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Council approves extension of MOU for Aspen Mall EV charger reimbursement; activation blocked by credit-card vendor requirements
Summary
The City Council voted Sept. 23 to extend the memorandum of understanding needed to secure final reimbursement for an EV charging station installed at Aspen Mall, while staff works to resolve a separate hold-up over activating a credit-card reader for payments.
California City — The California City Council on Sept. 23 approved a staff recommendation to extend a memorandum of understanding so the city can seek final reimbursement for an electric-vehicle charging station installed at the Aspen Mall. Council approved the related resolution in a roll-call vote with all members voting yes.
Staff said the MOU extension is needed because the vendor-submitted final invoice was delayed. "We need this MOU to be extended so the city can be reimbursed for the final reimbursement of the cost of the EV charging station at the Aspen Mall," staff said in the meeting.
Council members also discussed a separate but related problem: the city has been unable to activate a card reader that would allow users to pay for charging because the card processor engaged by the vendor is requesting a personal guarantee (including a Social Security number) from an individual rather than accepting the city's employer identification number. The council asked staff to explore alternatives; staff said the vendor only works with a few card processors and those processors had insisted on a personal guarantee in the city’s case.
What council voted on: Resolution No. 253163 (as listed on the staff report) to extend the MOU for reimbursement of the EV charging station was approved by roll call (Council members Clark, Creighton, Hurls, Smith and Mayor Hawkins all voted yes). The council did not approve activation or vendor selection changes at the meeting; staff committed to continue looking for alternative card-processing arrangements and to consult with the finance director.
Details and concerns: Council members noted that other nearby municipalities have activated card readers and do not require personal guarantees from an individual and asked staff to research how those jurisdictions handled payment processing. A resident and board member of a rural water company said his board had faced a similar request and had provided an individual's name to satisfy the processor.
Bottom line: The council secured the funding pathway to obtain reimbursement for the Aspen Mall charger but unresolved payment-processing requirements continue to block the station's ability to collect revenue. Staff will continue outreach to finance staff and vendors to identify processors that accept the city's EIN or other solutions that avoid exposing an individual's personal information.
