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La Porte sustainability commission reviews plan to upgrade four EV chargers and add four more
Summary
The La Porte City Sustainability Commission reviewed ChargePoint procurement options and pricing for upgrading four existing Level 2 chargers and adding four new public stations, discussed likely downtown locations, and agreed to gather usage data before expanding the city's network.
At its March meeting, the La Porte City Sustainability Commission reviewed procurement options from ChargePoint to upgrade the city's four existing electric-vehicle charging stations and add four new public Level 2 ports, with quoted price ranges for units and service.
A commission member reading Tucker's notes told the group that the ChargePoint options include hardware plus software and remote management, and that Level 2 port stations were "priced at $10,000 each, uh and $16,000 each depending on specific hardware/configuration and services selected," with software and maintenance licensing options for one to five years. The commission recorded that the procurement bundle would include the charging hardware and a management dashboard to monitor usage.
Commissioners discussed likely public locations for the new chargers, favoring downtown sites (State Street over Lincoln Way), event-oriented areas such as near Fox Park, and city parks. Several members recommended clustering three or four chargers together where adequate power already exists because, as one commissioner explained, "the power drop is expensive," and placing multiple stations at a single feed reduces per-unit infrastructure costs.
The commission debated whether to push an ordinance requiring new commercial developments to include EV-ready infrastructure (conduit and electrical capacity) rather than requiring property owners to install chargers immediately. Members agreed to research how such language fits into the city's comprehensive plan and to consult the city attorney and planning commission on feasibility before drafting any ordinance.
Next steps: the commission will seek usage data for existing city-owned stations, ask engineering for traffic and power-availability information, invite Planning Commission staff (Craig Phillips or David Heinhold) to the next meeting for technical input, and solicit public ideas on siting via a local Facebook group before confirming locations.
