An electric vehicle charging station might pop up at the Colorado Welcome Center in Cortez.
The station would be funded by a state grant, Osprey, Empire Electric Association and the city of Cortez. Staff say the project would put Cortez on the map for a more electric future and encourage EV tourists to spend money at local businesses while they recharge their vehicles.
“Because there are a lot of people now who are purchasing EVs, and they’re traveling with their EVs,” Peyton Heitzman, the city’s management intern, said during a work session Aug. 27.
Currently, there are EV charging stations in Moab, Rico and Mancos. A Cortez station would offer a central location between these sites and alleviate range issues for drivers, Heitzman said. She also cited a JP Morgan study estimating that by 2025, electric and hybrid electric vehicles will account for 30% of all vehicle sales.
Specifically, the project proposed is a Level 2 Chargepoint Dual Port charging station, with space for two vehicles to charge simultaneously.
The cost of the project is $27,835. It would be paid for with a $9,000 Charge Ahead Colorado grant the city received, a $3,000 rebate from Empire Electric and $10,000 from Osprey.
The remaining $5,835 would be covered by funds from the Colorado Welcome Center’s budget, Heitzman said.
If the contract is approved, Osprey, Empire Electric and city employees could receive free charging services for five years, City Attorney Mike Green said.
The city also would offer free charging services to Cortez residents for the first two years of operation, in line with Mancos’ model. Part of the grant application for Charge Ahead Colorado, which seeks to incentivize the purchasing of electric vehicles.
Electricity costs also would need to be accounted for. One four-hour charge would cost the city about $3.52 – if the station was used once a day, that would come out to a monthly fee of $98.56 or $1,182.72 per year.
“These costs are recoverable from outside tourists that we can charge an hourly rate for usage,” Heitzman wrote in a staff report. “These costs may also be recovered by implementing a parking fee for vehicles after that four-hour mark. This parking fee would apply to all users and prevent cars from being parked in front of the charging station all day.”
No action was taken Tuesday night, but councilors and staff had mixed reactions to the proposal. Green was concerned about how to enforce parking fees for residents after a vehicle had used up its free four-hour charge.
“Six hours later, I come over, get in my car and leave – you have no authority on my credit card, I got charged off of a code you gave me because I’m a resident,” Green said.
Heitzman and City Manager John Dougherty said the free benefit would be operated through the Chargepoint system, with software capable of charging users after their time ran out.
Councilor Jill Carlson had hesitations about sharing the project with Osprey.
“I’m a little leery of ceding any of our control to a profit entity,” she said.
Councilor Mike Lavey said that he thought the port would be beneficial, and he expects electric vehicles to be more commonplace soon.
“This would put us on the EV map, for people who are traveling in this area,” Lavey said.
The City Council unanimously voted to renew Ken Williamson’s realty contract so that he can represent the city’s interest in selling land at 25350 Road L, near Four Corners Materials.Williamson told councilors he has been in talks with a prospective buyer who wants to subdivide the 19-acre plot.
Councilors said that they would need additional information about the property use and purchase offer before being moving forward.
After a year on the job, Dougherty will receive a pay raise. The council unanimously approved a standard 3% raise, bringing his annual salary to $109,180.Also in his contract addendum, Dougherty was granted an additional week of vacation time, and an agreement that if he voluntarily resigns from his position, he would be required to give six weeks’ notice instead of two months.
ealvero@the-journal.com
