Jackson council directs staff to draft user-fee plan and seek vendor to manage town EV chargers

The Jackson Town Council on March 17 directed staff to draft a plan to initiate user fees for town‑owned electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and to issue a request for proposals to find a vendor to lease and manage current and future chargers.

Tanya Anderson, ecosystem stewardship administrator, told the council the purpose of the item was “for council to consider user fees for town owned electric vehicle charging stations and potential price and structure.” Anderson framed the discussion as seeking “big picture… yes, no, and then guardrails” on whether to charge, how much to aim to recover, and whether to have a third‑party vendor operate the chargers.

Why it matters: Town staff said public EV charging is one lever in the community’s plan to reach net‑zero goals and to reduce transportation emissions, which staff estimated account for roughly 60% of local emissions. Council members and commenters focused on balancing affordability and access for residents without home charging against the town’s interest in recovering operating costs and managing turnover at fast chargers.

Staff briefing and numbers Tanya Anderson said the town currently spends less than $40,000 a year on electricity, software and maintenance for 12 charging ports — two DC fast chargers and 10 Level‑2 ports — and that approximately two‑thirds of the current cost is for the two fast chargers. She estimated that adding new stations would raise annual operating costs to roughly $115,000 with a similar share attributable to fast charging. Anderson told the council the staff target was “use, not profit,” and staff recommended setting fees that generally break even while allowing the DC fast chargers to be charged at a higher rate than Level‑2 ports to encourage turnover.

Johnny Zane, assistant public works director, said usage tracking is possible but limited because the current free system requires little user data; the town’s platform logs charging events and kilowatt‑hours but does not reliably identify unique vehicles when chargers are free.

Examples and price guidance Staff compared charging costs to gasoline: depending on vehicle and charging location, staff said equivalent fuel costs for 100 miles could range from about $2 (home charging) to about $15 (a gasoline pickup), with breakeven public charging generally in the neighborhood of 10–16¢ per kilowatt‑hour under the town’s assumptions. Anderson said peer communities charge wide ranges — she cited examples of 10–25¢ for Level‑2 and 25–40¢ for DC fast charging — and that national averages were “just under 35¢” per kilowatt‑hour. She recommended fee structures that encourage turnover (idle fees) and options for local discounts.

Public comment Two local EV owners spoke during public comment. Kevin Cawkri, identifying himself as an EV owner, urged caution about equity: residents who live in multiunit housing and cannot charge at home rely on public chargers and could be disproportionately affected by high fees. He asked the town to consider overnight access in public lots and parking garages. Pavel Wasson, another EV owner, urged the council to keep Level‑2 charging affordable for residents and supported idle fees for fast chargers to discourage long stays.

Council discussion and motions Council members discussed metrics of success (kilowatt‑hours, charging events, unique vehicles), software reporting capabilities, local discounts and the tradeoffs between free charging to encourage adoption and charging to cover costs. Several council members supported a “breakeven” approach for Level‑2 stations and moderately higher rates for DC fast chargers.

Motion and vote summaries - Motion: “Direct staff to draft a plan to initiate user fees at the town on the electric vehicle charging stations using the criteria discussed at this meeting.” Mover: Councilwoman Beam. Second: Councilman Reuben. Vote: unanimous. Outcome: approved. - Motion: “Direct staff to draft an RFP to seek a vendor that will lease and manage the current and future town owned charging stations and pay the town of Jackson a portion of revenue generated.” Mover: Councilwoman Veenan. Second: Councilman Regan. Vote: unanimous. Outcome: approved.

What happens next Staff will return with a proposed fee and discount structure and an RFP draft for council review. Anderson said the town’s platform can report charger health, usage, and outages and that the RFP process will address whether a vendor would access the town’s platform and how pricing control would be negotiated. The council asked staff to ensure the software and any vendor proposals can provide metrics useful for measuring success (usage, unique users, time‑of‑day, and turnover behavior).

Ending The council’s unanimous votes authorize staff to develop concrete fee proposals and to explore vendor arrangements; both items will return for further council review before any fees are adopted or a contract is signed.