Discussion from the previous month’s meeting continued at the Peterson City Council’s August 11 meeting. At July’s meeting, the Peterson City Council tabled a decision on installation of an electrical vehicle charging station pending further investigation. An offer, provided by Kent Whitcomb, of MiEnergy, was provided, noting Dairyland Power’s desire to build a network of chargers throughout the region. Concerns regarding the cost and potential for usage were noted.
Options included a 40, 60, or 80 amperage dual port charger or a single port charger. The unit was valued at $5,139 with an additional $1,000-3,000 for installation at a location chosen by the city. The city was offered free service and connectivity for a term of five years and a rate of $320 per year after. Customers could be charged either per kilowatt hour (kWh) or a base parking fee charge. Those using the charging station would be billed directly, either through a credit card reader, a city cost of $2,000-3,000, or a Quick Response (QR) code app on the customer’s phone, at no additional cost to the city.
While the unit was able to be tied to existing service lines, Councilor Tracy Seelbinder noted an additional electrical estimate for placement at the city’s museum. “It’s $4,500 to run it without the concrete pad to set it on. What’s our return on that?”
Whitcomb noted the current city rate is 10.7 cents per kWh and a 10% transaction fee, taken directly from the customer payment, is placed on the billing system, but the city can set the rate for customers. “We’re usually charging 17 cents during on-peak time and 4.9 during off-peak,” he added.
With the one-hour charge provided to a vehicle on a 40 amperage unit getting a user just 20-30 miles, it was noted that given the city’s location, it would make more sense to get an 80 amperage unit that provides 45-60 miles per one hour charge. One additional problem is the lack of Wi-Fi at the museum. Without it, the only connection would be AT&T or Verizon cellular. Councilor Gail Boyum suggested adding Wi-Fi at the museum would be an interesting thing to add. The cost of that addition was unknown.
The question of just how many electric cars out there to take advantage of the unit was put forth. “How many cars are expected by 2025?” asked Boyum. “I read somewhere that 50% of the cars being sold, between 2025 and 2030, are going to be hybrid or electric.”
“There are 700 out there between Houston, Fillmore, Winona, and Olmsted County,” added Whitcomb. “In the recent bill, $7.5 billion was put into infrastructure.”
“That’s a slow rate to recoup, but there are other things we don’t make money on,” noted Seelbinder.
“We don’t offer a gas station in town, so why would we put this in?” asked Mayor Tim Hallum.
“Can we get something like this five years down the road? I’m pretty sure we can,” added Councilor Dave Colbenson. “I can’t see spending this much and letting it collect dust.”
“If the infrastructure plan goes through, our grid isn’t set up for this stuff yet,” said Councilor Chris Stenzel. “It’s great ambition, but our grid’s not ready for it. It’s a great program, but at this time, I just can’t support it with the cost.” The proposal was rejected in a 3:2 vote with Hallum, Colbenson, and Stenzel opposed.
The council also heard from Fred Kruckow, of Dunn Blacktopping, regarding some clarifications regarding road work currently underway. The company is doing partial reclamation and repaving of Prospect Street. There was some local concern over why full-definition reclamation wasn’t happening and whether the crown of the road would cause storm water issues.
“No one is going to get any more water than they’re getting now. Let me make that clear,” noted Kruckow. “With valued engineering we saved the structure of the road. Everything is going to fit really nice and you’re looking at about a $9,000 savings. I know we’re going to have a lot better road at the end of the day.”
“Doing a full-def. reclaim, you’re looking at another 10k and we’d have to fine grade and balance. Then, we could run into some issues. It still isn’t going to change the grade of the road. It’s still going to be crowned the same way, so we should just take that right off the table,” he continued. Additional issues that could come with such work included having to reset storm catch basins and other issues.
“I guarantee you’ll live with it for 20-25. It’s going to be there,” he added. “Right now, we’re saving the structure of the road and the base that’s there. Maybe in a 15-20 year plan you might have sewer or water issues and might want to go in and do a complete reconstruct. But, then you could be talking curb and gutter, ADA compliance, and more. I guarantee you will have a great road and Dunn Blacktopping stands behind that.”
“I’m 100% behind it,” noted Hallum. “You’re the experts on this. They’ll show up to take care of it if there is something. You guys have done good for us.” Paving was to take place as early as August 12.
In other news the council conducted a budget review for 2022 and unanimously set the preliminary levy at a 6% increase over the $94,349. The city typically sets the preliminary levy higher than is actually needed, as it can be reduced, but not increased for the final levy, which is set in November. While there aren’t any major projects on the horizon, there have been increases in various service billing. “Everything has gone up. This way we have a cushion,” noted Stenzel.
The new welcome sign on the Root River State Trail is up and the council was pleased with the result. A concrete pad still needs to be put in and its likely the city will cost share delivery with other concrete work going on in the city to get some savings. Once the pad is in place, the city’s popular gnome statue will be bolted down. Stenzel, who headed up the project for the council, publicly thanked resident Jim Atkinson for installing the sign on a particularly hot day.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Wednesday, September 8, at 6 p.m., at city hall. It is open to the public.
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