BONNYVILLE – When it comes to whether an electric vehicle (EV) charging station should fall within the Town of Bonnyville’s limits, the town’s councillors agreed – yes, it should.
During the Feb. 8 regular council meeting, councillors voted in favour of moving forward with an expression of interest and grant application for an Electrical Vehicle Charging Program offered by the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (MCCAC).
There remain several unknowns when it comes to the MCCAC’s program, the costs for installation of EV charging units, and how much can be reclaimed through rebates for the project, said Bill Rogers, the Town’s CAO, when speaking to council.
“(We are) still in the exploration stages – (we) still don’t have all the prices yet. But, if this is something council would like us to move forward with, we will take it to the next level,” said Rogers.
Council agreed that not only did they want to see EV chargers, but that they wanted them to be pay-for-use stations.
“I do believe that we should probably go for the pay-for-use and not free, because if in the future other businesses decide to bring their own units in, we don’t want to be in competition,” said Coun. Phil Kushnir, speaking to the matter first.
Mayor Elisa Brosseau agreed. “You might get the comment, ‘People still need to pay for gas. So, how is that fair if we are covering the cost for somebody to drive their vehicle just because it is electric.”
She continued, “I think it is a great program and I am glad to hear that we are going to jump on board... If people want to move here and they have got an electric vehicle or are tourists, it’s important for us to get ahead of the game.”
Addressing some of the same concerns, Coun. Neil Langridge added that he didn’t want to see the costs for power being downloaded onto the facilities hosting the EV charging stations.
Items that remain uncertain are the voltage levels council will choose and where in town the charging units would be located.
For the MMCAC grant funding to be approved, the EV stations must be placed on municipally owned land, while also meeting several other criteria.
Locations offered by Coun. Byron Johnson was outside Town Hall, bringing people closer to the downtown core, or the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre.
Johnson explained that the C2 would offer more space for larger electric vehicles that may be pulling travel trailers.
