This rainbow was seen between storm fronts over Church Street in Saranac Lake at 10:45 a.m. Friday, Dec. 23. (Enterprise photo — Scott Patnode)

SARANAC LAKE — The vote was tight. Really tight. The village of Saranac Lake fell to Brattleboro, Vermont in a “Strongest Town” contest Friday by just a handful of votes.

The village here took second place in the urban planning contest, pulling in 49.55% of the votes, while Brattleboro, another northeastern mountain town some 128 miles away, came away with a victorious 50.45% of the votes.

Strong Towns Program Director Rachel Quednau said 3,333 votes were cast in the final round. Strong Towns readers’ and listeners’ votes get more weight — comprising 50% of the tally and non-member votes making up the other 50%.

“It’s not just a popularity contest,” Quednau said.

In this case, she said “Brattleboro received slightly more member votes and that tipped the balance.”

“This was one of the closer calls we’ve had in Strongest Town Contest history, and our hats are off to both of our finalists,” a Strong Towns announcement of the winner stated.

Strong Towns is a nonprofit media organization that has hosted this contest for the past eight years. The program advocates for urban planning models outside of the suburban model that became popular in the mid-20th century. This includes goals such as reducing reliance on vehicles; creating dense, walkable communities with housing flexibility; and transparency in local governmental accounting.

Saranac Lake village Parks and Trails Advisory Board member Charli Lomino, who came up with the idea of submitting Saranac Lake for the contest, said he was still proud of the village, even with a second-place finish.

“There’s always next year,” Lomino said on Friday.

When the final round of voting started, he said, at first, he was sure Brattleboro was going to win — the town has twice Saranac Lake’s population with around 12,184 residents.

The two communities have several similarities that were not lost on Strong Towns members — preserved historic downtowns, walkable neighborhoods, strong arts communities and numerous outdoor recreation opportunities.

Brattleboro will receive accommodations for a representative to attend the Strong Towns National Gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina, in May to receive an award. Strong Towns also plans to produce videos about the Vermont town later this spring.

“Honestly, I’m really happy about how well we did against them,” Lomino said. “I’m excited to try again next year.”

He believes Saranac Lake is still a good representation of Strong Towns principals. Lomino has been a member of Strong Towns for a little while. When he moved to town a year ago after spending his life living in larger New York metropolises like Long Island, Rochester and Albany, he said he immediately noticed a difference in the Adirondacks.

Lomino lived in more populated places his whole life, but he said Saranac Lake is the first time he hasn’t been reliant on his car to live a day-to-day life.

Lomino felt that Saranac Lake “had a good shot” at the contest and worked with village Community Development Director Jamie Konkoski and Franklin County Economic Development Corporation CEO Jeremy Evans to enter Saranac Lake.

Quednau said she enjoyed learning about this “small but mighty” village and looks forward to seeing it in competition again next year.

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Comments on Saranac Lake

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The final round featured an analysis of Saranac Lake written by Rebecca Holderness, a Strong Towns member and CEO of a software business focused on project management, architecture and community activism.

“Saranac Lake hits all the major points of a small strong town,” Holderness wrote. “There is no single-family zoning in the town, which I find impressive. The town is organized around multi-modal transportation with careful deliberation. … The entire village is navigable by foot. In fact, the community is engaged in preserving these connected trails and paths, and there is clear commitment to walkability.”

While she said some of these commitments were “remarkable,” she also said “Saranac Lake’s strength is also its vulnerability.”

“With no geographic room to grow and limited industry, how does it secure future economic growth?” Holderness asked.

To her, the town needs to plan to attract new and diverse industries to grow. She also said she wished Saranac Lake’s application had more photos.