Waco park rangers get their first electric car | Local Govt. and Politics

The city of Waco is excited to continue on the road to becoming more environmentally friendly as the parks department welcomes its first electric car.

The department received the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EUV June 15. It is part of a city effort, with an eye toward efficiency, to ensure its vehicles are right for the tasks at hand.

“We are looking for the opportunities such as this one where we can not only downgrade from a truck to a sedan but also to an electric vehicle,” city general services director Kelly Holecek said.

Holecek said the city is reviewing its entire fleet of sedans and light-duty trucks, evaluating their performance, the types of jobs they are used on and other factors to see if they are able to make more environmentally friendly switches.

“Obviously the effects on things like climate change, pollution, we are trying to minimize our carbon footprint,” she said. “They do cost a little more than what we typically spend, but it is a priority for council to reduce our carbon footprint.”

The city has four electric vehicles, one for the park rangers, one for the information technology department, one for the fleet department and one for code enforcement, which is still finalizing the wrap that will be applied, advertising that it is a green vehicle.

The new electric vehicle for the park rangers cost the city $32,000.