Pictured is one of two electric vehicle charging stations operated by the city of Warsaw. This one is on South Buffalo Street. The other is on the north side of the Kosciusko County Courthouse. As of Monday, Oct. 3, neither was operational yet. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — Though they’re not “up and running” yet, the city of Warsaw has installed two electric vehicle charging stations downtown.

On Monday night, Oct. 3, after a public hearing, the Common Council approved an ordinance on first reading establishing various fees and parking regulations regarding city-owned electric vehicle charging stations. The second reading will be during the Council’s Oct. 17 meeting. 

Assistant City Planner Bekah Schrag explained that in 2020 the city agreed to apply for a grant through Michiana Area Council of Governments for the Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Program. As part of the agreement, the city agreed to install electric vehicle charging stations.  Eventually, the city would get paid back a portion of that through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Part of the grant also requires that the city provide free charging for the first two years for the first two hours. 

“This ordinance kind of looks at how the city can make some money back to pay our electrical bills if somebody charges for more than two hours within those first two years, as well as after those first two years,” Schrag said. “So moving forward, the goal is that these stations are sustainable financially for the city, as well as providing a service for our residents.” 

Section 1 of the ordinance defines who can park in an electric vehicle parking stall. It excludes non-electric vehicles and electric vehicles that are not charging. The section also permits the fining and towing of those unlawfully parked vehicles, she said.

The ordinance states that unlawfully parked vehicles in electric vehicles charging spaces are subject to parking fines up to $10 for the first hour of parking or any portion thereof beyond the two-hour limit. 

Section 2 defines the charging fees. Schrag said MACOG suggested the city do a blanket fee of $2 per hour.

“Generally, the cost of electricity to charge a vehicle is about $1 per hour, as well as any demand charges and meter fees through NIPSCO, so this would help create financial sustainability for the city to keep operating these after the two years of free charging for the first two hours,” Schrag said.

The grant will pay the city back $9,000 per charging station. MACOG put the money upfront so the city will pay MACOG back and IDEM will pay the city back, she said. MACOG also fronted $500 to help in the aid of implementing and constructing the charging stations. 

Councilwoman Diane Quance asked how much the charging stations cost to install. Schrag said with the current situation in the world, it was about $24,000 for the implementation and construction, including the striping and wiring. The stations are around $9,000 each.

“So the IDEM portion will cover the stations,” Schrag said. 

Asked where the charging stations are, Schrag said one is north of the county courthouse on the corner of Buffalo and Main streets, while the second one is in the parking lot south of Expressions on South Buffalo Street. 

“Bekah has done a lot of work to get this done. I know part of that Volkswagen settlement gave us the opportunity to get this done, and those grants certainly got this thing kick-started,” Mayor Joe Thallemer said.

He said there are already several charging stations in the community, including a couple at Wyndham Gardens and possibly a couple by Grace College in Winona Lake. Nissan has one.

The state received a grant and it put charging stations along the Indiana interstates, but U.S. 30 is not an interstate so there’s no charging station along U.S. 30, Thallemer said. 

“I think it’s probably pretty important, given that people are starting to buy electric cars, that we have the infrastructure here to at least be able to get started with this,” he said.

Quance asked if the grant required the city to retain and maintain the stations for a number of years. If the city finds they’re not being used, she asked if the city had the ability to remove them or if it was committed forever.

Schrag said she was unsure if the grant extended past the two-year mark. However, she said, if the charging station is not operating correctly, the city has 72 hours to fix it. Since automobile manufacturers are going to electric vehicles, she said she expected the charging stations will get used a lot in the future and the city will want to maintain it.

Thallemer said they are the city’s property and the grants were to help defray the costs of putting them in. 

Schrag said the two charging stations were not “up and running” yet but have to be by the end of the year. She said they were waiting on NIPSCO for a few things, as well as the city’s contractor, and for the Council to approve the ordinance. 

City attorney Scott Reust said the charging stations might be good to draw people to downtown Warsaw. 

After no one from the public commented for or against the ordinance, Councilman Mike Klondaris made a motion “that we jump into the future by approving” the ordinance on first reading. Councilman Jeff Grose seconded the motion and it was approved 6-0, with Councilwoman Cindy Dobbins absent. 

Klondaris asked when the city was going to get its first electric car. Thallemer said the city needs the charging stations first.