City Council updated on grant providing 3 electric vehicles for city departments

In May the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) released information on the City of Plymouth along with Nappanee and Walkerton receiving a combined $578,987 which is about 40% of the $1.47 million that as awarded through the federal Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant.

Plymouth City Attorney Jeff Houin updated members of the Common Council last week and said the city will receive 3 Ford Lightning Pick-Up Trucks as part of a pilot test program. He said, “These grants are designed to get electric vehicles into government fleets so that we can-do real-world testing on the maintenance costs and hopefully the savings because we won’t need to buy fuel.”  This program will allow the city to replace 3 pick-up trucks without having to add them to the city budget.  It will require quarterly reporting and the city will review the results to determine their efficiency. 

The 3 trucks will be disbursed through the city departments with one going to the Wastewater Department, one for the Street Department and the last one for the Plymouth Building Commissioner.  Charges for all 3 vehicles are included in the grant award of $225,367.   The required match for the grant is that the city must cover the cost of installation for the three chargers using the city’s labor rather than hiring an outside contractor.  The grant also includes a new charging station at Centennial Park that will be available for public use.  Houin commented that the Plymouth Park Department already has a Ford Lightning and a private charging station inside the park office. 

City Councilman asked about the time to charge a vehicle and was told charging for city vehicles would be overnight.  Those vehicles using the public charging stations at River Park Square receive two free hours each day until the end of the year. 

Councilman Randy Longanecker asked if the charger at the park will be on a separate meter since the public will have access.  He was told it’s anticipated to be a separate meter with no free use. 

There will be some cost to the city for the installation of the charging stations in the Wastewater Department, Street Department and the firehouse for the Building Inspector’s vehicle.  Street Superintendent Jim Marquardt estimated the total cost to be less than $15,000.

Councilman Don Ecker asked about lead time on receiving the vehicle and Marquardt said he was meeting with Steve Keyser from Oliver Ford.  It was noted that the city must have the funds budgeted for the initial purchase because it is a reimbursable grant before moving forward with the purchase. 

The City Council didn’t take any official action last week.  It’s anticipated the Common Council will approve the additional appropriation to purchase the vehicles at their next meeting on Monday, August 12^th.