“This is something we’re that we’re hearing more and more about and people do want to see these types of opportunities in the community,” said City Manager Mark Wendling.
Ohio is one of 19 states with at least 1,000 charging stations. California leads the nation with more than 4,000 stations, according to a Pew Research Center report. There are a few electric vehicle charging stations around Butler County, including at Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield and IKEA in West Chester Twp.
Of the state’s $75 million in settlement money, $11.25 million, or 15 percent, will go to electric vehicle charging stations.
“We don’t actually have to put any money to get (a grant),” said City Engineer Nick Dill. “We just have to get a compelling grant application.”
He said even though the $115,000 grant doesn’t require a local match, the city will foot the bill for site preparation and running electric to the designated site. While a location has not been settled, the city staff is proposing the Community Arts Center parking lot.
“The busier the street, the higher (grant application) score for the location,” Dill said. “They want amenities nearby, so, shopping, dining, events. They also want to be well lit.”
Dill said the city is also looking to possibly partner with a business on Ohio 4 for a publicly available charging station, but a specific location has not yet been set.
The city of Hamilton is also considering applying for the grant, said Jim Logan, the city’s executive director of infrastructure.
The push for more charging stations comes as many automakers are developing more electric vehicles. However, there is a chicken-and-egg conundrum, Dill said. People won’t buy or drive electric vehicles if they can’t charge them, but more charging stations aren’t warranted without electric vehicles on the road.
“That’s the idea behind this grant,” he said. “Let’s get VW to pay the restitution for all the environmental harm they caused by making the investment in the infrastructure for us.”
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