Council allocates $25,000 for two EV chargers; staff to refine sites and costs

The Friendship Heights Village Council approved placing $25,000 into the capital improvement budget to fund the purchase and preliminary installation work for two Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on village-owned or managed property.

Council member Martha Sault, liaison to the Climate Change and Environment Committee, moved the allocation and said the committee identified a community need though no formal resident survey exists. The council approved the allocation and directed the village manager to work with the committee and interested council members to identify optimal locations, confirm permitting and utility requirements, and return with a detailed implementation plan for final council approval.

Members discussed several practical issues the staff will study before returning with a recommendation: access to near-term electrical service (trenching costs vary by distance to supply), whether charging should be free or metered, whether stations should be available to residents only, vendor procurement and bidding procedures, and maintenance and network fees. Mayor Melanie White and several council members noted that parking-fee regimes at private garages can make existing chargers effectively costly to use and that reliability of publicly advertised chargers can vary.

Council discussion also noted that the village is not a standard municipality and that some external grant programs or funding streams may be unavailable. The council instructed staff to explore feasibility, costs (including trenching and permitting) and procurement options and to return with a recommendation that includes location options and an implementation budget.

The allocation passed on a roll-call vote with unanimous support. The $25,000 placement in the capital improvement budget is intended to reserve funds so staff can pursue site-specific design and procurement without delay.