Town Board OKs buying two vehicle charging stations

WOODSTOCK, N.Y. » The Town Board has approved spending $15,226 to buy two, double-outlet, electric vehicle charging stations from LilyPad EV.

The purchase was approved at a meeting Tuesday, with officials saying that a state Department of Environmental Conservation grant will cover 75 percent of the cost.

“One will be at the (Mescal Hornbeck) Community Center on the side over by the television station up against the building,” Supervisor Bill McKenna said. “We’ll have a pull-in area where you can charge two cars at one time.”

The other charging station will be near the public parking lot off Rock City Road.

“The other will be behind the public restrooms,” McKenna said. “The charging station will be mounted right there on the building. There are presently handicapped spots there, but we’ll take those handicapped spots and move them.”

McKenna said local services can be used to cover the town’s share of the cost to buy and install the stations.

“The grant also pays for the first two years of the electric, at which time the town has a couple of options, one being to not have any charge, the other is you can have a meter there, the third is you can get something like the Chamber of Commerce to pay for it,” he said.

McKenna said the charging stations should help attract visitors to the business district.

“Most folks who buy these new electric cars, they get an app on their smart phone that tells them where these charging stations are,” he said. “So somebody down in New York City can plug in and want to take a trip to Woodstock and ... (find) all the charging stations.”

Councilwoman Laura Ricci recommended that a sign be placed near the stations asking drivers to move their vehicles when finished charging.

Ricci also noted the stations help the town maintain its effort to reduce fossil fuel use despite moves by the federal government to deny climate change is occurring.

“This is fabulous because it ties in with the resolution we did a couple of months ago about the Paris Agreement and the town’s commitment to ... green energy services,” she said.