Town officials and a utility representative outlined plans for grant-funded electric-vehicle (EV) chargers during the Park Commission’s Jan. 23 meeting, saying the units would be publicly available and maintained by the utility under the grant terms.

Kevin Boyle, representing Middleborough Gas & Electric, told commissioners the grant application covers two banked sites — four chargers at the park site discussed and four at town hall — arranged as two dual-station units. He said the equipment would typically be ChargePoint-branded Level 2 chargers, which the utility would install, warranty and maintain. Boyle said the chargers must remain publicly accessible under the MassEVIP grant language and that middleborough would carry insurance to cover vandalism and accidental damage.

The commissioners pressed Boyle on hours, accessibility and ownership. Boyle said the grant requires chargers be open to the public at least 12 hours per day (some grant language requires availability 24/7 but allows temporary short shutdowns for special events), and signage will mark stalls as EV parking. He said at least 5% of ports in a bank of 20 or fewer must be designated to meet accessibility/ADA requirements, though any driver may use a public charger when it is available. The utility must report operational data — sessions, charging times and revenue — to the state for three years following award; after that three-year period the equipment becomes the utility’s property and regular reporting ends.

On timing, Boyle said MassEVIP approvals are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis and he is awaiting a response; once awarded the town would have 24 months from the date of award to install and commission the chargers. He said the selected park site was attractive because a three-phase service bank already sits on a nearby pole, which reduces construction complexity; changing the selected site after award would require reapplication or an update to the grant submission and could delay the project.

Why it matters: The grant plan would add public charging infrastructure intended to serve through-traffic and event visitors, not primarily residential charging. Commissioners flagged lighting, parking, and whether a police- or fire-station lot might be safer or better located; Boyle said site surveys can be performed if the commission prefers a different lot but the original Google-pin location was what was submitted for the grant.

Boyle also told the commission Volkswagen mitigation funds supply some of the available money for these installations and that MassEVIP runs alongside other state and settlement-based funding sources, so existing settlement money would be used for this specific program rather than the larger MassEVIP rounds that had been reported in the press.

Commissioners asked the town manager to confirm any final site changes before Boyle files final grant documentation. Boyle said Middleborough Gas & Electric would coordinate signage, warranty repairs (manufacturer responsibility) and insurance claims (utility responsibility) and would be the ongoing operator for the stations under the proposed arrangement.

Ending: The commission did not take a formal vote on a specific site at the Jan. 23 meeting but asked staff to circulate site options and to notify commissioners if an award and timeline are confirmed.