GOING SMART
Common Council to vote on ‘Historic Cleaner Greener Cohoes’ bond initiative
"These projects are a win for taxpayers, the environment, and the next generation." — Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler
COHOES, N.Y. » The Spindle City is planning to switch out its 1,598 street lights to energy-efficient Light-Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs with “smart lighting” infrastructure, at an expected savings of $9 million across 20 years.
Mayor Bill Keeler is proposing to invest $750,000 of that taxpayer savings into a comprehensive renewal of the city’s parks and playgrounds, starting this summer.
The initiative is included in a proposed “Historic Cleaner Greener Cohoes” bond, which also includes a previously announced plan to invest an additional $3-million of the savings to support the municipal building energy efficiency programs in the mayor’s “Restore Historic Cohoes” initiative.
“These projects are a win for taxpayers, the environment, and the next generation. We save energy by converting to LED street lights. We generate funds to invest in additional energy savings upgrades to our historic city buildings. At the same time we are upgrading our parks and incorporating technology infrastructure,” Keeler said.
“Safe, inviting, lively
neighborhood parks help to strengthen our community. These are places where fun is had, competition plays out, and memories are made. Unfortunately, playground equipment in some of the parks date back to when I was a kid, some basketball courts are unplayable, and fences around tennis and basketball courts are broken or gone. It is well past time that Cohoes parks get a facelift,” Keeler explained.
Inclusive playground equipment, repaving and/ or restriping basketball and tennis courts (including for pickleball), new basketball backboards, new hoops and tennis nets, new fencing, new seating, paving, and signage are all included in the comprehensive plan to refresh Cohoes parks over the next three years, if Keeler’s proposal is adopted by the city’s Common Council.
Improvements will be made in parks across the city, with priority given to those that have outdated and/or insufficient playground equipment, like Greenbriar Park and Sunset Park. The work will be completed based on a comprehensive analysis of the city’s parks conducted by City Planner Joe SemanGraves and Recreation Director Dan Hytko during the last year.
The city’s Department of Public Works will complete as much of the work as possible.
“This administration has prioritized parks from day one. At Lansing Park alone DPW crews made important improvements to drainage on the fields, upgrades to parking, rebuilt the pool pump house, and repaired the pool house roof. Our crews are out now working on replacing wood chips in the play areas, landscaping, and other general maintenance in parks across the city,” DPW Commissioner Steve Hennessey noted.
Keeler is seeking Common Council approval for the $6.6 million “Historic Cleaner Greener Cohoes” Bond.
“These projects to improve our green spaces, restore our historic municipal anchor buildings with a focus on energy efficiency and historic preservation, and move our community to a more clean energy future will have generational impact, and therefore should be financed by bonding,” Keeler said.
Projects include:
• $2.5 million Green Energy Street Lighting program: to convert the city’s 1,598 street lights to energy-efficient Light-Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs with “smart lighting” infrastructure. Energy cost and other savings to the city for switching to LED street lighting is calculated to be approximately $9 million over 20 years ($2.9 million in energy savings and $6 million in reductions in service and supplier fees to National Grid).
• $3 million Historic Anchor Building Restoration Fund initiative: to reinvest a portion of the financial gains from the LED street lighting conversion project into additional energy savings upgrades to city-owned buildings, including City Hall, the Library, and the Music Hall/Visitors Center (National Bank Building).
• $750,000 Cohoes Park and Playgrounds Renewal project: A three-year program to upgrade parks and playgrounds city-wide.
• $350,000 Smart Cities Technology plan: A fiveyear program to incorporate “smart” technologies into the city’s operations to improve services, safety, and accessibility.
“With interest rates at near-historic lows, this is the right time to invest in these long-term projects. And, combining all of these projects into one cohesive bond also will save the taxpayers money now and in the long run,” City Comptroller Mike Durocher added.
Keeler’s “Historic Cleaner Greener Cohoes” Bond requires the approval of the Cohoes Common Council. The Bond and associated projects were discussed during the Tuesday, April 13 Common Council workshop, and is scheduled for a vote at their next meeting on April 27.