Goodbye gas guzzlers: State grant helps fund Lake Grove's new electric vehicles 

Lake Grove officials think they have the solution to wildly fluctuating fuel prices.

The village in Brookhaven Town has purchased three electric sedans to replace aging gasoline-powered vehicles that code enforcement officers and building inspectors used.

Coupled with plans to power up the new vehicles at a village-owned charging station, officials figure their fuel bill from the building and code inspection departments will practically disappear.

“The home run for us is that we actually have solar panels on the roof of our garage," Mayor Robert Scottaline told Newsday. "We're powering them with solar panels, so it's free money for us."

The village bought the new cars over the past two years for a total of $85,777, Village Clerk Kara Haufler said. The cars included two Chevrolet Bolts purchased in June 2021 for $28,494 each and another Bolt bought in July for $28,789, she said.

The purchases were partially reimbursed by a $22,500 grant that state Department of Environmental Conservation officials announced Dec. 5. Lake Grove's grant was among $567,500 in grants awarded for electric vehicles purchased by 10 municipalities statewide, officials said.

Lake Grove was the only municipality in Suffolk or Nassau counties to receive a grant. The state awarded New York City $367,500 for 49 electric vehicles.

State officials want to make it "more affordable for communities to green their fleets and make the switch to cleaner vehicles, resulting in lower fuel costs for taxpayers," DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement.

Electric vehicle purchases on Long Island have grown dramatically in recent years and are expected to continue climbing.

State and Long Island Power Authority officials have said EVs registered on Long Island nearly doubled from about 17,000 two years ago to about 32,000 now and could skyrocket to 180,000 over the next five years. 

Lake Grove officials decided to switch to electric cars after retiring a Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Taurus and Ford Escape, which had been on the road between 17 and 23 years, Scottaline said.

“The vehicles we had were old and gas guzzlers,” he said, adding they were frequently in the shop for repairs. “We’re saving a fair amount of money.”

The electric cars can go about 270 to 280 miles between charges, Scottaline said. Village code inspectors will use two of the vehicles and a building inspector will use the other.

“The adjustment to using them is basically nothing. The one thing is they don’t make any noise,” the mayor said. “We’re three square miles, so they don’t go very far.”

The small village had 11,092 residents in 2021, according to U.S. Census figures. About half Smith Haven Mall lies in the village, which also is home to other large shopping centers.

Scottaline said the new cars will be well-used because village code and building inspectors are on the road throughout the day looking for possible violations.

“Those are the vehicles that go out every day,” he said. “Not to beat people up, but we like to keep things looking nice.”

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.