Town of Gilbert to identify potential EV charging sites

Gilbert town staff will work on a siting plan for an electric vehicle charging infrastructure that will be partly funded by the Maricopa Association of Governments.

The siting plan is a part of the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Program established by MAG, which awarded the town $95,000.

Considered a town capital improvement project, the siting plane will be developed by the town’s transportation planning team, which will evaluate specific locations for future EV infrastructure for public use.

Presented as a part of the City of the Future initiatives, Stephanie Bubenheim, a town senior transportation planners, gave an overview of the proposal.

According to Bubenheim, the process of working with MAG on EV Capital Improvement Projects began last October.

In addition to the MAG grant, the town proposed to set aside a contingent amount of $25,000 from its General Fund, bringing the total project cost to $120,000.

The plan also aligns with Gilbert’s Transportation Master Plan, specifically defined in its Emerging Mobility Playbook.

The playbook defines the town’s possible transition to vehicle electrification and through it, an opportunity to evaluate EV charging sites was identified, she said.

Bubenheim also explained that while the siting plan would identify and prioritize possible charging station locations, it did not mean the town would necessarily build them.

“The last part of the study would be the creation of some project sheets. MAG does have some (electric vehicle capital) funding opportunities coming up. So we can narrow down maybe five locations that might meet the criteria,” she said.

However, Bubenheim clarified that if the town wants to take advantage of these funding opportunities, staff will come back to the council at a later date for approval.

Town staff confronted some pushback from the council, specifically from Councilman Jim Torgeson.

Torgeson questioned if the study’s goal is to provide charging services outside of town-owned facilities or if if town facilities would be available for private electric vehicle owners.

Bubenheim clarified that currently it is only to identify spots that would benefit from such infrastructure being built.

“We’re basically a gas station for people with electric cars in the end if we follow through the end of the program, correct?” he asked.

Bubenheim reiterated that the siting plan, for example, will identify if Gilbert needs to place EV charging stations at parking garages, parks or libraries and if so, which specific locations.

“It does sound like that’s the afterthought and the forethought is places for us to provide it on possible town-owned property,” Torgeson said.

Town Manager Patrick Banger noted that the town in the future could also choose to do a Request for Proposals and solicit a private party to build the infrastructure for Gilbert.

“To me, the only acceptable way to go with this is if it ends up with a RFP for a private enterprise to do this. I do not believe any form of government should be in charge of dispersing this,” Torgeson said.

Additionally, the council in June this year had voted and approved to adopt a fare for owners charging their electric vehicles in current town sites. The fee went into effect on the first of this month.

Mayor Brigette Peterson and Councilman Chuck Bongiovanni both clarified with the transportation team that the fare study and siting plan study are separate.

They said that at a future date, depending on the locations recommended and approved, the town might adopt the approved fee structure for those locations.

“It’s more of us kind of pre-planning so that we know what makes sense for the town if we need to put charging stations in CIP projects or potentially go after funding,” Bubenheim said.

Vice Mayor Scott Anderson asked if the plan will also gather comprehensive data on the use of electric vehicles in Gilbert and Bubenheim replied in the affirmative.

The council passed the motion 6-1, introduced by Councilwoman Yung Koprowski, seconded by Bongiovanni with Torgeson dissenting.