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Brookline accepts Mass EVIP grant for Baker School chargers, sets school charging fee at 35'¢/kWh
Summary
Select Board accepted a MassEVIP reimbursement award to install two dual‑port Level 2 chargers at Baker School and approved a 35¢ per kilowatt‑hour fee for school EV charging stations, aligning Baker and Driscoll rates.
The Brookline Select Board voted Sept. 16 to accept a Mass EVIP grant of $48,493.20 to subsidize the installation of a two‑station (four ports) high‑output Level 2 electric vehicle charging installation at Baker School and to set a charging fee of 35¢ per kilowatt‑hour for the town's school charging locations (Baker and Driscoll). The School Committee reviewed and endorsed the Baker site selection, town sustainability staff said.
Town sustainability director Alexandra Vecchio said the chargers are high‑output Level 2 units rated at about 19 kW per port (faster than a typical 7 kW Level 2) but not DC fast chargers. Project costs were described as approximately $100,000 in one explanation and as $82,980 in another; the MBTA grant award covers $48,493.20 and the town will fund the balance from prior EV charging reimbursements and the town's EV revolving fund. Town staff said the higher output Level 2 units represent the fastest alternating‑current option before switching to DC fast chargers, and that Level 3/DC fast chargers would require major electrical upgrades at the school and could raise project costs into the several‑hundred‑thousand‑dollar range.
The board also reviewed operations: the town uses ChargePoint as its station vendor and operator on town‑owned stations; vendor fees and cloud service costs account for part of the per‑kWh charge (town staff said about 10% of revenue covers vendor/operational fees). The fee structure is intended to make the charging network self‑sustaining; the EV revolving fund pays for electricity, maintenance and cloud services.
Select Board members asked about utilization and siting strategy; transportation staff said utilization varies by location and earlier chargers in certain municipal lots were built at a higher quantity than current demand warranted. Town staff said they now site chargers with a corridor‑level view and monitor utilization, and that units at Baker will serve school staff and the neighborhood (playground and courts) in addition to occasional public use.
The Select Board approved both acceptance of the Mass EVIP grant and the 35¢/kWh school charging rate by unanimous vote (motion carried, 5‑0). Town staff said they will proceed with procurement and installation and will continue to monitor station utilization and maintenance needs through the EV revolving fund.
Ending: The board asked staff to continue to track utilization, revisit signage and restrictions where underutilized networks exist, and return with updates on systemwide charging performance as the program grows.
