Augusta Commissioners voted Tuesday to ask the city administrator to pursue a 60-day report on transitioning from combustion engines to electric power for all non-emergency city vehicles.
“This is not a discussion for today,” Mayor Hardie Davis told commissioners. “This is just to allow the administrator and central services to study the matter and then come back to us with suggestions.
District Ten Commissioner John Clarke and District Eight Commissioner Brandon Garrett agreed with the mayor that Augusta should proceed with an informal study that might phase out combustion engines as the current vehicles in use reach the end of their life spans.
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Garrett was not only supportive of the discussion on electric vehicles, he said the conversation should include vehicles powered by natural gas.
“A couple of years ago we built two natural gas facilities, and I think our city should be utilizing that with our city vehicles, “Garrett said. “It’s a great resource, it’s clean burning and it’s abundant.”
District Six Commissioner Ben Hassan chided the mayor for skipping the committee process with that issue and others, saying the mayor’s penchant for going around the committee cycle caused commission meetings to run long.
“These discussions and things, for all intents and purposes, short of emergency situations, should go through the committee process,” Hassan said.
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The Commission voted 7-3 to move forward and allow the city administrator to pursue the matter and make recommendations in 60 days.
Davis told the group that moving to zero-emission vehicles could create jobs in Augusta, especially if Club Car and Ingersoll-Rand began to produce electric cars. While there is no indication that Club Car plans to move away from producing golf cars to full size vehicles, the International City Managers Association has published articles touting the benefits of zero-emission vehicles.
According to the ICMA, cities that have adopted zero-emission vehicles for city owned transportation not only cut emissions way down, but it also sets a good example for the community.
The ICMA suggests cities start with a strategic plan and move slowly to work out any unexpected kinks in the transition.
Scott Hudson is the Managing Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
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