Milford car charging stations

The eco-friendly folks living in and visiting the village of Milford in the coming months will be able to charge their electric vehicles at one of six new charging stations slated to be installed by the fall. Not only is the effort good for those already owning electric vehicles, but it could help prompt other communities to consider such a move and perhaps even spur area residents to weigh the purchase of such a vehicle now that charging the vehicle would be more practical than perhaps it may have been in the past.

The Village Council voted on Monday, June 20, to approve a proposal from the village’s Parking Authority to have three charging stations installed in the east municipal parking lot near Union Street and three charging stations installed in the village’s west parking lot, bringing the total to six.

According to Village Manager Arthur Shufflebarger, the Parking Authority will pony up to $20,000 for the installation of the stations, which are coming to the village with the support of the General Motors Co., which owns the GM Proving Grounds in Milford Township and is donating the six stations, which carry a price tag of between $30,000 and $35,000 each.

The installation of the stations will be completely funded with Parking Authority monies, according to Keith Hughes, the chairperson of the authority. In a memo drafted to council members, Hughes said that there will be no additional expense for Milford property owners.

Users will not be charged at this time for charging their electric vehicles. The Parking Authority will determine the expenses and benefits of the stations and, after that, there will be a modest fee collected over the long-term. Users are expected to be able to use a credit card or a pre-paid ChargePoint card to pay for the charge.

Milford seems to have gotten it right with this public-private partnership. We hope that the installation of the charging stations provides a local economic boost since electric vehicle owners who perhaps weren’t comfortable taking their vehicles out where no charging stations were located will soon be free to do so. Such installations could also feasibly cause others wary of the shift to the eco-friendly vehicles to lean more in that direction.

In addition, we can foresee the installation in the village of Milford as being a catalyst for other communities in the area to take similar efforts to be more welcoming to those who own, or are thinking of owning, electric vehicles.

In short, the effort should prove to be good for electric vehicle owners, the community, and will hopefully prompt other municipalities to mull a move along these lines.