Grassroots efforts bring green landscaping grants to Millerton

MILLERTON – The Village of Millerton has been awarded two state grants totaling $15,000 to replace landscaping equipment lost in the February fire at the Highway and Water Department building, thanks to the efforts of the joint Climate Smart task force of North East and Millerton.

Instead of gas-powered tools, Millerton will cut emissions — and grass — with a new fleet of mostly STIHL-brand electric tools. The commercial-grade equipment is quieter, cleaner and most are powered by interchangeable lithium-ion batteries, Climate Smart Task Force Coordinator Kathy Chow said.

“It’s actually a silver lining of the fire,” Chow said. “The Highway Department didn’t even have a rake left. This gave us a chance to start with a clean slate.”

The grants come from the Clean Energy Communities program, an initiative of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Funded through a tax on electric bills, the program rewards municipalities for completing energy-saving actions. Chow compared the system to earning scout badges — towns rack up points for verified sustainability steps, then become eligible for grants.

For example, Millerton earned 800 points for achieving Climate Smart Community certification. Chow added that six recent “high-impact” actions, including installing the EV charging station on Century Boulevard last July and converting streetlights to LED in January, helped qualify the village for funding.

Climate Smart task force member Andrew Stayman described the new tools as a full suite of battery-powered gear — from chainsaws to blowers and trimmers — all running on interchangeable batteries for streamlined use and charging.

The broader goal is to phase out polluting two- and four-cycle engines in favor of cleaner, quieter electric alternatives. “Two-cycle engines, just by definition, are inefficient and far away from being green,” says Stayman.

One standout purchase is an autonomous electric mower, which will use satellite guidance and a smartphone app to trim the baseball field at Eddie Collins Park. According to Stayman, the mower is expected to cut a quarter-inch of grass each day and return to its charging station near the field. Though some liken it to a Roomba, Stayman, who is known to handle the technical aspects of most initiatives, said, “It’s more like a precision farming tractor than a robot vacuum.”

Chow said the switch to electric landscaping tools is part of a larger shift toward energy efficiency in local government and communities. While the equipment is an investment, she said the long-term benefits are clear — lower emissions, reduced maintenance and less noise for nearby residents. “It sort of feels like a win-win,” she said.

While individual climate actions can be hard to quantify, Stayman believes in their collective power.

“Grassroots efforts have always fueled larger movements,” he said. “It doesn’t make a difference when just one person does it, but when more and more people make small changes, the impact adds up.”

While there is no official expected arrival time for the equipment, the Climate Smart Task Force hopes to receive the new fleet of landscaping tools by August.