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Committee approves two-year DOE pilot to add electric vehicles and chargers to county fleet
Summary
Wayne County—committee approved accepting a two-year U.S. Department of Energy grant to pilot electric vehicles and charging infrastructure at county field engineering facilities; staff said funds are reimbursable and the pilot would support up to eight vehicles and four dual-port chargers.
The Wayne County Economic Development Committee voted to approve acceptance of a two-year grant agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to pilot electric vehicles in the county fleet and install charging stations at the county field engineering office.
Hassan Shaikh, director of economic development, introduced the proposal and Erin Kelly, Sustainability and Innovation, described the project as acceptance of EECBG (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant) pilot funds to help the county understand what it means to own, operate and maintain electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. "These pilot funds will support us in taking steps around understanding what it means to own and operate electric vehicles for county staff purposes and also operate and manage charging infrastructure," Kelly said.
During discussion, Commissioner Bellamyra asked about funding timing: "Are we getting the whole 487,000 upfront for 2 years?" Staff responded that the federal grants are "highly reimbursable" and the county will submit for reimbursement once work is complete, and that staff had been coordinating with federal program officials to confirm fund availability. Staff said they were "comfortable" with current assurances but acknowledged federal decisions can change and the county had contingency plans.
Commissioners asked about project scope and timing. Staff said they would run a procurement process for vendors and work with the Department of Public Services to begin quickly once approvals are complete. County staff also discussed pursuing "direct pay" eligibility under IRS provisions that allow government entities to realize tax-credit-like benefits, noting that establishing county eligibility is a separate, lengthier process. Hasan Shaikh said the plan is to expend grant dollars for the pilot and pursue direct-pay eligibility for county-funded future investments.
The clerk recorded that the funds would support up to eight vehicles and up to four dual-port charging stations located at the county permit/engineering office, according to staff. The committee moved and supported the item and recorded a voice vote of "Aye." The item will be forwarded to the full commission for final acceptance of the grant agreement.
Next steps identified by staff include procurement to select vendors and coordination with fleet operations and DPS for implementation and reporting to the grantor.
