Macomb plans to have three electric vehicle charging stations installed in the downtown area.
The city received a $50,000 grant from Ameren to pay for the charging stations.
The city council voted unanimously on Dec. 15 to seek bids for buying and installing them.
During the council’s committee of the whole meeting the previous week, City Administrator Scott Coker said the grant did not require a match, so the project won’t cost the city anything.
“If the bids come back and we’re over the $50,000, we’ll evaluate if we want to do just two of them, but I expect we can do all three for that amount,” Coker said.
One charging station will be installed in the lot behind Gelsosomo’s Pizzeria, and another at the City Center transit station.
Coker’s plan calls for installing the third on the south side of the courthouse square, though several city council members would like to revisit that idea, including the fourth ward’s Dave Dorsett.
“I have real reservations about the use of one on the square proper,” Dorsett said before the vote on Monday night. “We have a number of other parking lots all the way around the square itself. I don’t believe this is a good use of a parking space on the square.”
The city council will discuss the location for the third charging station after the bids come in.
Motorists will not be assessed a fee for charging a vehicle. But users will need to download an app that will provide the city with some data about the user.
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