fmaceachern@wiltonvillager.com

WILTON — Wilton will be moving towards using hybrid vehicles after the board of selectmen approved buying a Ford Escape hybrid vehicle for the planning and zoning department.

The town is eligible for a maximum $5,000 state grant through the Connecticut Clean Fuel Program to encourage towns to buy the fuel-efficient vehicles.

Selectman Ted Hoffstatter praised the selection of the Ford Escape as the town's choice noting it was important to support American business.

Fellow selectmen Richard Creeth took a different tack. He said the priority should be to buy the best vehicles and said Toyota is the leader in producing the best hybrid vehicles. He also noted the technology Ford uses for its engine is Japanese.

"It's embarrassing," said Creeth about Toyota's lead. "I wish it were an American car maker instead of a foreign car maker."

The vehicle will cost about $32,000 before any available state aid, the selectmen were told.

The Ford Escape is the best choice said Town Planner Robert Nerney because it fits all the requirements including being cheaper than its competitors.

It will replace a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer which is used by the Planning and Zoning Department and the Environment Department. It's showing its age, said Nerney.

"We put several thousand dollars into it last year and the frame is rotting. It really is a vehicle which has seen its time," he said. "We want our equipment to be safe."

The state program makes investing in hybrid vehicles feasible, said Nerney, because they are more up to $6,000 more expensive then their conventional counterparts.

"We've been interested in a hybrid vehicle for some time and the way I look at it is, nothing ventured, nothing gained, " said Nerney. "The program is there and other towns have used it; we should as well. The town is looking to explore creative ways to save fuel and to do its part to help the environment," said Nerney.

He doesn't expect the Escape to be purchased before December.