Two new city-owned electric vehicle charging stations could come online as soon as this summer in Lenexa’s historic Old Town.
And in a “poetic” twist, they’ll be installed on the site of the city’s first-ever gas station.
There’s history at the site on Santa Fe Trail Drive
- Once done, these new charging stations will sit on the northeast side of a parking lot that happens to be the site of the city’s first gas station, built roughly a century ago.
- “I think it’s kind of quirky that we put an electrical car station right in front of Lenexa’s first gas station site,” Councilmember Bill Nicks said Tuesday. “It tells the whole story.”
- Councilmember Julie Sayers called it “poetic” to place the chargers at that site.
- City staff expect the chargers, which could be installed by June 15, to cost about $6,000.
Four chargers already in City Center
- The city has also installed four chargers on the first floor of the parking garage of the civic campus at City Center, near the Winchester Street entrance to the garage.
- Those wall-mounted units came online April 6, and soon paint will mark them as EV parking spots only.
- In their first 19 days of use, the charging stations recorded 46 unique charging sessions and about 60 total hours of charging, Lachlan Woods, Lenexa’s city management intern, told the city council during a special presentation on Tuesday.
- The City Center chargers cost about $15,500 to install, which included the charging units and other equipment.
Lenexa is eligible for up to $15K rebate
- That would come from Evergy’s Electric Vehicle Charging Rebate program, which could help Lenexa recoup some of its installation costs for the City Center and Old Town chargers.
- Additionally, the city’s charging stations cost 20 cents per kilowatt hour to use, so Lenexa anticipates making back some of the money it spent on the EV charger pilot program, though exactly how much will depend on usage.
- “If we lose a little bit [of money] to do the right thing, that’s fine,” Mayor Mike Boehm said, though he added that he’d like to see these chargers break even before more are installed in the future.
Lenexa EV charger users need an app
- To use the chargers in Lenexa, EV drivers have to download the EV Connect app, which offers instructions for the stations.
- Idling fees may be applied to vehicles that linger in the spots after their car has finished charging. Those are $1 per idling hour after the first hour.
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