ATTACHMENT B Solarize Westchester Community Information Form I. Marketing and Outreach Ideas

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1 ATTACHMENT B Solarize Westchester Community Information Form Please refer to the Scoring of Key Criteria listed in the RFI that suggests specific information to include in your application. I. Marketing and Outreach Ideas: Provide a description of marketing ideas that may be available in the community (such as possible outreach, ideas for exhibiting or promoting the Solarize program at upcoming local events such as farmers markets or fairs, etc. - list events and timeframe; opportunities for local media outreach and social media communication, ability to include flyers in community tax bills or other mailings; including a program link on the community website; ability to host events at municipal buildings, etc.). Inclusion of a full plan is not necessary, as Solarize Westchester will work with communities to tailor a plan for your community, but this section can be used to identify creativity of the community and willingness to explore varied outreach strategies. If applicable, list these for each community in the coalition. This information will be shared with the applying installers. Response to this question may be up to one page. Hastings-on-Hudson Hastings prides itself on being a pioneer in promoting pro-environment initiatives such as its Green Building Code and its ban on plastic bags. Our residents are enthusiastic about being associated with progressive causes like Solarize Westchester and we have a number of potential promotional events to promote the Solarize message including our well-loved Take Me to the River music festival which happens annually in September, attracting over 1,200 people. The music festival has traditionally hosted a Green Tent where solar merchants promote their products to Village residents and so the concept of a solar expo is already familiar to Villagers. We also have a monthly Flea Market, a weekly Farmer s Market, as well as our biannual Village Crawl. Monthly Friday Night Live events when the main shopping street is turned into a pedestrian mall will afford a great opportunity to reach many residents. The Hastings Core Team and our Conservation Commission will aggressively promote Solarize with a table, flyers, and messages about alternative energy at as many of these events as we can during the year. A large number of organizations have enthusiastically committed their support and communications channels to publicize the Solarize Campaign. These include the weekly s sent by our Mayor to all residents who have signed up to receive Village s, reaching over 1800 people which is 60-70% of all households. We will also tap 1

2 our 20 Village Boards and Commissions, with over 120 members, and ask them to promote the message to the residents with whom they work. Our Downtown Advocate will also promote Solarize through her blasts. Banners and lawn signs will be placed in strategic places advertising the solar expos in an effort to explain the Solarize initiative. The expos will provide residents with an opportunity to meet the selected vendors and talk to residents and businesses that have installed solar. Solarize flyers will be distributed in Village stores, partner organizations, and at transit stations of Metro North and Bee-Line Bus. Special meetings will be held with groups such as real estate agents, local architects and other potential advocates. The Core Team will use a variety of social media sites to promote the initiative including the Village Facebook page and a number of other Facebook pages run by supportive groups and individuals. The PTSA and BOE will promote it in their blasts to parents. And the expos will be run on the Village s community channel in a recurring loop as in the past. Dobbs Ferry As a small Village with a strong traditional downtown and with school district boundaries that fit closely with the municipal borders, Dobbs Ferry is uniquely able to project the Solarize Westchester message. Our kickoff will be in our downtown at the annual Ferry Festa street fair that attracts virtually all Dobbs Ferry residents. The Core Team, augmented by the DF Energy Task Force and School Green Team kids, will aggressively promote Solarize with a table, flyers, and messages about alternative energy. Once the vendors have been selected, which we anticipate being soon after the Ferry Festa, banners and lawn signs will be placed at key crossroads advertising free expos similar to the ones that the Energy Task Force has previously held at school and municipal locations. People at these expos will be able to learn about Solarize, meet the selected vendors, and discuss real-life experiences with residents and businesses that already have solar. Presentations at the expos will be televised on the Village s community channel as has been done in the past. Expo and general Solarize flyers will be posted by the Core Team and other volunteers in high-traffic Village stores, partner organizations, and at transit stations of Metro North and Bee-Line Bus. Separate meetings will be held with senior citizens at the well-attended Dobbs Ferry Senior Center, and with non-english speakers in cooperation with partner Cabrini of Westchester at their Cabrini Immigrant Services office in Dobbs Ferry. The online presence will also be heavy for these activities. The Energy Task Force s Sustainable Dobbs Facebook page will be augmented by regular posts in the active group, as well as partner organization s Facebook pages. The Mayor s newsletter, a well-read blast to the community, will also include much information about Solarize. The PTSA will promote it in their blasts to parents. And the expos will be run on the Village s community channel in a recurring loop as in the past. 2

3 Village Synergy Together, both villages will promote Solarize through the local newspaper, The Rivertowns Enterprise. This will be done through letters to the editor and stories we will encourage the paper to run once the initiative has been launched. The Enterprise, has been very friendly to the events produced by the Dobbs Ferry Energy Task Force and the Core Team will work with the paper s editor to provide coverage of all the events described above. Ads will also be placed in The Enterprise to promote these events, with direct mention of the Solarize efforts included. Many events held in Dobbs Ferry and in Hastings are attended by residents from the other village, and many communications coming from one village are received by residents in the other. As a coalition we will coordinate our outreach, taking advantage of the proximity and constant cross-over between the villages. II. Partner Organizations: Please list the organizations that have agreed support and promote Solarize through their communication channels and that have agreed to be included in this proposal. Add more lines if necessary. III. Name Dobbs Ferry-PTSA Roots & Wings Dobbs Ferry Union Free School District Groundwork Hudson Valley (includes Saw Mill River Coalition) Cabrini of Westchester (includes Cabrini Nursing Home and Cabrini Immigrant Services) Garden Club of Dobbs Ferry Curious-on-Hudson Hastings PTSA Outreach/support offered / Notes Letter of support with Attachment A from PTSA President Mary McNamara who has strong interest in alternative energy and sustainability. Letter of support with Attachment A from this vanguard organization for all things sustainable. Green Clubs active in schools. DFSD has hosted virtually all the Energy Task Force events over the years at all three schools. Operates the Science Barge in Yonkers, a demonstration site for solar and other sustainable examples. Class trips from Springhurst Elementary every year, and hosts DF student interns. Works with many DF children and families. Tutoring program. PTSA President Lisa Litvin agreed to share on FB page, and will join BOE if it sends a blast 3

4 Hastings Board of Education Hastings Democratic Committee Nature Guides Program Hastings High School Environmental Club Vine Squad Hastings Downtown Advocate & Friday Night Live CSA River Spirit Music Tribes Hill Temple Beth Shalom Grace Episcopal Church in Hastings. First Unitarian Society Letter of support with Attachment A from BOE Chair Eileen Baecher providing outreach via and other communication to parents Providing outreach through their list A list is 380 people Enthusiastic about disseminating information list of 115 people committed to High attendance village-wide, monthly event where an information table will be set up Will make information available; serves both communities Pastor Anna Pearson's pledges support and will publicize in weekly e-newsletter and in announcements on Sunday; they are exploring whether solar might work on the Parish Hall roof will publicize in communications and in announcements to attendees IV. Media/Communication Outlets: Please list local newspapers, media outlets and communication networks (e.g., newspapers, newsletters, radio stations, television stations, municipal Cable TV stations, and lists, etc.): Name Notes Village of Hastings list that reach over 1800 people and 60-70% of all households Village of Dobbs Ferry list WHOH Hastings cable TV network will cover the campaign James Harmon Community Center list and bulletin board posting Rivertowns Enterprise Weekly local newspaper covering Dobbs Ferry and Hastings-on-Hudson Facebook very active page focuses on Hastings-on- Hudson and has over 2100 members; many are from Hastings-on-Hudson Rivertowns Patch online news source for local community including Hastings and Dobbs Ferry The Daily Hastings Posts events for the two communities Hudson Valley Magazine Monthly magazine with wide coverage 4

5 Journal News Journal News/LoHud Mommy Poppins Westchester Westchester Magazine Westchester Parent Facebook The Daily Dobbs Ferry Town of Greenburgh Supervisor Hastings Library - newsletter Online and daily print covering both communities Online and daily print covering both communities Will publicize campaign and events Issues come out in 3rd week of month prior to issue date. Go to website fm very active page focuses on Dobbs Ferry and has over 781 members; many are from Hastings-on-Hudson Posts events for the two communities blasts cover many residents of both communities; 2,700 on list, Supervisor Feiner will also publicize on his Facebook page, Twitter and Linkedin Will publicize through its communications V. Solar Installations in Your Community: Using the NYS Data Portal ( Non-Residentia/3x8r-34rs), state how many solar installations exist in your community in total. Use the filter function to gather relevant data regarding the number of installations in your municipality. Municipality Residential Commercial/Non-profit/ Municipal Installations Since All dates 1/1/ Industrial Installations Since All dates 1/1/2013 All dates Hastings-on-Hudson PV Installed 9 15 unknown 1 0 PV Permitted 5 5 unknown 0 0 Total PV unknown 0 0 Thermal Installed unknown 5 unknown 0 0 Total Solar unknown 1 0 Dobbs Ferry PV Installed unknown 15 unknown 2 3 PV Permitted unknown unknown Total PV unknown 15 unknown 2 3 Thermal Installed unknown unknown Total Solar unknown 15 unknown 2 3

6 V. Membership in Sustainable Westchester and Energy Improvement Corporation. Municipality (if applying as a consortium, list all) Member in Sustainable Westchester? (Y/N) Member in Energy Improvement Corporation? (Y/N) Hastings-on-Hudson Y N Dobbs Ferry Y N VI. Special Requests for Installers: Note below (in bulleted form) any special requests you may want to ask of installers bidding to support Solarize in your community. Special requests may include, but are not limited to, requests for: Marketing support for particular events or purposes. Specific equipment options (such as American-made panels, a solar hot water option, etc.), or Certain types of installers (such as indicating preference for installer s proximity to your town or level of experience). Special requests for installers: We would like to have 3 rd generation panels as options and state-of-the-art inverters There is interest in solar thermal so having that as a part of the panel mix would be good We prefer a locally-based installer, however other factors like evidence of installer capacity and documented success in other communities would likely supersede this preference We would like evidence that workers are receiving competitive wages and benefits relative to the standards of this industry, including health insurance. 6