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Dykast said that many CARA board members did not want the project to have an effect on the CARA budget. Because of this, staff pursued a grant from Pacific Power.
The grant partnership with Pacific Power covered all of the startup costs for the charging station. The total amount of the grant was around $63,000. Funds from the grant also covered some conduit in the ground at the site for potential future additions to the charging station.
“This is a smallish project, but it’s unique, and the CARA Board and City took advantage of a great opportunity to work with other organizations to enhance the district,” Dykast said.
She added that there was a huge learning curve involved with getting this project off the ground, but community members who have electric vehicles and other knowledgeable businesses and local individuals helped along the way.
For users who want to utilize the service, they’ll need to create a FREE EV Connect account. They can do this by downloading the EV Connector Driver App on their phone using the iOS App Store or the Google Play Store.
The station is equipped with CHAdeMO and CCS/SAE connectors. Tesla drivers are welcome to use the charging station, but will need to have their own adapter.
The City will charge users $0.35/kilowatt-hour to cover the costs of running the station, but fees may change over time depending on usage trends.