Lee — Following a July 16 presentation by East Coast Renewable Energy (East Coast) President Nicholas Valorie, the Select Board is considering adding electric vehicle charging stations to the downtown area, with those locations yet to be determined. Valorie advocated that the program would create Level 3 charging stations within the town’s borders at no cost to the municipality for its first year of operation, the product of National Grid and Eversource incentives covering 97 percent of equipment and installation costs. East Coast would donate the remainder of the fees, including five years of software needed to run the stations.
The session offered Select Board members a first glance at the project and involved the experiences of Jason Maronde, energy manager at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, with that campus having recently installed the stations through East Coast. Another user, Matt Tuttleman, also assisted in the presentation.
According to Valorie, the only cost to the town would be the electricity used in the system, and those costs would be accounted for by user fees. At the end of the five-year agreement, officials could choose to have the stations removed or renegotiate the contract, leaving in place the underground infrastructure already installed by National Grid.
Pursuant to East Coast’s proposal, Lee would receive the first year of an operations and maintenance policy covering the project and be provided with a five-year equipment warranty. The current cost of the policy is $1,200 per charger, and the Select Board reviewed a possible three-charger, six-port project, with two ports per charger. The current software cost is $1,000 per charging station, but in five years, Valorie said those fees may increase. The town would receive a daily report on charges, and officials would be able to log into the system to set charging prices.
The 120-kilowatt charging stations would be able to accommodate all vehicles except Tesla as those automobiles use a different proprietary port. However, an adapter could be implemented by the user to “fill up” at Lee’s new stations. Tesla chargers are already in place at the local Big Y grocery store, and the Lee Premium Outlet campus chargers would be similar to the ones proposed for Lee’s downtown.
Valorie said the stations would be an asset to the town, not only for residents but for visitors who could shop during their average half-hour charge, a “sweet spot” in time that would be a boom to the municipality’s economy.
Board members questioned how to deal with non-electric vehicles parking in the designated charging spots as well as how many charging stations to employ. Valorie responded that signage or a colored curb could be used to show the existence of the charging stations and avoid the areas being used by non-EV drivers. He said three spots would be optimum for the town.
Although the financial incentives are planned to be ongoing for about four or five years, Valorie said the current $200 million incentive fund might be depleted before then, so time is of the essence to gain the full value offered. He added that the incentive will most likely be renewed but didn’t know how much incentive would be offered per location.
Attending via Zoom, Select Board Chair Gordon Bailey brought up the issue of coordinating the effort with the construction of the town’s new public-safety building that may be able to house charging stations. He also wanted assurances that the relationship between Lee and East Coast is strong, voicing concern that, like many solar-installation companies that went under during the last 10 years, the charging-station business would still be around in five years. Valorie responded that his company—also offering solar installation—has “multiple branches of revenue” beyond EV charging and solar, services that can take over should one revenue source have a shortfall.
But resident Kathy Hall wasn’t convinced. “It looks almost too good to be true,” she said of the proposal. Hall asked the dais if the community could be involved in this measure to ensure it is the right investment for the town. “I’m really concerned because I want to make sure we are making good decisions,” she said.
Select Board member Sean Regnier, who took the helm at the meeting, responded that the group didn’t intend to make a decision at the session but was “gathering all the information.”
Town Administrator Christopher Brittain is now charged with working with East Coast to bring back a proposal at an August meeting that could include suggested locations for the charging stations. “There’s been a lot of interest especially in the municipal parking [area] where the Aeroldi Building is now, but that may not be the only [location],” he said, with Regnier suggesting the Eagle Mill project parking lot as another possible location.
Currently, Lee spends 25 cents on its electric rate, and electric vehicle users could be paying 45 cents for the charging stations, he said. “We’ll be in the black,” Regnier said.
At the meeting, the Select Board also:
- Authorized the signing of the first general bond for the town’s $7.74 million public-safety/public-works facility at a cost of $8.07 million, plus accrued interest payable July 15 and annually through 2049, with the option to refinance after eight years of payments, with annual payments tallying about $502,000 or $503,000;
- Approved early voting hours for the 2024 state primary election per recommendation by the Town Clerk for August 24 through 29;
- Approved a temporary sign permit extension and waiver for the Chamber of Commerce and Farmers’ Market;
- Approved an inspection fee waiver for the Lee Elementary and Middle/High schools, with Bailey recused;
- Approved a Bring Your Own Bottle permit extension for 30 days to Appetito since the restaurant’s annual all-alcohol license is pending; and
- Appointed Steve Noble to the Lee Historical Commission and Carter Marks to the Lee Youth Commission.
