City Council moves toward EV stations all over town

On Monday, July 24, the Belleville City Council advised the city’s administration to move forward on getting final contract wording for an agreement that would put electric vehicle charging stations in all the city’s parks and parking lots.
Acting City Manager Steve Jones said Charge EV, LLC would install the electric vehicle charging stations without charge to the city and would charge customers for service, giving a small percentage of that back to the city.
He was directed to come back to the council with more specific language in the contract and to present a list of precise locations for the EV stations within the city.
A copy of the sign to be posted at each EV station said “EV Parking While Charging ONLY. Violators Will Be Ticketed,” implying city police will monitor and enforce violations.
Jones said he talked with a person in Clarkston who told him this company was fabulous to work with. They get three cents per kilowatt hour and have a five-year lease. Two vehicles can use each station. Clarkston, Oxford, and Holly have signed up with this company, which is targeting smaller communities, he said.
John Juriga, a member of the board of the Belleville Area District Library, said he has been working to get EV charging stations in the 90-vehicle parking lot at the library since 2020 and he hopes the city can get three to five stations for that parking lot. He said when he looked into it it would cost $40,000 to put an EV station into the library/city parking lot.
Jones said the company will put in as many stations as they want. If there are more than four at one location, DTE will have to put in a cabinet.
Resident Mike Renaud said Belleville’s contract is for 10 years and the penalties are pretty severe if you pull out before then. There is nothing in the agreement about them being responsible for technical updates, he said, asking, “Do we have to tell them when it’s down?”
Deputy Fire Chief Chris Zweng said they know when it’s down and the company wants to make money so they will make sure it is operating. Zweng said Ann Arbor paid quite a bit to install EV stations.
Renaud said there’s no such thing as a free lunch and there is a risk to this.
In other business at the two-hour-and-20-minute meeting, the council:
• Heard a presentation via Zoom from Leslie Abdoo of FosterSwift law firm on the details of how to either revise or amend the city charter. She recommended proposing the nine-member board and the question of whether to revise the charter on the same election. It’s too late for this November’s election, so it could be the first one in the spring, once the state decides on the 2024 election schedule;
• Deferred approval of retiree incentives until more precise language could be formulated. A stipend of $2,000 is proposed if the employee announces retirement six months in advance so the city has time to fill the slot and train the employee. Council members want the agreement to state that the person is really retiring under MERS definition;
• Discussed, at length and hotly, an ordinance proposed by Councilwoman Kelly Bates that would ban traditional cigarettes, eCigarettes, chewing tobacco, pipes, cigars, etc. in all the city buildings, including Victory Station, outdoor restrooms, all parks and parking lots and special events approved by the city, including BORA-DORA district sidewalks. Police would enforce with $50 tickets. No action was taken;
• Approved paying $250 per paycheck as token compensation for the extra work being done by Acting City Manager Steve Jones and Acting Police Chief Kris Faull until the positions are filled with permanent employees. The paychecks are every other week and the pay is retroactive to when they were appointed to the acting positions;
• Approved a network evaluation by a computer consultant for $1,800 that would provide a full evaluation of the city’s system. This is in the wake of the recent crash of the city’s server;
• Set a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 26, for a presentation by PFM on city finances for road work and possible interview of a new city manager candidate. Also, the council set a special meeting for 5:30 p.m., Monday, July 31, to interview candidates, including internal candidate Acting City Manager Steve Jones who in the middle of the city’s interview process decided to apply for the job. Although he does not have the credentials the city requires for the position, the council is interviewing him as a courtesy;
• Approved accounts payable of $264,282.85 and the following departmental purchases in excess of $500: to Ann Arbor Township Fire Department, $1,000 for fire academy training of Tristan Hugo; to Atchinson Ford Sales, $557.37 for coolant work on vehicle 218; to Hennessey Engineers, $1,228.50 for Hillside Cemetery Paving Project and $1,008 for Victory Station Renovation Project; to Randy Brown Landscape, $2,597.50, bank clearing by goats – city portion; to Snider Electric, $885 for replacement of broken light pole head in front of Professional Building; and to Western Wayne County Fire Department Mutual Aid Association, $3,638.56, annual dues and HIRT Assessment;
• Heard Tracy Hill of South Liberty Street tell of the drivers who are speeding down her street next to Victory Park when the speed limit is 15 mph. She also said the storm drain on that street is not working and what’s there blows up into her yard. She also applied for a fence and was turned down and now is looking for a variance, but the three people on the panel don’t meet very often;
• Learned city administration is still working with SMART to get a small van to transport seniors and handicapped in the city;
• Heard Jones report that Scoops Ice Cream on E. Huron River Drive will be having outdoor movies from 9 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the summer; and
• Learned Mayor Pro-Tem Ken Voigt donated the new clock in the meeting room that has replaced the old clock that was always wrong. Also, the city has replaced the deteriorated window blinds in the meeting room that now can be adjusted to block out the afternoon sun.