaluate the greatest risk, then pursue achievable steps that can be paid for and executed.

“The village is not starting from zero,” Rhodes said. “We’ve done a lot of things in terms of flood mitigation, in terms of heat mitigation, in terms of making our facilities more efficient, and also in terms of protecting our natural resistance. We need to protect our wetlands. We can’t be so easygoing on wetlands permits. We really need to crack down on that, in my opinion, but also most of the people on the committee.”

As part of the presentation, Liebman outlined five key vulnerabilities facing Mount Kisco in the Climate Vulnerability Assessment. The board also approved that report on Monday and the village’s 2026 Greenhouse Gas Inventory, which measures the village operations and the overall community’s emissions levels.

The risks are extreme heat and how that impacts seniors and low-income residents the most; downtown flooding, which disrupts the local economy, including Shoppers Park, that has been inundated in the past after severe storms; how disadvantaged residents and seniors are most affected by flooding with the location of public housing on Carpenter Avenue; flooding at Leonard Park that can make the village’s lone large-capacity shelter inaccessible; and extreme heat and how it affects frontline workers.

Liebman cited climate studies predicting that by 2050 the area will experience on average 17 days annually with high temperatures of 95 degrees or greater.

“Climate conditions are already changing,” Liebman said. “This report documents recent impacts and projects more heat, heavier rainfall and stronger storms.”

Mayor J. Michael Cindrich thanked Rhodes and Liebman and the entire task force for their hard work and giving the village a plan to follow. He said some simpler tasks have already been accomplished such as the village having installed LED streetlights, which helps it save money because of their much greater lifespan.

“I think it’s everybody’s hope that we can comply with it but it’s not an easy task,” Cindrich said.

Rhodes said he was grateful for the board’s receptiveness toward creating a Climate Action Plan, which was unanimously approved.

“I’m just really so happy to see that finally move into the official realm,” he said. “As the mayor said, hopefully we’ll be able to achieve some of the goals.”