Selectmen Agree to Buy Nissan Leaf

The Board of Selectmen in Ridgefield agreed to buy a $29,000 electric car, a Nissan Leaf, using a combination of money that will cost the town almost nothing.

First Selectman Rudy Marconi said the town won nearly $10,000 in an environmental contest. The state then agreed to give Ridgefield roughly $14,000 because it was buying a fully electric car. The Ridgefield Action Committee for the Environment (RACE) is giving Ridgefield $3,000, and the Ridgefield Parking Authority's Branchville Parking Lot account is contributing $2,000.

"We're hoping to set up an electric recharging station on Main Street," Marconi said.

He said the Parking Authority will use the car every day to monitor the Branchville commuter parking lot, which costs the town $45 a week in mileage reimbursement.

"This is a 100 percent electric car. There is no mileage reimbursement with it," Marconi said. The town can charge the car at the Ridgefield Playhouse until the Main Street charging device is installed.