City Council Meeting Date: August 20, 2019
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator, Ben Martig
From: Deb Little, City Clerk
Monte Nelson, Chief of Police
Beth Kallestad, Program Coordinator
Title
Consider Resolution Approving Fees and Parking Restrictions Related to the Electric Vehicle Charging Station.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council considers approving the attached Resolution Approving Fees and Parking Restrictions for Electric Vehicle Charging Station.
Summary Report:
On March 19, 2019, the Northfield City Council approved Resolution 2019-023 supporting an application for the Northfield Rotary Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Project. The EV grant was received and the charging station has been installed in the Water Street Parking Lot at 5th & Water Street (Attachment 2).
The City Council is asked to approve parking designations for the two spots reserving them for charging electric vehicles as well as approving fees. Parking designations are necessary to allow the Police Department to enforce the parking restrictions. The current signage appears to have the best language for enforcement, “Charging Station, Electric Car Parking Only While Charging.” A violation would fall under “Prohibited Parking” with a fine of $25.
Research was done to understand rates that are being charged for EV Charging stations in our area. Data was collected from other municipal, county, and private business locations. These rates vary widely depending on the primary use of the stations and intention of the owners.
The City’s goals with the station are to: provide EV charging for visitors and residents in need of charging while out and about, encourage the growth of EV use by having charging locations, and show how Northfield is a sustainable community
Consideration was given to the cost the City needs to pay for the electricity (~$0.16 kWh at the meter to which the station is connected), to cover the processing fees (10% per transaction) that the City will pay to ChargePoint (company that provides online network, station information, and processing of payments), recouping costs not covered by Rotary grant (not sure what that is yet as City has not received final billing from Electrician) and potential to start generating revenue for potential future stations or to replace this one when it is no longer functional.
Based on the above information, the following is a proposal for fee structure. It can be modified at any time via our online account through ChargePoint.
Weekdays - 8 AM - 8 PM - $0.25/kWh
Weekends - 8 AM - 8 PM - $0.20/kWh
Free - 8 PM - 8 AM
Minimum charge of - $1.25
Maximum charge of - $10.00
Owners will be sent a message after their vehicle is fully charged. They’ll have 1 hour to move it after charging is complete, then they will be charged a parking fee of $2.00/hour. This is to encourage them to move their vehicle and open up the spot for others.
Alternative Options:
Staff will monitor station use and costs and propose changes to Council during normal fee review schedule if needed.
Financial Impacts:
At this time we do not have good usage data to understand how many vehicles will actually use the stations since this is such new technology especially for smaller cities. Staff will track this information and give an update to Council.
Tentative Timelines:
Implement fees as soon as they are approved.