Marion Recreation Department Director Jody Dickerson is liking the department’s new ride that just arrived last week – a 2015 all-electric Nissan Leaf the town acquired through a state grant that funds a three-year lease and powering stations to charge the vehicle.
Dickerson said the car arrived the night of March 29, and two charging stations have been installed at the Town House and one at the Recreation Building on Atlantis Drive.
“It’s perfect for those day-to-day jobs around town,” said Dickerson while taking The Wanderer for a test drive of his new wheels on April 5. “I’m not used to how quiet it is. You hear everything else around you. All you hear while driving is the tires on the road.”
The car can hold a charge for roughly 90 miles of driving and is then hooked up to one of the charging stations over night.
The Marion Energy Management Committee secured the grant that enabled the town to acquire the vehicle. Committee member Norm Hills said he was there for the car’s arrival, but he hadn’t yet had a chance to test it out.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Hills on April 5 over the phone. “It should save the town a lot of money. It cost us close to nothing, if not nothing.”
Hills said the Energy Management Committee is pushing to acquire another grant to fund an additional two electric vehicles for the town.
“We went with one [car] to get our feet wet,” Hills said. “We’re going to initiate getting the next two.”
Having the new car has worked out well for the Marion Rec Department, said Dickerson. And the timing of it all couldn’t have been better. Since the arrival of the new car, the gas tank fell off of the Recreation Department’s old 2004 Crown Victoria, a retired police cruiser handed down first to the Board of Health and then over to Recreation.
“It was time,” said Dickerson. “It was unable to pass inspection.”
So it’s off to the junk yard, Dickerson said.
The Nissan Leaf, he said, is a perfect fit for the Town of Marion. No more repair expenses, no more gas-guzzling, and less of an impact on the environment.
“Any little part that we can do to help…” said Dickerson. “And the savings to the town…”
By Jean Perry
