News - Going Green

“I really feel we’ve hit upon something timely, a real priority,” Yepsen said. “It’s no longer just the ‘tree huggers’ concerned with these issues anymore, it’s everybody. It’s just the right thing to do.”

Yepsen hopes that the Sustainable Saratoga Task Force will tackle a wide range of issues in the community, from helping the city to reduce carbon emissions, promoting energy efficiency in public and private buildings, supporting local farms and food production, and encouraging alternate modes of transportation, such as biking through the city. The task force is looking towards other cities, such as Burlington, Vt., Portland, Ore., and cities overseas in Europe which have adopted similar measures in order to make their communities more environmentally friendly.

“We’re gathering information on what’s currently happening and what’s happened in the past,” Yepsen said. “We want to make sure we learn from previous groups’ mistakes.”

“The task force is truly at the very beginning stages,” Amy Stock said, a communications consultant and teacher, who has joined Supervisor Yepsen in the creation of the task force. But while only just beginning, the task force has already gained widespread support from the community. The meeting on Monday, attended by roughly 40 to 50 individuals, included representatives from the New York State Department of Parks, Saratoga Healthy Transportation Network, Skidmore College’s Environmental Action Club, Saratoga Bridges, Saratoga PLAN, the Department of Public Works and the Mayor’s office.

“We really would like to have a mix of business leaders, builders, planners, and sustainable experts,” Yepsen said.

At the meeting, the public was invited to join Yepsen and Stock in a brainstorming session, where people were welcomed to voice their concerns and share their priorities for the task force.

“At one point,” Yepsen said, “the crowd actually broke out into applause when the founder of the Saratoga Healthy Transportation Network suggested we just ban Styrofoam.” In response, Yepsen and the task force are working together with local school districts to do just that, helping to make Saratoga a greener and more environmentally friendly city.

“We’re creating a vision of what Saratoga may look like 10 to 15 years down the road. But we have some short-term goals and tasks too,” Yepsen said.

One of the short-term goals includes promoting biking through the city. The city is currently engaged in creating several new bike paths to make it easier for bikers to get around Saratoga.

Yepsen said that there is also a group of artists working to create artistic bike racks on Beekman Street to encourage alternative transportation and beautify downtown.

In terms of long-term planning, Amy Stock said they are working on a “$1 million effort to make city buildings more energy efficient,” from encouraging builders to build in a more eco-friendly manner to re-insulating older buildings to help lower heating costs.

Ultimately, educating the public is going to be one of the task force’s major objectives.

“Education is going to be a big part of our group,” Yepsen said. “There are so many programs we could offer to help save taxpayer money.”

For Yepsen, the Sustainable Saratoga Task force is “really about quality of life. Saratoga Springs can’t live in a vacuum. We’re either the victims or the successful result of what happens. We all have to work together to better control the quality of life in our city.”

Public involvement will be vital to the task force’s success, says Yepsen. Currently a website is being set up where the public will be able to track the task force’s projects and post their own input on issues they think are important. In the meantime, for those interested in making Saratoga a more self-sufficient city, Supervisor Yepsen asks that you please contact her at (518) 691-8024. Calling all Vistor Center sponsoring mitten program

The Visitor Center is sponsoring the sixth annual “Happy Hands Mitten Tree” program from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31. Mittens and gloves are essential to winter comfort but there are many children and adults in the community who do not have anything warm for their hands.

For people who are looking for a way to share during the holiday season, adding a pair of mittens to the “Happy Hands Tree” is a small way to make a big impact in someone’s life: Warm hands are happy hands! Last year over 350 items were collected; the goal is to reach 400 this year, when the need is anticipated to be greater than ever.

Individuals, organizations and youth groups are invited to contribute mittens or gloves to the tree. Items should be new and can be purchased or handmade. All sizes, colors and styles are welcome; the more the merrier! Until Dec. 31 donations can be placed on the Happy Hands Mitten Tree daily, except Sunday, from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at The Saratoga Springs Heritage Area Visitor Center on Broadway at Congress Street. Mittens will also be accepted in the evening of Dec. 4 during the Victorian Streetwalk. All items will be given to a local charity for distribution throughout the community.

For more information on the Happy Hands Mitten Tree call (518) 587-3241.