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Council reviews $195,000 HDR scope to plan EV charging at City Hall, Public Works and Police lots
Summary
Staff outlined a proposed professional services agreement with HDR Engineering to perform comprehensive predesign and feasibility work for electric vehicle charging across three city sites; council discussed infrastructure costs, funding options and next steps but did not vote.
City staff presented a proposal on May 22 to hire HDR Engineering to perform a comprehensive predesign and feasibility study for electric vehicle (EV) charging at three city locations: the Public Works lot, the City Hall lot and the police department lot.
Why it matters: The study would identify electrical capacity, transformer needs, Seattle City Light interconnection requirements, meter strategy, traffic and parking impacts, cost estimates and potential funding sources before the city commits to construction dollars.
Miss Phillips (project presenter) told the council the HDR fee is about $195,000 and that the city previously declined two $75,000 Commerce construction grants because staff and recent analysis showed the installation would be costlier and required more site work than originally estimated. She said the city’s CIP contains a preliminary budgeted estimate of $341,000 from earlier work, but HDR will provide a more accurate cost estimate and identify funding opportunities.
Council members asked technical and financial questions: Councilmember Liebo suggested a “work backward” approach focused first on what Seattle City Light and existing infrastructure can support; he also asked where the CIP line item is budgeted. Staff identified the line on page 115 of the adopted budget as “Public Works/City Hall EV charger study” after the project pivoted to a study scope. Councilmember Bridal and others pressed for clear cost ceilings and asked whether a less costly, high‑level feasibility estimate would be appropriate before spending the full PSA amount; others noted the study overlaps with planned generator, electrical and fleet decisions and argued the analysis will produce information the city needs regardless of immediate construction.
Staff emphasized the study will also produce narrative materials and cost estimates useful for future grant applications; Commerce staff had said declining earlier construction grants does not disqualify the city from future funding.
Ending: The council did not move to approve the HDR agreement at this meeting. Councilmembers asked staff for a second presentation round and additional answers to technical and budget questions, including likely infrastructure limits, the study’s deliverables and how the city might phase charging installations.
