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Select Board adopts EV‑first fleet policy to pursue Climate Leader Community grants
Summary
The Canton Select Board on June 2 adopted a Zero Emissions Vehicle First procurement policy for municipal and school light‑duty fleet replacements to qualify for Climate Leader Community grants; board members debated costs, chargers and staffing before approving the policy.
The Canton Select Board voted June 2 at Memorial Hall to adopt a Zero Emissions Vehicle First (ZEVF) procurement policy, a step town officials say is necessary to qualify for Climate Leader Community (CLC) certification and related grant funding. The board first waived the normal review period and then approved the EV‑first policy after extended discussion about costs and implementation.
Greg Murphy of the Sustainability/Climate Action Plan Committee, who presented the policy, said it sets procurement priorities for vehicle replacements: "By adopting this policy, what it means is that when it comes time to replace a vehicle, you will consider a battery battery electric vehicle 1st or an EV 1st," he told the board. Murphy and other presenters said the new policy adds a planned replacement‑year reporting field and an exemption process for vehicles that cannot meet operational needs.
Supporters argued the change is limited in near‑term scope and opens access to grant funding that could offset infrastructure costs. "The ask here is just to check this last box, which will reveal our opportunity as one of 40 climate leader communities to attain grants," one board member summarized during the meeting. Opponents and some residents urged caution, pointing to missing cost estimates and readiness concerns: "We're not ready to buy 20 electric cars to put a town hall, where we have no charging station," a board member said during the Q&A.
Presenters cited the town vehicle inventory in their explanation: of 166 municipal and school vehicles in the Mass Energy Insight report, about 146 were listed as exempt from the policy, leaving roughly 20 vehicles that could be affected initially. They also said some grant programs provide significant infrastructure funding and that level‑2 chargers typically cost in the $3,000–$10,000 range to install depending on wiring and site work.
The board and presenters noted timing constraints: the town was urged to approve the policy before the June 11 school committee meeting so the schools could follow the select board, and presenters cited an August 7 application deadline for a decarbonization accelerator grant. The transcript records the board approving both a waiver of the review period and the policy itself; the meeting record does not include a detailed roll‑call tally in the public transcript.
