New Haven Independent

At their full board meeting Monday, aldermen gave the city the OK to apply to and accept two grants to make the initiatives possible.

A $1.3 million, three-year grant in federal stimulus money would be used to improve energy efficiency among city buildings, help homeowners do the same, and create an Office of Sustainability: Click here to read about that.

Rob Smuts, the city’s chief administrative officer, said he expects the city will see the cash by the end of the summer. The city would then hire a new director of sustainability to create and implement a citywide policy for green issues.

Aldermen also gave the city the OK to apply to, and accept, $380,256 from the state Department of Environmental Protection for “the construction of a twenty-space electrified truck stop in the New Haven Port District.” The project would reduce exhaust fumes in surrounding neighborhoods because trucks would no longer have to idle.