Following in the Town of Marion's footsteps, the Rochester Board of Selectmen on Monday approved a request to apply for a Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Incentive Program grant.

The program is a state program that doles out grant funds to pay for a three-year lease of an electric vehicle for town use.

In speaking to the Selectmen, Facilities Manager Andrew Daniel discussed high vehicle mileage and various mechanical issues the town has with some of the cars used by departments. He said the grant program will buy the town three free years before officials need to have another discussion on replacing vehicles.

After seeing the Town of Marion's success in acquiring a Nissan Leaf and recently three BMW i3 models through the program, Daniel and Laurell Farinon from the Conservation Commission reached out to Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson for information.

They determined that the vehicles would cost the town nothing out of pocket.

“We’ve tried to find a negative argument and we really can’t,” Daniel said. “It’s a good deal.”

The program also provides a grant to pay for the electric charging stations for the vehicles, the only stipulation being that during business hours, the stations would have to be open for public use.

In addition to solving the town’s issues with its current vehicles, Daniel said another advantage to the electric vehicles is the fact that they're environmentally friendly.

“Everyone wants to go green," he noted. "These are completely green cars."

Many electric vehicles have interiors that are made of recycled and natural materials, in addition to the fact that they use no gasoline.

On one full charge, electric vehicles can travel approximately 100 miles. As part of the grant, the vehicles can’t have more than 30,000 miles put on them over the three years, but Daniel said the current vehicles are driven less than 5,000 miles a year.