The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Grant for 4 EV charging ports considered
City Council sends measure accepting federal grant to second reading
Painesville was recently selected to receive a federal grant for new electric vehicle charging stations, and a City Council resolution to accept the grant was sent to second reading.
A Feb. 21 city manager report said that under the grant, Painesville would receive two level two electric vehicle charging ports and two fast charging ports. The city would need to pay a 20 percent match of the total cost, with the current estimate placing the city’s share at $44,600 out of a $223,000 total.
Council members discussed possible locations for the chargers at the recent meeting. The grant documents indicated that the ports would be placed at the city hall parking lot, according to the city manager’s report. Officials are looking for a different public location because of limited parking at city hall.
“Part of the requirement of the grant is that it has to be available to the public,” said City Manager Doug Lewis.
He added that other locations could include a city parking lot. According to Painesville’s website, two electric charging plugs are currently available at the lot at 66 S St. Clair St.
Lewis later added that the charging spots would only be open to electric vehicles, and drivers of non-electric vehicles who use those spots would be ticketed.
Councilwoman Lori DiNallo asked about potential benefits of placing the chargers near city hall and Painesville’s police station.
“If we’re seeing ourselves in the future purchasing electric vehicles for our officers and things like that, it might be convenient for us to have it right in our own station, even though there’s some inconvenience with the congestion,” she said.
Council also discussed funding for Painesville’s share of the match. The city manager report said that funding would come from Painesville’s electric budget and added that “funding is available” in that budget.
Councilman Paul Hach added that the electric budget “is probably the best place for it to come from.”
The city has not charged customers for its electric chargers to date, but Lewis said that it would
require payment for the fast chargers due to their power usage. The city’s electric department would receive those funds.
The grant is being distributed by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating
Agency. The agency announced in January that it had received a $15 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program. NOACA planned to use the funds for phase two of its Regional Electric Vehicle Charging Station Program, adding 63 charging sites throughout Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties.
The city manager report added that council must respond to NOACA by March 15.
Council’s next meeting is set for 7 p.m. on March 4. Its meetings take place in Courtroom 1 at Painesville City Hall, 7 Richmond St., and they are also available to watch live or recorded at painesville.com/videos.