GREENWICH, CT – Residents and members of the Greenwich town legislature are pitching a plan to town officials to run part of the town's fleet on natural gas to reduce air pollution, according to the Greenwich Tim. The Representative Town Meeting's Transportation Committee unanimously approved the conclusions of a $5,000 study bankrolled by garden clubs that projects the town could realize a small savings and reduce harmful emissions by replacing some diesel and conventional gasoline cars with compressed natural gas vehicles. The Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) reviewed the study this fall. The cost of retrofitting OEM vehicles to run on natural gas is considerable, but results in greater fuel efficiency, Town Fleet Director Betty Linck said. Because of its high hydrogen content, natural gas engines create less harmful emissions than those powered by gasoline or diesel. BET Chairman Peter Tesei said town finance officials have reviewed the plan, and would support similar proposals if Linck or other groups demonstrated that environmentally friendly vehicles would be reliable and not result in any prohibitive costs. “It's a good issue to talk about,” Tesei said. “More and more people themselves are considering hybrids as an alternative, especially with the rising cost of gas.” Tesei said other strategies like tracking the fuel use of town cars and trucks by employees, especially those who are provided cars for personal use, are also worth pursuing. “I think the town should revisit those positions that have vehicles they take home,” Tesei said. “We should limit that use to only those people who have to respond on an emergency basis.” Linck said no town study has been done to consider the advantages of hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels. Currently the 300-vehicle town fleet uses about 130,000 gallons of diesel and 215,000 gallons of regular gasoline annually, she said. About a decade ago, Linck proposed converting the town's fleet to compressed natural gas, but today she considers purchasing electric/gas hybrid vehicles and using fuels like biodiesel as bet-ter bets for providing a measure of environmental benefit without a large financial risk. “We've been looking at getting into more fuel efficient vehicles,” Linck said. “The town missed a wonderful opportunity 10 years ago and hopefully we can move towards some other sort of efficient vehicle using less gas and diesel.” Other towns and cities including Bridgeport, New Haven, Stratford, Trumbull, and Fairfield have been increasing the number of natural gas vehicles in their fleets. Since 1998, Fairfield has purchased 31 hybrid and natural-gas vehicles, including a 14-passenger bus for senior citizens and has had no problems with maintenance, Jeff Cornwell, the town's fleet director said.