Rhinebeck board agrees to pursue state DEV grant and explore a Level 3 EV fast-charger site

The board discussed whether to apply for a New York State DEV grant that provides funds for electric-vehicle infrastructure. The grant can provide up to $250,000 per site; board members were told typical installed costs for a 350 kW DC fast charger site are on the order of $125,000–$150,000 for the charger hardware and roughly $200,000 total for a prepared site, with electrical service and installation costs varying by location.

Village staff said Central Hudson reviewed the preferred municipal parking site near existing Level 2 chargers, indicated it could support the needed three-phase service and offered to assist with bringing primary service at no charge; the village would be responsible for pole placement and some site work. Board members discussed ADA-accessibility requirements, farmers-market impacts for the proposed location and options to place the charger in a lower lot that is less ADA accessible.

Grant rules and matching requirements were discussed. Members said the program normally requires a 20% match, but lower matches can apply depending on median household income and disadvantaged-community designations; staff said preliminary household-income thresholds could reduce the match to 10% if data and surveys support that status. Board members debated whether the investment was appropriate for a parking lot that also serves emergency services but ultimately agreed to explore the application and asked staff to work with Central Hudson on a task order to prepare the grant paperwork.

No final procurement or funding decision was made that night; the board voted to allow staff to pursue the application and continue site coordination work prior to submitting a proposal by the announced deadline.