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02-28-22 CC WS Mtg MinutesCITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2022 6:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING Mayor Labadie called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Labadie; Councilmembers Johnson, Labadie, Siakel, Gorham (arrived at 6:02 P.M.), and Callies; City Administrator Lerud; Planning Director Darling; and Director of Public Works Brown Absent: None B. Review Agenda Callies moved, Siakel seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Roll Call Vote: Johnson, Siakel, Callies, and Labadie voted aye. Motion passed 4/0. 2. ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) CHARGING STATION PROGRAM City Administrator Lerud explained that staff had met with Energy Management Solutions about a no cost EV Charging Station Program. He stated that following that meeting staff felt it would be a good idea to hear their proposal and get Council direction and introduced Jody McDevitt. Jody McDevitt, Energy Management Solutions, gave an overview of Energy Management Solutions and their No Cost/No Risk EV Charging Station program. He noted that they have partnered with a company called Carbon Solutions Group for the EV Charging Station program who are headquartered out of Chicago, IL. He gave an overview of the history of EV use and its forecasted adoption into the future and noted that every automobile manufacturer is investing in electric vehicles. He explained some of the challenges for property owners regarding when and if they want to install EV charging. He gave a brief summary of their proposed EV Charging Program and noted that the City would not be obligated to pay a penny for anything because Carbon Solutions Group will cover all capital and operational costs. He noted that there are two potential revenue streams for the City with a monthly license fee or profit sharing. He stressed that this is a way for the City to offer this amenity to attract and retain EV drivers with zero risk. He reviewed the low -rate and long-term approach and how the revenue is generated. He showed some renderings of what a charging station may look like. He stated that the City will be able to give input on design and possible locations and noted that the City's location will be added to the various driver apps so people can find them. He clarified that there really will not be much work needed from the City because Carbon Solutions Group takes care of most everything. He shared examples of other cities that they have worked with and noted that it includes the City of Plymouth and New Brighton. He stated that the City Council in Chanhassen is considering this at tonight's meeting. He stated that if the City signed an agreement today, it would probably be about six months before they would be able to get charging stations in the ground and noted that there are CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 28, 2022 Page 2 of 4 some incentive dollars that go away on July 1, 2022, so they would be targeting getting agreements in place prior to that timeframe. Councilmember Gorham noted that he assumes that it will be a few years before a profit is turned and asked if there is a typical term proposed in the agreement with the City. Mr. McDevitt stated Carbon Solutions Group has a much longer -term vision that looks at this market with a 2030 perspective. He stated that they know in many cases that they will probably not going to make money for the first few years. He explained that the term of their agreement is for a ten year term with two five year renewal options. Mayor Labadie asked if Mr. McDevitt had indicated that they would work with the City on the actual locations of the charging stations and would be willing to put them in more than one location. Mr. McDevitt stated that this was correct. Councilmember Gorham asked what was needed in order to have an ultra -fast charging station. Mr. McDevitt stated that the majority of the DC fast chargers and the ultra -fast are 480 volt, which would essentially need a step up transformer. Councilmember Gorham asked how long it takes for a 'fast' charger to charge a vehicle. Mr. McDevitt stated that there are many variables that go into that calculation such as the type of vehicle, the size of the battery, efficiency of the vehicle to accept the charge, and the state of charge on the battery. He stated that when you are looking at Level Two stations, a rough rule of thumb would be two to three hours and the faster charges may only take twenty minutes. Councilmember Gorham stated that he is wondering how the City determines, going into the agreement, what kind of charger is needed to attract people. He stated that he is thinking about a charging station being located in a park and how long they would need to be there in order to make it attractive for them. Mr. McDevitt explained that most people will pull out of their garage with a full charge, plug in at work and get a charge, so it may only take them fifteen minutes to be able to plug in during a lacrosse game and get enough juice to get home again because they have essentially been 'topping off throughout the day. Councilmember Johnson stated that there are not many charging stations available up and down the Highway 7 corridor. He stated that there are very few Level Two and no Level Three stations and noted that if the City was looking to attract people to take advantage of the chargers, he would look at the Level Three. He stated that if the City is looking to provide an amenity for people who are coming to use the parks, whether they are resident or non-resident, then a Level Two charger may work, but would not be a draw for others. Councilmember Siakel stated that she does not have a problem with this, but would ask what its purpose would be. She asked if it is something the City wants to put in as an amenity so people can charge their car while they are at a sports event, or if the thought was to attract others. Councilmember Johnson noted that he could go either way but if the City is looking to attract others with a Level Three charging station, he did not feel that the City parks would be the correct location for that purpose. Councilmember Siakel stated it goes back to her original question on whether the City want to offer it as an amenity or a service. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 28, 2022 Page 3 of 4 Mayor Labadie noted that there few individuals with their hand raised on-line. Jay Nygaard, 1386 Rest Point Road, Orono, noted that he may be better known as the `Turbine Guy' and explained that he is a green energy guy that also supports limited government. He asked why they are considering using the government to install a gas station for an electric vehicle. He noted that typically when someone gets a gas station, they buy their own land, install their own pumps, and then sell their gas. He stated that these people are selling electricity and making money off of it and asked why the City was considering doing it when it should be a private entity. He stated that he feels the City could do things to help that entity succeed but explained that he did not feel these stations should be located on City property. He stated that he would like to know why they are going after public property to provide profit for a private corporation. Mayor Labadie asked Mr. McDevitt to answer Mr. Nygaard's question since they do approach a lot of municipalities. Mr. McDevitt stated that it is an amenity that becomes a private/public type of program. He stated that it seems to work best when there are vested parties. He stated that the potential is there to make a little revenue and save the taxpayers a little bit of money. He stated that it comes down to whether the City wants to show leadership in the transition to electric mobility. Scott Zerby, 5680 Christopher Road, stated that he has questions that probably cannot be answered tonight such as details regarding the contract that the City would be considering. He stated that he supports this initiative and thinks government, in the past, has had the need to steer energy consumption and noted that she sees this as similar to the State being involved in ethanol production for gas cars. He noted that the amount of space this would take is minimal so he does not see this as giving a lot of resources to a private entity and sees it more as trying to inspire and reduce the amount of impact they have on the environment. He stated that he would be in support of this and would agree with Councilmember Johnson that there are not a lot of power stations in the nearby vicinity. Councilmember Johnson asked if any of the other municipalities that they have partnered with have replaced any of their City vehicles with EV. Mr. McDevitt stated that Plymouth already had two EV in their fleet and are adding an additional three vehicles. He stated that New Brighton is planning to purchase some for inspection vehicles and are also looking at the possibility of various models for their police department. He noted that Lakeville is looking at EV pick-up trucks so cities are certainly looking to include EV in their fleets. Councilmember Gorham asked how the rate is determined and adjusted. Mr. McDevitt stated that Carbon Solutions Group wants to be the low-cost provider because they need the charging stations to be used in order for them to get a return on their investment. He stated that when developing the rate, they look at the commercial tariff of the kilo -watt hour rate plus the demand charge. Councilmember Gorham asked how the user knows how much they are being charged. Mr. McDevitt stated that the app will tell them the rate and the fee. Councilmember Gorham stated that he generally likes the idea and feels this would be something that is a good service for the City. He stated that he would like to see an RFP for this and would like to be able to verify that the rates they would be getting are competitive. Mr. McDevitt stated that they will not guarantee a rate because there are too many variables, but would hope their signed agreements with Plymouth and New Brighton would ease their minds CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 28, 2022 Page 4 of 4 about the company and that the agreement has been vetted. He stated that he could share those agreements with the City if that would be helpful. Councilmember Johnson asked what direction staff is looking for from the Council. City Administrator Lerud stated that staff would like to know if this is something that the Council wants to pursue. He stated that he thinks the next step would be reviewing the draft contract. He stated that if the Council has a very specific desire about location he thinks Carbon Solutions Group should be invited out to walk the area and see what may be possible. Mr. McDevitt stated that they usually start by looking at Google Earth images because they are able to get a lot of information from that regarding transformer locations. He stated that for locations there is always a specific out clause for both parties. He stated that taking time and resources to walk a site in order to say `maybe' would include a lot of variables and would also require working with Xcel. Councilmember Siakel suggested that the Council direct staff to put together some next steps because there are a lot of details to be sorted through. There was a consensus from the Council to direct staff to put together some potential next steps for pursuing EV Charging Stations in the City and bring back options for consideration. Mayor Labadie stressed that this is merely a discussion and no decision has been made and explained that the Council have asked staff for additional information. She stated that they have not committed the City to this project. 3. ADJOURN Johnson moved, Gorham seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session Meeting of February 28, 2022, at 6:55 P.M. Roll Call Vote: Johnson, Siakel, Callies, Gorham, and Labadie voted aye. Motion passed 5/0. ATTEST: 5e6nifer Labadie, Mayor Sandie Thone, City Clerk