Warsaw Seeks To Establish Electric Vehicle Charging Station
By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews
WARSAW — At the Warsaw Board of Public Works & Safety meeting Friday, Sept. 18, Senior Assistant City Planner Justin Taylor’s request to apply for an electric vehicle infrastructure grant was approved.
An electric vehicle charging station, also known as an EV charging station, is an element in an infrastructure that supplies electric energy for the recharging of plug-in electric vehicles, including electric cars, neighborhood electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
“The idea behind this would be to offer an amenity that would help create talent attraction and just another way to keep those people that are coming to the city here just by having that added amenity where they could park somewhere downtown, shop at local businesses, charge their vehicle and then head out on their way,” Taylor said.
The grant is offered by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). If awarded, the grant will cover up to 90 percent of the cost for the charging station, which preliminary estimates place at around $15,000.
Taylor said they are actively seeking corporate sponsorship to help cover the cost of the stations.
“We’re really hoping we can almost get this thing for free for the city,” Taylor said.
The location for the charging stations has not yet been determined.
In other matters, the Warsaw Parks & Recreation Department received approval from the Board of Works for a contract with Heather Widner for digital/virtual painting classes on Sept. 18, Oct. 9, Nov. 13 and Dec. 4.
Warsaw Parks Recreation Director Sheila Wieringa said when they initially contracted Widner earlier in the year about art classes, they only went through the summer to get an idea of how the classes would go over virtually.
“They did great,” Wieringa said. “So now this is for four more dates throughout the fall, one per month, and we’re alternating adult and child classes.”
The classes will remain virtual through the end of the year, at least, Wieringa said. If classes end up being cancelled due to COVID, the City of Warsaw will be released from payment.
The board then approved a request by Wieringa to apply for a grant with Kosciusko REMC Operation Round Up in the amount of $1,500. The grant would be used to continue support of the park-sponsored family carnival event, scheduled to take place July 30, 2021, Wieringa said.
Wieringa also received approval to apply for a grant with the Kosciusko County Community Foundation in the amount of $5,000 to be used toward the continuation and expansion of the summer concert series. This is a supplemental grant in addition to the 2020-2021 Indiana Arts Commission grant. Partial funds are already budgeted in the parks department account.
Warsaw Street Department Superintendent Dustin Dillon received approval to purchase a 2020 case loader from RPM Machinery in the amount of $116,054.73. This amount reflects a trade-in allowance for a 2004 New Holland loader and a 1983 John Deere loader.
Dillon told board members that Warsaw City Engineer James Emans was a tremendous help with the purchase process, the department’s first large purchase under Dillon’s leadership, and said, “I’d like to thank him for everything he did.”
Funding for the purchase is available in the street department 2020 main budget appropriation.
In other news:
- Road closure requests from First Friday Organizer Paula Bowman were approved from 3-10 p.m. for the dates of Oct. 2, Nov. 6 and Dec. 4.
- The next regular meeting will be 11:15 a.m. Oct. 2.