Town May Begin Using Some Electric Vehicles

In the near future, you may be seeing electric cars with the Town of Clayton logo zipping around town.

Town officials are "seriously considering" adding some non-gasoline vehicles to the town's fleet, especially for building inspectors, meter readers and other jobs that require short trips around town, according to Deputy Town Manager Nancy Medlin.

"It would be a perfect thing for them," said Medlin, who recently took a short training session on the new Nissan Leaf. "It's something that, in the next two or three years, we'll be looking at very seriously."

She said officials see electric vehicles as a way to cut operating expenses and reduce the town's carbon footprint at the same time.

Medlin said the Leaf, which she test drove, gets 100 miles to a charge and requires little maintenance. Electric vehicles would require charging stations, but she anticipates that they will be popping up around here anyway as time goes on.

"It was a very interesting vehicle, a regular-size car with lots of room," she said. "I found it to be a very nice ride. It was fun to drive, and could have application here."

The Leaf, along with other electric vehicles, is showing up on area streets in growing numbers, and town officials expect that trend to continue. Industry observers expect sales of electric vehicles to pick up momentum as the technology improves and Americans grow more and more unhappy with high gasoline prices.