Agenda - 12-15-1998 - 5c - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Chapel Hill News Sunday, December 28, 1997 Carrboro in driver's seat with electricity Want proposal asks state w money to convert two town' ebicles to electric power. kr DAVE Hmt:r rd Writer CARRBORO — Marty Mandell's fkeam of converting two town vehicles iaxri gasoline to electric • power in 1998 ax -coed to have blown a tire two weeks go after the Board of Aldermen declined t sign on to a grant proposal requesting We funds for the project. The board was generally enthusiastic bout the project, which . sought funds diii a •'giant pittiiiri administered by ie N.C. Deparitnent of Environment and atur it Resources. But Mandell'$ iW -her d1dagtiea had had to draw up the get oposal in a terrific hurry to meet both e Dec...31: grant deadline and the Board Aldermen's Dec. 16 meeting;. which could be the last time it had a chance to >osider the idea before the deadline. At that meeting, the board decided. the ugh -draft proposal simply wasn't com- de and detailed enough to put its name MMnddell's dream appeared to be dead tthe shoulther. Ent flat tines can be fixed, and mdeWs plan is back on the road. The ENR extended the grant application adline until Jan. 7. The Board of Mermen "meets again on Jan. 6. Mandell 1 company have been working fever - irp to get the grant proposal tuned up rime to make both dates. rve seen the completed proposal, and Irk it looks good," said Carrboro Vor Mike Nelson, who will be on a trip Cuba when the board meets to conshd- he plan: "I wish I was going to be here, muse I'd vote for it, and I hope the !d supports it. "I wouldn't characterize what we did before.as.a .rejection of the.i4ea. We just sent it back to "be _rewoiked: That's -been done, and !,think it's a real exciting pro- ject. It's the kind. of thing - Carrboro can take on and do weu: - ! The proposal, which would be made in the name of the town, seeks $38,5(10 in funds 'from the Mobile Source Emission Reduction grant program, which disburses money to groups and individuals exploring innovative ways of reducing vehicle emissions. The money would be used to convert two vehicles — a light pickup truck for use by the town's public works department and a hatchback car as part of the town's pool of vehicles -r from gasoline to electric power. Mandell said each car will take six months and from $5,000 to $10,000 to convert. The rest of the grant funds will to' associated- costs such as labor, administration and technical assistance. - NIt won't. cost the town a penny," ; she said. "All town employee costs will come out . of the grant. I think our budget will more than cover the total cost of the project. It's a project all of .us can endorse. It.seems like a lot of money, but in the long run it will save money, and it will help pre- - serve the environment. . '"Phis is the wave of the future, and it would be wonderful for Carrboro to lead the way." Mandell said Bob Zickefoose of 1 i the Advanced Energy Corporation in.Raleigh would serve as instructor and head mechanic, guiding a group of local mechanics and inter- ested participants through the process. The first two cam, she said, would serve as pilot projects, to teach other people and communities how to make similar conversions. "We have several goals," she said. "The immediate goal is for the town to do these first two vehi- cles as a sort of demonstration pro- ject. We'll do it and teach other people how to do it. Then there's a long -term vision of running an electric shuttle bus, maybe from i Carrboro Plaza through the two business . districts and out to Eastgate or Lowe's. The towns j 13 would benefit. The businesses would benefit. The environment would benefit. " The DENR began the grant ro- gram in 1993 and first awarded funds in 1995. About $1.8 million has been granted to various individ- uals .and groups throughout the state, and the program anticipates distributing about $450,000 in 1998. For 1998, Mandell said, the grant committee said it would focus on Projects that explore alternative fuel use, increase public awarenes and encourage the reduction o vehicle miles traveled. 1 think we hit all three:' Mandell said. "it suits us perfectly. I think it's a wonderful idea that should have a lot of support in this community." r �-