In a 4-3 preliminary vote Tuesday, Fort Wayne City Council voted not to accept a $90,000 grant from the state for 27 electric car charging stations around the city.
The grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management would cover roughly a quarter of the overall cost; the city would be on the hook for $250,000 of the cost for purchase and installation, which would need to be completed by 2022.
While all members of Council agreed in the importance of supporting electric vehicles throughout the city, some were concerned about the limitations of where they would be located in the community. Specifically, none of the proposed locations were within the southeast part of the city.
1st District Republican councilman Paul Ensley noted the discrepancy in how much the grant covers compared to the project’s overall cost, adding that there should be a more equitable distribution of the stations.
“I am not sure the small amount of this grant relative to the investment is worth the strings that are attached to it, and some of those locations seem a little redundant to me.”
The grant would help support 10 of the 27 stations to start, with attention currently placed on high-traffic areas of the city such as the Ash Brokerage parking garage, Meijer at Dupont and Diebold roads, Memorial Coliseum and Jefferson Pointe.
Despite falling short of the necessary votes for passage, Republican member Tom Didier and Democratic member Glynn Hines were not present for Tuesday’s meeting; one more vote in favor would approve the grant, and its fate will be determined next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, earlier in the week, all nine of Fort Wayne’s City Council members have signed and sent a letter in opposition to an Indiana House bill, which centers on the placement and installation of cell phone and other telecommunications towers in “local rights of way.”
The letter argues that House Bill 1164 disregards local interests and removes home rule from the decision-making process. Council worries that towers are slated to be placed in neighborhoods and rural areas without input, which intrude on properties and are “unsightly.”
Council says it -- and the community -- should have a say in this issue, particularly where the towers are located, what they look like and how many are designated to a given area, all things HB 1164 deny the city.
The letter, which is addressed to Republican State Senator Liz Brown, asks for a no vote with respect to Fort Wayne’s home rule interest. The bill will be presented to a Senate committee following the General Assembly’s recess.
