County Commissioners voted 3-2 to block the intergovernmental agreement between the county's Department of Public Works and the Colorado Department of Transportation to use over $1 million in federal funds to buy and install four charging stations and purchase eight new electric vehicles as part of its next round of replacing vehicles for county use.
The total cost of the project — $1,050,000 — would be 83% funded by federal money received by the county in November as part of the Carbon Reduction Program. As a result, the county would use its general fund to pay just 17% of the full price tag of the charging stations and vehicles, Deputy Director of Public Works Jack Ladley said.
According to Ladley, El Paso County's "light fleet" has 260 vehicles in 20 departments and divisions. He said the costs of operating an electric vehicle for 100,000 miles is around $9,900 — roughly $21,600 cheaper than the operating cost of a gas-powered vehicle in the same time frame.
Including the vehicle purchase cost, the county would see $44,000 in net savings per vehicle or $270,000 for the eight-vehicle fleet, he said.
Ladley said accepting the resolution would allow Public Works to evaluate how the change would impact fleet maintenance facilities and personnel and overall functionality as Colorado pushes to move away from gas-powered cars, such as the launch of its "EV CO" initiative in November to help reach its goal of 940,000 electric vehicles in the state by 2030.
There are now just under 90,000 on the road and 3,900 standard charging stations in the state, according to a report commissioned by the Colorado Energy Office.
"In terms of legislation coming from the state, whether we like it or not, this is something that is coming and this program gives us the opportunity to pilot it and educate ourselves," Ladley said.
Commissioners Holly Williams, citing recent concerns expressed by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments, which monitors air quality and ozone damage for El Paso County, and Cami Bremer voted in favor of the program.
"It's our responsibility up here as commissioners to be able to look around the corner a little bit, look around the bend, and set up our taxpayers to get the most bang for their buck in the long haul," Bremer said.
But commissioners opposed to the resolution said they took issue with the "insane rush" toward broad electric vehicle use, citing either a need for increased power grid infrastructure to accommodate such changes or outright disagreement with the state's position on the environmental benefits of electric vehicles.
Commissioner Carrie Geitner also cited the controversial use of child labor and "deplorable" conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo mining cobalt and other materials used in electric vehicle battery production, as well as a lack of information on the potentially harmful disposal of those batteries.
"We still really have not gotten this figured out — the technology is not ready," Geitner said. "That is also concerning to me that we are plowing down a road that some find politically expedient ... (but) is not actually a solution to anything."
Commissioner Stan VanderWerf said El Paso County would need to quadruple grid infrastructure to accommodate future investments in electric vehicle use.
"(I don't really have) an objection to electrification, so long as it's done appropriately and not without due consideration for the grid problems and where the resources are coming from ... but I cannot in good conscience vote yes on this," VanderWerf said.
© 2023 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
