Water and Lake Commission approves termination of EV charging pilot; communities to receive $3,000 each

The Water and Lake Commission on March 5 approved terminating a pilot electric-vehicle (EV) charging-station program after the vendor ceased North American operations and the stations saw low use, and authorized acceptance of a $3,000 payment per community to dismantle the units, staff said.

Keith (staff member) told the commission the pilot — which installed Level 2 chargers near the theater parking lot — yielded only a few customers per month and suffered reliability problems in cold weather. He said the company that maintained the stations moved out of North America last October and was no longer able to service the units. "We decided to discontinue the pilot project," Keith said, and the utility is recommending approval of an agreement drafted by Avant Energy that releases the communities and the utility from liabilities tied to the equipment.

The commission voted to approve the termination and to authorize the vice chair to sign the agreement. Under the terms discussed in the meeting, the community would receive $3,000 and the funds would be delivered within about 20 days; city staff would dismantle the units when time is available. Ron (staff member) reviewed the draft agreement and did not raise objections on the public record, the meeting record shows.

Commissioners and staff discussed options for reuse or resale of the equipment but noted that without available maintenance support the chargers would likely be unusable. Keith said some other communities reported similar low utilization of Level 2 chargers and observed public preference for faster chargers or home charging.

Next steps: the vice chair will sign the termination agreement; funds will be disbursed and city staff will schedule dismantling of the stations.