LEEF awards underwrite purchase of new equipment in three towns

The Northwest Corner towns of Falls Village, Kent and Sharon were awarded Lawn Equipment Exchange Fund (LEEF) Awards by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). LEEF Awards are grants given to towns to help pay for the cost of purchasing new equipment that is environmentally friendly. The program was announced last fall. Interested towns were asked to submit applications and equipment inventories by December 2010. On March 24, 2011, the DEP announced that Falls Village would receive $1,975.12 to replace three pieces of equipment, Kent would receive $2,479.77 to replace seven pieces of equipment and Sharon would receive $2,855.72 to replace seven pieces of equipment. To qualify for the funding, which covers 80 percent of the cost of the new equipment, the towns had to show proof to the DEP that the old equipment had been destroyed and would not be sold or used by anyone else. “The main objective of the project was to eliminate polluting equipment,” said Kent First Selectman Bruce Adams. Kent Highway Foreman Rick Osborne purchased new equipment as soon as he heard that the town would receive the funding. “I made the old equipment inoperable and then brought it to a scrap yard,” Osborne said. Kent has now purchased four new chainsaws, a backpack blower, a weed trimmer and a pole pruner. The town of Sharon applied to have 15 pieces of equipment, but only the seven oldest were approved by the DEP for replacement. No new equipment has been purchased yet, and First Selectman Bob Loucks is planning to wait until the new fiscal year, as the town is still responsible for 20 percent of the cost. Sharon also plans to replace its chainsaws and weed trimmers. Falls Village First Selectman Pat Mechare was not available for comment.