City to evaluate gas equipment use

The Mountain Brook City Council on June 24 decided to evaluate how the city uses gas-powered lawn and garden equipment. 

Per the request of Mayor Stewart Welch, the city will pay $10,000 to the American Green Zone Alliance and Quiet Communities, which will conduct an in-depth study of gas equipment use by the parks and recreation and public works departments. 

According to Welch, the AGZA and Quiet Communities will complete their study this summer before delivering a sustainability impact report to the city. The report will outline the environmental, health and noise impacts of gas equipment and compare them to those of battery-powered electric equipment. 

Welch said Mountain Brook is one of the first cities in the Southeastern U.S. to perform an assessment, which could prompt the city to swap some of its gas equipment for battery equipment.

“I think we ought to give it a try,” Welch said. “We need a leader in the South.” 

According to a proposal submitted to the city by the AGZA and Quiet Communities, gas equipment like leaf blowers, hedge trimmers and lawn mowers account for substantial amounts of air pollution, noise and waste. An AGZA Green Zone is an area certified in using low-noise equipment that doesn’t produce emissions.

“They’re going to look at where they’re doing the work, what equipment they’re currently using on the work, how much gas they’re using, what the maintenance costs are, and then they’ll compare that to the battery equipment,” Welch said. “The battery equipment is initially more expensive, but the maintenance costs are significantly lower.”

Before green-lighting the study, city staff reached out to other communities around the country that have created their own green zones through the AGZA. Their research yielded encouraging reviews from cities in California, Massachusetts, Oregon and Vermont. 

“We got positive feedback from them,” said Ronnie Vaughn, Mountain Brook’s public works director. “All of them really, really liked it.”

Once the groups complete their study in Mountain Brook, the city will decide if it wants to proceed and buy new equipment. Welch said the initial startup cost would be around $15,000. 

“My presumption is we will,” Welch said. “Then we’d purchase the equipment, and they’ll actually come and do some training on the equipment.” 

Welch said he would eventually like to create green zones in the city’s villages, since they experience the most foot traffic and are home to many restaurants with outdoor seating. Using electric equipment in those areas would mitigate air pollution and noise issues. 

Welch said he decided to explore this technology because he wants to improve quality of life for both residents and city employees, particularly equipment operators in the parks and recreation and public works departments. 

“You’re breathing gas fumes all day,” Welch said. “That can’t be good.” 

Even if the city begins to implement electric equipment, Welch said that it will not completely abandon gas equipment. The gas equipment is more powerful than the electric and is needed at certain times of the year, like when damp leaves accumulate in the fall. 

Vaughn said he is on board with using electric equipment as long as it can perform. 

“If it will do the job, then we’re all for it,” he said.