Title
Vote on a Request to Approve a Site Host Agreement for an Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Station and Authorize the County Manager to Sign
Abstract
Action Requested: Vote on a request to approve a site host agreement for an electric vehicle fast charging station and authorize the County Manager to sign.
Introduction & Background: The County applied for a grant in September 2019 to install an electric vehicle fast charging station. The grant program was being administered by the State as part of the Volkswagen Emissions Settlement. In July 2020, Chatham County was notified that our project was selected to receive grant funding. The station will be installed in the parking lot of Smithfield’s Chicken ‘n’ Barbecue in Siler City. As part of the grant process, Chatham County is required to sign a site host agreement with the owner of the property allowing us to build and operate the charging station.
Discussion & Analysis: This station will be ideally situated at the junction of US 64 and US 421, which are two important regional transportation routes. This station will be the only fast charging station in the western half of the County and will strategically fill in a charging station gap in the region. Fast charging stations are important to the growth of the electric vehicle market because they help eliminate range anxiety of vehicle owners by allowing much quicker battery recharge times than a typical charging station. Since vehicle emissions represented over 70% of the County’s most recent greenhouse gas inventory, encouraging electric vehicle use will help Chatham County work towards the Plan Chatham Big Idea of becoming a carbon negative county.
The site host agreement allows the County to build, operate, and maintain the electric vehicle (EV) Fast Charging station. Since the charging station will be on private property not owned by the County, the State requires this documentation before proceeding with the grant contract.
The property is owned by Masada Ventures, LLC. This corporation is run by the same people who own the Smithfield’s franchise in Siler City. The property owners submitted a letter of commitment to the project which was submitted as part of the County’s application for the grant last fall. The attached site host agreement is a formalization of that letter of commitment. There will be no cost to the County for the use of the property and the site host will not be expected to contribute to the installation, operation or maintenance of the charging station.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan: This project aligns perfectly with Strategy 5.4 of the Resiliency element of Plan Chatham, which says to “Encourage electric vehicles by studying ways to leverage public assets and private development to create a county-wide network of electric vehicle charging stations…”
Budgetary Impact: No budgetary impact associated with this agreement
Recommendation: Approve a site host agreement for an electric vehicle fast charging station and authorize the County Manager to sign.