Awards for Intermunicipal Cooperation

The awards are named in honor of CDRPC’s first Chairman, Erastus Corning, 2nd, Mayor of the City of Albany from 1942-1983, and recognize initiatives that involved at least two local jurisdictions or entities within the four-county region. Nominations were reviewed by a Committee and evaluated using the following criteria:

1. The project has achieved significant benefits, efficiency or cost-savings;
2. Involves two or more local entities, municipalities non-profits etc.;
3. Community involvement and support;
4. Degree of innovative solutions to overcome challenges. For individual awards, the nomination must demonstrate the individual’s significant contribution to advancing intermunicipal partnerships.

The committee included representatives from the Capital District Planners Association, Capital District Transportation Committee, University at Albany Department of Geography and Planning, the New York Planning Federation, New York State Department of State.

This event is made possible in part by generous support from Hodgson Russ, LLP.

2022 Erastus Corning 2nd Awards for Intermunicipal Cooperation

The award-winning initiatives, municipalities and organizations include:

For Implementation of Bus Rapid Transit: Capital District Transportation Authority

The Bus Rapid Transit provides limited stop service along the busiest travel corridors in the Capital Region. These sleek, efficient buses serve large, comfortable stations and enhanced customer amenities. CDTA has branded BRT service as ‘BusPlus’ with distinctive signage that signifies premium service including stations, real time information and complimentary Wi-Fi service.

Thanks to Ross Farrell and Jeremy Smith from CDTA.

 

 

For The Schenectady County Solar Energy Consortium: Schenectady County and & DSD Renewables

Schenectady County, with contractor DSD Renewables, recently completed the last of the seven solar arrays commissioned through the Schenectady County Solar Energy Consortium. This last facility, along the Thruway at Rynex Corners Road in Rotterdam, is one of the most powerful of the seven, rated at 4.5 megawatts. The seven installations total about 25 megawatts of capacity, enough to power all operations by the county, city and town governments.

Thanks to Rory Fluman, Schenectady County.

 

For the Albany County Community Sustainability Challenge: Albany County, Solarize Albany, Heat Smart Capital Region, and the Capital District Transportation Committee

Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy launched the Albany County Community Sustainability Challenge in 2021. The Community Sustainability Challenge builds on the County’s recent designation as one of the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Climate Smart Communities by providing County residents with streamlined, affordable ways to go green. The Challenge includes three Community Campaigns approved by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) focused on community solar, clean heating and cooling, and electric vehicles.

Thanks to Lucas Rogers, Bill Reinhardt from Albany County and Christina Bohnsack from Capital District Community Energy.

 

 

2021 Erastus Corning 2nd Awards for Intermunicipal Cooperation

We are proud to announce the following individuals have been selected:

For Their Significant Contribution to the Development of a Pre-Registration System for Covid-19 Vaccination and Community Vaccination Clinics

Daniel P. McCoy, Albany County Executive
Kathy Sheehan, City of Albany Mayor
Dr. Jacob Reider, Alliance for Better Heath

And Partners
Helgerson Solutions Group, Capital Region Vaccine Network, City of Cohoes, City of Watervliet, Mohawk Ambulance, Guilderland EMS, Colonie EMS, Marra’s Pharmacy, Albany Housing Authority, Watervliet Housing Authority, Cohoes Housing Authority, Metro Baptist Church, Town of Knox, Damien Center, Care Design New York, Albany Public Library, Watervliet Senior Center, Capital District Latinos, United Way of the Greater Capital Region, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Guilderland School District and the North and South Colonie School Districts.

For Their Significant Contribution to the Construction of the Town of Colonie and City of Albany Emergency Water Interconnection

Kathy Sheehan, City of Albany Mayor
Paula Mahan, Town of Colonie Supervisor
Joseph E. Coffey, Jr. PE., Albany Water Department Commissioner
William Simcoe PE, Albany Water Department Deputy Commissioner
John Cunningham, Town of Colonie Commissioner of Public Works
John Fraser, PE., Town of Colonie Superintendent, Latham Water Dept.

For Their Significant Contribution to The Completion of the Congress Street Bridge Study

Patrick Madden, City of Troy Mayor
Charles Patricelli, City of Watervliet Mayor
Steve Strichman, City of Troy Planning Director
Joe LaCivita, City of Watervliet General Manager

An awards ceremony press event was held at Hudson Shores Park at the foot of the Congress Street Bridge in Watervliet on Tuesday, November 23^rd.

The Erastus Corning, 2nd Achievement Awards for Intermunicipal Cooperation recognize municipalities and organizations whose efforts have significantly contributed to the advancement of intermunicipal and interagency cooperation and regional planning.

“These award-winning initiatives demonstrate the value and benefits of working together and resonate with CDRPC’s long-standing commitment to promoting regional cooperation,” said Michael Stammel, Chair of CDRPC’s Board of Commissioners. “We are pleased to recognize these projects and organizations through this awards program and will continue to support similar collaborations that provide services more efficiently, enhance community and economic development, help protect public health, and enhance our quality of life in the Capital District.”

2020 Erastus Corning 2nd Awards for Intermunicipal Cooperation

Awardees included:

Albany and Saratoga Counties were recognized for partnering to construct a regional biosolids treatment facility to anaerobically digest biosolids generated at the three treatment plants owned and operated by the two counties.

This facility will also be capable of receiving trucked fats, oils and grease as well as septage waste and sewage sludge from small treatment plants throughout the region.  This project is anticipated to reduce costs to the rate payers of both counties as well as reduce the operating and maintenance costs to run the facility. With this award CDRPC recognizes Daniel P. McCoy, Albany County Executive,
Andrew C. Joyce, Chairman of the Albany County Legislature, Preston Allen, Chairman, Saratoga County Board of Supervisors. Also recognized are district staff: John R. Adair, Jr., Chairman and Angelo Gaudio, Executive Director of the Albany County Water Purification District as well as Wayne A. Howe, Chairman and Dan Rourke, Executive Director of the Saratoga County Sewer District.

“This project is a forward thinking initiative that provides the residents of both counties with a logical, environmentally responsible, and long lasting approach to biosolids and rate management,” said The Chairmen of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Preston Allen Sr.

Adam Greenburg, Town Board member, Town of New Scotland, for his leadership advancing Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), bringing together the collective buying power of 14 municipalities, from Glens Falls to Bethlehem, Albany to Knox, to purchase cleaner electricity at lower prices for their 90,000 residents.

Thanks to the leadership of New Scotland Town Board member Adam Greenberg, the Capital Region is now seeing this large scale change through Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). The CCA initiative, led by Adam, is bringing together the collective buying power of 14 municipalities, from Glens Falls to Bethlehem, Albany to Knox, to purchase cleaner electricity at lower prices for their 90,000 residents. Adam’s leadership, and ability to move past talk, made this critical inter-municipal sustainability happen.

 

 

 

The Rensselaer Plateau Alliance, the NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program, the New England Interstate Water Poluution Control Commission, the Chazen Companies and Inter-Fluve were recognized for identifying solutions to flooding and make the Poesten Kill watershed more resilient to climate change using a combination of traditional and green engineering practices. This project incorporated extensive stakeholder input from residents of the Poesten Kill watershed in the towns of Grafton, Brunswick, Poestenkill, Troy, and Berlin.

“This project is an example of why RPA focuses on community-based conservation. The most innovative ideas in the plan came from local input. We are grateful to the many elected officials, neighbors, and volunteers who participated in public workshops and committee meetings along with the scientists from Chazen and Interfluve,” – said Jim Bonesteel, Rensselaer Plateau Alliance’s Executive Director.

 

 

The Town of East Greenbush, NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program, Cornell University and the Rensselaer Land Trust were recognized  for developing a Natural Resources Inventory that maps and describes the Town’s physical geography, water resources, habitats, wildlife, and land uses, and climate projections likely to affect the Town in coming decades. Upon completion of the inventory, Natural Resources Work Group volunteers developed detailed recommendations for the Town’s Comprehensive Plan Update Committee. The NRI is being integrated to the new plan and the Town Board is now considering re-establishing a Conservation Advisory Council to advise local boards on environmental reviews and policy.

 

 

 

The 2020 program was sponsored by the law firm of Hodgson Russ, LLP.

2017 Erastus Corning 2nd Achievement Awards for Intermunicipal Cooperation Award Winners

 

CHAMPLAIN CANALWAY TRAIL WORKING GROUP AND HUDSON CROSSING PARK

 

During the last five years, the vision of a trail linking communities along the Champlain Canal corridor moved closer to reality thanks to the work of the Champlain Canalway Trail Working Group (CCTWG), and Hudson Crossing Park (HCP). While the ideal trail route is along the original canal, ownership of much of the corridor has been divided among multiple parties, mostly municipalities, over the last century. The CCTWG and HCP have provided the impetus for grass-roots intermunicipal cooperation and laid the groundwork for success. Due the groups’ collaborative work and planning, $12 million dollars of Empire State Trail funds has been made available to complete three major sections of the Champlain Canalway Trail in Saratoga County.

REGIONAL SHARED TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVE

Capital Region BOCES, Niskayuna, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Scotia-Gleville and Mohanasen School District

 

The Capital District school districts, Niskayuna, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Scotia-Glenville and Mohonasen, in partnership with Capital Region BOCES, collaborated regionally to form a shared busing system. The collaboration formed 18 shared bus routes to out-of-district destinations resulting in significant savings for the school districts and their taxpayers. Their innovative work has also contributed to regional advancement as more districts are adopting their cooperative busing system to realize cost savings and environmental benefits.

STORMWATER COALITION OF ALBANY COUNTY

 

City of Albany, Town of Bethlehem, City of Cohoes, Town of Colonie, Village of Colonie, Village of Green Island, Town of Guilderland, Village of Menands, Town of New Scotland, City of Watervliet, Albany County, and the University at Albany

The Stormwater Coalition of Albany County is a model of intermunicipal cooperation. Coalition staff provide resources to eleven municipalities to ensure they are compliant with the Clean Water Act and SPDES permits. The Coalition works to author joint stormwater management plans, encourages best practices, performs public outreach, and helps ensure cost effective stormwater management programs are in place for their constituents. Nancy Heinzen and her staff have implemented cutting edge mapping, delivered several educational presentations for advocates and policy makers, and have taken on a laudable job of protecting water quality throughout Albany County.

TOWN & VILLAGE OF STILLWATER ROUTE 4 FORM-BASED CODE

Town of Stillwater, Village of Stillwater, Capital District Transportation Committee, and Planning4Places, LLC with the Chazen Companies

 

The Town and Village of Stillwater, in partnership with the Capital District Transportation Committee, collaborated to develop zoning code changes and design standards for both the Town and Village along the Route 4 corridor. The Form-Based Code (FBC) effort is the most recent example of intermunicipal cooperation. This project appears to be the only one of its kind adopted in the Capital Region. In fact, this code is one of the few adopted FBCs in New York State and one of about a dozen regional FBCs in the country.

TRI- COUNTY INTEROPERABLE 911 TELECOMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCH, AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT NETWORK

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, Sr, Rensselaer County Sheriff Patrick A. Russo, Saratoga County Sheriff Michael H. Zurlo, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen M. Jimino, Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Edward D. Kinowski

 

Albany, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties have come together to develop and implement a shared E-911, computer-aided dispatch, mobile applications and records management system. The ability to seamlessly share information on this robust system enhances service delivery and creates efficiencies for all participating agencies. This initiative provides significant improvements to public safety, as well as cost savings for each participating agency.