Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fleet Electrification topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Larkspur public works reports progress and limits on electrifying city fleet
Summary
Public Works Director Julian Skinner told the Feb. 11 forum that Larkspur has added two electric pickups and two Golfs to its fleet and is assessing replacements for five daily-use gas pickup trucks; charging at the maintenance yard is constrained by wiring owned by the school district.
Julian Skinner, Larkspur's public works director, updated the Climate Action Forum on the status of municipal vehicle electrification and near-term plans.
Skinner said public works operates a small maintenance fleet: six maintenance workers with assigned vehicles, a superintendent vehicle and shared engineering vehicles. "Our first EV purchase was swapping out some older gas vehicles for two new electric Golfs," he said, and added that the city purchased two Ford F-150 Lightnings last year and decommissioned two older gas pickups.
Charging infrastructure remains a constraint. Skinner told the forum the maintenance-yard charging panel is part of a building owned by the Tam Unified High School District, which complicates on-site electrical upgrades: "It's not our panel," he said. The city has installed level 2 chargers for the newer trucks and plans to monitor vehicle-use profiles to see if alternating chargers can meet operational needs.
On the police fleet, Skinner said the department has started taking delivery of battery-electric patrol vehicles and is installing 23 chargers at the police station intended for vehicles that remain inside the station gate; those chargers are not currently available for public use.
Skinner described a pragmatic replacement approach: targeting the five pickup trucks used daily for early EV replacement, while heavy-duty units like dump trucks lack mature EV options and will be evaluated as their technology improves.
Budget and procurement remain open items. Skinner said some replacements may be included in future budgets if numbers and incentives support accelerated buys. Forum members recommended exploring leasing options for heavy equipment while technology matures and checking recent trade shows for heavy-duty EV options.
Next steps: staff will continue usage monitoring, explore charging alternatives (library chargers, Piper library site), and evaluate grant and budget opportunities to accelerate fleet replacement where feasible.
