Sustainable government

A new committee is born

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — County lawmakers did something they don’t do very often; they created a new standing committee. It’s called the Sullivan County Sustainable Policy Committee, and the first meeting was held at the government center on May 21.

The first order of business was to launch discussions about creating a contract between the county and the advocacy group Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development (SASD). Lawmaker Ron Hiatt, chair of the new committee, said that all the legislators agree that there is a need to move in the direction of sustainability, not only in terms of energy but also in other areas such as agriculture. He said that SASD has the knowledge and “zeal” to guide the county in that direction. He said, “They’re the engine that moves the whole process along.”

Dick Riseling, the executive director of SASD, which is involved in various alternative energy and sustainability projects, such as helping local farmers install solar power at their farms, said he saw the group’s role was to suggest sustainable options for the county to pursue. He said the options would run the gamut from energy conservation and generation to projects related to the wider meaning of sustainability as it relates to agriculture and commerce, education and government. Lawmakers would then choose what programs to implement.

Lawmaker Leni Binder said that with the creation of the committee and with involving SASD in a serious way, it seemed that the county is making a positive move. She said that too often, when the county wanted to take a step in a certain direction, it hired outside consultants that would sometimes not have as much information as local people who were already focused on a particular area. She said, “By co-opting the people who have been doing this, and who have dragged us screaming to the forefront of this, I feel that we are going in the right direction.”

Lawmaker Jonathan Rouis, the county chairman, emphasized that he expected this initiative to produce results. “This isn’t about lip service to green because it sounds good, this is truly a viable economic opportunity that we have to seize.” He added that the committee needs to be able to show that progress is being made with benchmarks and other measurements.

Despite the tough economic environment, the county is moving forward with several green or sustainable projects, such as the green tech park being planned for Sullivan County Community College that will provide training to students in various emerging technologies and the Center for Advanced Sciences and Technology, also at the college.