Purchase Electric Street Sweeper for $650K - NO

This was a disappointing one: as we discussed options for purchasing a new street sweeper to replace our aging gas-powered vehicle, I was really hoping we'd be able to make the transition to electric. The two alternatives we considered were a gas-powered street sweeper priced at $311K, or an all-electric street sweeper priced at about $610K after factoring in available grants and rebates. While we're enthusiastic about electrifying the Town’s vehicle fleet as part of our broader climate goals, we were sad to learn that the electric street sweepers currently in production do not seem meet the Town's operational needs, as Corte Madera’s hilly terrain drastically reduces the range of these electric models. Recognizing this unfortunate fact, the Council opted not to move forward with the electric model at this time, although we did ask staff to take one more look at the market to make sure there isn't an electric model out there that we may have missed. While I hope and wish we could transition to electric street sweepers immediately, we may have to wait on that front for the technology to mature. In the meantime, we will continue exploring creative solutions for reducing our Town's emissions!