Patchogue Village purchases first electric car

Patchogue Village’s Clean Fleet Policy is about to charge up.

The village board approved the purchase of a Chevy Bolt EV from Eagle Chevrolet on Oct. 26 after bids came back. The car cost $28,154.

“In January we adopted a clean fleet policy, which in my opinion is a huge statement from the board to get away from fuel emissions,” said trustee Joe Keyes. “We got the charging station in our parking lot, so the next step was an electric vehicle.”

“Within the first year you start to see savings because there’s no fuel to purchase, no oil, and overall maintenance is a lot cheaper than using a fossil fuel care, even using electricity,” he added. “But the real benefit, of course, is not polluting the air.”

Keyes said village officials were in discussion regarding which department gets to use it.

“Either code enforcement or building and housing,” he said.

The goal, Keyes said, is to replace the entire fleet of 15 sedans. “Some of them are pretty new. Hopefully, we’ll replace two next year.”

A charging station was installed next to the handicap spot at the Village Hall parking lot earlier this year. The public has access to the station via credit card use.