New electric vehicle charging stations are on the way to southern Overland Park next year.
The Overland Park City Council voted on Monday to approve an agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation for the installation of the new charging stations.
The details: Under the agreement, four free electric vehicle charging stations will be placed at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead and four at the Scheels Overland Park Soccer Complex.
- The project is estimated to cost $180,000 to complete, with KDOT covering up to $120,000 of the project cost.
- Overland Park will be responsible for roughly $30,000 in design fees and a $30,000 project match.
- The city will also be in charge of maintenance and operational costs for the charging stations.
Background: Initially brought before the Public Works Committee last week, the body tied with a 3-3 vote on the issue, causing them to delay making a formal recommendation for the project to the city council.
- Councilmember Fred Spears, who initially voted against the project during the public works meeting, said Monday that he believed the charging stations should not be free, and cost of maintaining the stations should fall to its users.
- “I don’t believe that the city should give people with electric vehicles a free ride. I pay for gas everyday just like the rest of us,” said Councilmember Scott Mosher, who also voted against the agreement during the public works meeting.
Council’s decision: Despite the committee’s previous lack of consensus, the council almost unanimously voted 10-1 to pass the agreement with KDOT Monday night.
- Councilmember Jeff Cox was the only one to vote against the project, citing concerns with the city’s lack of understanding on what it will cost to maintain the stations.
- “In a year or two, we’ll have a super technology… that charges in 15 minutes,” Cox said. “So then we’ll have to keep upgrading this thing, and the next thing will cost more than the last.”
Bigger picture: In addition to the agreement, Mayor Curt Skoog said the city has planned to use a portion of the 2023 budget to create an Electric Vehicle Charging Master Plan using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
- The master plan would help outline the cost to maintain the charging stations, rules about how the stations are meant to be used and potential user fees.
What’s next? The new charging stations at Deanna Rose and Scheels are expected to be installed in 2023.
- Overland Park traffic engineer Brian Geiger said that while the exact charger type has yet to be decided, it is most likely the city will install Level 2 charging equipment.
