City gets clean energy grant

COHOES, N.Y. » Officials recently announced that the Spindle City received a $100,000 Clean Energy Community grant after becoming eligible to apply by achieving a Clean Energy Community designation.

In a recent news release announcing the funding, officials said that the city held a minicompetition for local non-profits to benefit from the grant and that the Cohoes Senior Center won and will use a portion of the grant to purchase an electric vehicle for the Meals on Wheels program.

According to the release, Mayor Shawn Morse was pleased to be able to get funding to be able to help the senior citizen population of the city since he says that has been a goal of his throughout his administration.

Morse, who is a retired 26 year veteran city firefighter, was awarded a 2002 Medal for Bravery for rescuing a senior resident trapped inside a burning apartment building, according to the news release.

Prior to becoming the mayor in 2016, Morse was an Albany County legislator where he said that he strongly opposed the State Berger Commission recommendations reducing the county’s nursing home capacity from 450 to 250 beds, and personally interceded on behalf of families seeking the return of their loved ones sent to skilled nursing facilities out of state.

“It is important to me that the senior citizens are one of the top priorities,” said Morse in the release. “Pairing that while the city does it part to be conscientious about the world we live in is paramount and I look forward to seeing what this designation will do for our economy and en- vironment in the future.”

As part of the funding from NYSERDA, the grant will also support lighting upgrades in municipal facilities through Rise Engineering and National Grid.

Officials said proposed upgrades will save over 30,000 KWH per full- sized building.

Specific municipal facilities slated for upgrades include: City Hall, the public library, the Cohoes Music Hall, the water filtration plant, all three city fire houses, and any city owned street lighting along with the Cohoes Senior Center.