Name: Bellingham City Council - Public Works and Natural Resources Committee meeting, Jul 13, 2026
Start: 2026-07-13
End: 2026-07-13
Location: City of Bellingham

City Council - Public Works and Natural Resources Committee

Mon, July 13, 2026

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City Council Public Works and Natural Resources Committee — July 13, 2026

This was a committee meeting chaired by Council Member Michael Lilliquist, with Council Members Lisa Anderson and Jace Cotton also serving on the committee. Two items were on the agenda: a construction contract award for pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements, and a resolution updating fees for city-owned electric vehicle charging stations.

Contract Award: Citywide Non-Motorized Project (ES572)

The committee considered awarding a contract for safety and accessibility improvements at 10 locations across Bellingham, all drawn from the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan and ADA Transition Plan. Project Engineer Jessica Bennett presented the item on behalf of the Public Works department.

The city received seven bids when it publicly opened bidding on June 16, 2026. RAM Construction General Contractors submitted the lowest responsive bid at $1,480,177.15 (including applicable sales and use tax), well under the engineer's estimate of $2.1 million. The project includes an apprenticeship hour requirement.

Improvements span seven rapid rectangular flashing beacon (RRFB) intersection upgrades — the bright, rapidly flashing pedestrian crossing signals shown to be effective at getting drivers to yield — one ADA intersection improvement, traffic revisions to improve bicycle and pedestrian crossing safety, bike lane repairs, and bike boulevard implementation in the lettered streets neighborhood.

Council Member Anderson asked specifically about the intersection at Mason Street and East Maple/Ellis, a location she said has had about 30 years of safety problems, with cars routinely taking the corner too fast and, on at least one occasion, striking a nearby house. Bennett confirmed the project will pull curb lines significantly forward to better define the curve, eliminate right-turn access from East Maple at that location, and add curve warning arrow signs — changes developed in consultation with a nearby resident. Anderson, who lives approximately a block away, said she was pleased that the work goes well beyond simple curb cut improvements.

Council Member Lilliquist noted that the project exemplifies a corridor-based approach to non-motorized infrastructure — improving clusters of locations along Texas Street and Maple Street together rather than addressing single isolated spots.

No public comment was noted in the transcript.

Vote: Anderson moved approval; the motion was seconded (implicitly by Cotton based on the three-member committee). The committee voted unanimously (3–0) to forward a recommendation of approval to the full council.

Resolution: Updated Fee Schedule for City-Owned EV Charging Stations

Climate and Energy Manager Seth Vida presented an update on the city's public EV charging network and a proposed resolution adjusting the fee schedule, which was last set in November 2022.

Network overview: Over the past four years, the city has added more than 90 charging plugs, mostly Level 2 chargers (adding roughly 25 driving miles per hour of charging) and a handful of Level 3 fast chargers (adding about 10 driving miles per minute). Some chargers are solar-powered at city parks. Total cumulative energy dispensed has reached approximately 700,000 kilowatt-hours, with monthly usage still rising and no plateau in sight.

Affordability context: Vida framed EV charging as significantly cheaper than gasoline (currently around $5.30/gallon in Bellingham). Driving cost per mile runs 18–21 cents for gas vehicles, 4–6 cents for home EV charging, and 7–10 cents at the city's current Level 2 public rate. Even with the proposed rate increase, public Level 3 fast charging would cost 12–17 cents per mile — still below the cost of gas.

EV cooperative/car share: The city received a $630,000 grant from Puget Sound Energy to establish an EV cooperative with at least three shared vehicles at three locations, partnering with the Bellingham Food Co-op and Resources and Opportunity Council. Community members would be able to reserve vehicles through a phone app. The target hourly rate is $8–$9, compared to the $15–$20 market rate for EV rentals.

Over-sidewalk charging guidance: For residents without driveways who need to run a charging cable across the sidewalk, the city has developed guidance on approved cable covers. Rebates are available: residents at 80% of Area Median Income (AMI) receive partial rebates on the $200–$350 cable covers, and those at 30% AMI can have the cost covered entirely.

Proposed fee changes: The current and proposed rates are as follows:

Level 2 chargers: Hold at 25 cents/kWh (the Bellingham-area average is 27 cents; keeping the city rate below market to maintain accessibility).

Level 3 fast chargers: Increase from 25 cents to 40 cents/kWh, plus the existing $1 per session fee. Staff project this will generate roughly $15,000 in additional annual revenue, moving the program from an approximately $11,000 annual deficit to a modest surplus.

Overstay/parking fees: Unchanged.

Annual CPI adjustment: Rates would be automatically adjusted each year by the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Consumer Price Index, calculated by the Finance Director each September based on August-to-August CPI figures, with new rates taking effect January 1.

Discussion highlights: Lilliquist flagged a minor discrepancy — Vida's presentation mentioned December for the rate review, but the resolution text specifies September; Vida confirmed September aligns with how the city handles utility rate adjustments generally. Cotton raised a concern about whether CPI is the right index given that electricity costs can diverge from general inflation. Vida acknowledged electricity makes up about 40% of per-kilowatt delivery cost and that CPI may not always track perfectly with PSE's rates, but called it the best available pairing. Lilliquist noted that "core" CPI sometimes strips out energy costs specifically, making energy an occasional outlier. The committee was comfortable proceeding.

Anderson moved approval, noting she preferred this approach over an earlier version that would have given staff administrative discretion to set fees, which she felt was properly the council's responsibility. She expressed comfort with the CPI mechanism while noting the council can revisit it at any time if the reserve fund grows too large or rates become uncompetitive.

Vote: Anderson moved; unanimous approval (3–0) to forward the resolution to full council with a recommendation of approval.

Key Takeaways

Pedestrian and bike safety: The city is awarding a $1.48 million contract to RAM Construction for improvements at 10 locations citywide — well under the $2.1 million engineer's estimate — including flashing pedestrian beacons, ADA ramps, bike lane work, and a targeted fix at a long-problematic intersection at Mason/East Maple.

EV charging rate increase: Level 3 fast charger rates will rise from 25 to 40 cents/kWh, plus a $1 session fee, bringing the program from deficit to modest surplus. Level 2 rates stay put to preserve affordability.

Automatic CPI adjustments: EV charging rates will be tied to the Seattle-area CPI going forward, reducing the need for repeated council action while keeping rates aligned with inflation.

EV car share launching: A $630,000 PSE grant is funding a community EV cooperative with shared vehicles at three city locations, targeting an $8–$9/hour rental rate well below the market average.

Over-sidewalk charging support: New city guidance and a rebate program (covering up to 100% of costs for lower-income residents) are now in place for residents who need to charge EVs across sidewalks.

AI-generated summary from voice-to-text transcript. Not the official record. Verify important details with the source documents linked above.

What happened at this meeting

Contract award for Citywide Non-Motorized Project, project ES572, Bid No. 33B- 2026

City Engineer Jessica Bennett presented a contract award recommendation for RAM Construction General Contractors as the lowest responsive bidder at $1,480,171.15 for the citywide non-motorized project (ES572), which includes improvements across 10 locations featuring rapid rectangular flashing beacons (RRFBs), intersection improvements, ADA upgrades, bike lanes, and boulevard implementation. Council Member Lisa Anderson raised concerns about the Mason Street and East Maple Ellis intersection, noting a history of speeding vehicles hitting the corner; Bennett explained the project includes curb realignment to better define the curve, increased curb space, elimination of right turns, and addition of warning arrow signs to improve safety. Council Member Anderson moved for approval, and another council member noted the network approach shown on the map with improvements clustered on Texas and Maple Streets.

A resolution updating the fee schedule for public use of City-owned electric vehicle charging stations

# Summary: Resolution Updating EV Charging Station Fee Schedule

Seth Vida, the city's climate energy manager, presented a proposal to update the fee schedule for public electric vehicle charging stations to address an annual deficit of approximately $11,000. The proposal includes increasing Level 3 fast charger rates from 25 cents to 40 cents per kilowatt hour plus a $1 session fee (expected to generate $15,000 annually), while keeping Level 2 rates steady at 25 cents per kilowatt hour to maintain accessibility, along with implementing an annual automatic rate adjustment using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area. Committee member Jason raised concerns about whether CPI adequately accounts for volatile electricity costs, which comprise approximately 40% of the delivered cost, though staff explained that CPI has been increasing 5-7% annually and represents the best approach for consistent adjustments. The presentation also highlighted community concerns about charging cables over sidewalks and a rebate program for low-income residents (up to 80% AMI) to help offset cable cover costs ($200-$350). The committee voted unanimously to approve the resolution, with members appreciating that the CPI-indexed approach ensures fee-setting remains a council function while allowing annual monitoring of the fund's performance.

Agenda items (2)

Procedural (2)

24983ProceduralContract award for Citywide Non-Motorized Project, project ES572, Bid No. 33B- 2026

The city is awarding a contract to build or improve biking and walking paths and infrastructure across Bellingham as part of project ES572.

What happened

24986ProceduralA resolution updating the fee schedule for public use of City-owned electric vehicle charging stations

The city is updating how much residents and visitors will pay to use the electric vehicle charging stations at city facilities.

What happened

Additional votes recorded in minutes

Recommend contract award for citywide non-motorized project (ES572)

aye 1

voice voteaye

Recommend resolution updating fee schedule for public EV charging stations

aye 1

voice voteaye

Verbatim transcript available

91 transcript segments indexed

City of Bellingham Public Works and Natural Resources Committee minutes July 13, 2026, 10 a.m. Chair: Michael Lilliquist Phone: 360-778-8200 Members: Lisa Anderson, Jace Cotton Email: ccmail@cob.org Web: cob.org/council City Council committee meetings Standing committee members receive reports and information, ask questions, and vote on a recommended action for consideration by the full Council at the regular meeting.

Good morning and welcome to the Bellingham City Council committee meetings. Today is Monday, July 13, 2026. So, thank you for joining us. We have a full day ahead of us and our first committee meeting will be public works and natural resources.

That committee is chaired by council member Liloquist. So, I will turn it over to him at this time. >> Thank you, Council President Stone. Joining me on the public works and natural resources committee are council members Lisa Anderson and Jace Cotton.

There is no public comment period during committee sessions. Call to order and roll call Council President Stone called the meeting to order at 10 a.m. Present: Committee Chair Michael Lilliquist, Sixth Ward Committee Member Lisa Anderson, Fifth Ward Committee Member Jace Cotton, At-Large 24983 1.

We have two items. The first of those is a contract award or potential contract award for a citywide non-motorized project uh project number ES572 bid number 33B-2026. Uh this project consists of improvements across 10 locations in the city that will make walking and biking safer and more comfortable.

Contract award for Citywide Non-Motorized Project, project ES572, Bid No. 33B- 2026 Summary: Jessica Bennett, Capital Engineer, and Mike Wilson, Public Works Assistant Director of Engineering, presented the contract award for the Citywide Non-Motorized Project.

The project addresses bicycle and pedestrian improvements across ten City locations pulling recommendations from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans adopted in 2024. Council Members discussed the contract award and asked questions.

The city publicly opened seven bids on June 16th of this year. and Ram Construction General Contractors was the responsible bidder who submitted the lowest responsive bid of1,480,17.15 including any applicable sales and use tax.

The engineers estimate was higher than that at 2.1 million and the project does include apprentichip hour requirement. To discuss this project in more detail is uh city engineer, one of our city's engineers, Jessica Bennett.

Action: Lisa Anderson moved to award contract No. 33B-2026 for the Citywide Non-Motorized Project (ES572) to RAM Construction General Contractors, LLC, in the amount of $1,480,017.15. MOTION CARRIED 3-0.

24986 2. A resolution updating the fee schedule for public use of City-owned electric vehicle charging stations Page 1 of 2 Summary: Seth Vidaña, Climate Energy Manager, presented the resolution, which updates the fee schedule for City-owned electric vehicle charging stations.

>> Thank you. Um Jessica Bennett. I'm with the POVs department project engineer for this project. We recommend approval for the lowest and responsive bidder of RAM construction for ES572, the citywide non-motorized project.

Council Members discussed the resolution and asked questions. Action: Lisa Anderson moved to recommend approval of the resolution. MOTION CARRIED 3-0. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:24 a.m.

This project includes um 10 locations across the city is showing up here on the map. All of them are all the project elements are coming from our bike and pedestrian master plan as well as um improvements in our ADA transition plan.

There's a few on here I just want to call out that are complete um and that some of these other ones will be complementing them. We did we completed these two that are noted up there um with an alternative delivery method and the rest of these will be finishing out um that grouping we're calling this ES572 citywide non-motorized.

There's seven RFB type improvement intersection improvements. um one intersection trans um improvement for ADA as well as uh traffic revision to make it safer and easier for bikes and pedestrians to cross those intersections as well as um some bike lane I should say bike lane kind of repair and then bike boulevard implementation down in our our the lettered streets neighborhood and with that I'd say I'd re we recommend approval um I'm sorry contract award and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

>> Thank you Miss Bennett. Uh, one thing. Could you please spell out RRFB? Describe to the public cuz I'm sure they've seen them. >> Yep. Rapid rapid rectangular flashing beacons. They're the ones that uh are the little light little bright lights that flash really really quickly.

And we found that it's a they are very effective at um having uh motorists yield to pedestrians. That's what that's the one of the and again these locations are coming straight out of our um pedestrian master plan improvements.

Thank you, Jessica. Uh, committee members, Lisa, >> thank you. Um, I I do have a question about a specific project and I'm not sure if you'll have the information on it. It's the um the very sharp corner at Mason Street and East Maple Ellis.

Um, it's a very sharp corner and it's listed as having upgraded curb ramps. Um, it's an area that I've been asking the city to address for a while because people take that corner way too fast and they've launched and have actually hit the house.

Thankfully, the person wasn't in their bedroom at the time or if they missed the house in the past, they have hit trees in either the house on a corner or a joining house's yard and has taken down some old trees before.

Mhm. >> Um I'm wondering the work that's being done, is that going to be addressing to improve the safety of that area or is it primarily just curb cuts for better ramps for passage? >> We didn't. So part of that intersection revision is to help try to address keeping cars in lane of travel.

So if you've been out there, I'm sure. So it's very wide open. The curbs are really far back and because of how the intersections are coming in, it's not well defined. Part of what we're doing is pulling the curbs much further, really defining that curve.

Um, and creating a lot more curb space, I guess, between like what the existing would be lawn or that person's front yard. Um, and then and as well as so it's making it so you there's no more you won't be able to turn right on East Maple from from there anymore.

So, it allows us to do a little bit more curvature and makes that um a lot more visible curb hold forward. Um, we're also adding arrow signs. So, like a like you typically see on a sharper curve. That was something that um I' I've communicated with that resident um and that was something he thought would be effective.

And we looked around and it's the um would make it made sense in that location to add those. So, that's on those plans as well. >> Great. Yeah. I live about a block from there, so I have seen countless times people have like ran up on that side.

So, I'm glad there's going to be some extra work than just the curb cut. Um, hopefully the solution is going to be what we need there because >> yeah, it's 30 years of issues. Um, >> I'll move approval.

>> Have a motion before us to uh recommend approving the contract award for citywide non-motorized projects. I'll ask for any further discussion. council other non-committee members on the council. Um I just wanted to make one observation.

If look at the map, there's the three dots in a row on Texas and the three dots in a row there on Maple Street. And I think that that typifies this kind of network approach rather than this intersection or that intersection.

Kind of like look for corridors and improve the corridor um motion all the as much of the corridor as possible at one time. Um all those in favor of the motions signify by saying I. >> I. I. All those opposed.

I'll bring that forward a unanimous recommendation this evening. Thank you, Jessica. >> Thank you, council members. >> We'll go on to the second item. This is a resolution updating the fee schedule for the public use of the city's uh city-owned electric vehicle charging stations.

The city of Bellingham has been working to increase the use of electric vehicles in the community and in city operations as part of its commitment to addressing climate change and affordability. staff will uh present an update on electric vehicle charging developments in Bellingham as well as a resolution to update the fee schedule for the use of these public vehicle charging stations.

Here to present that is the city's climate energy manager, Mr. Seth Vida. While we're waiting for that, I would note that the city first adopted this uh fee schedule for EV charging stations back in November of 2022.

So, it's been um not quite four years since uh three and a half years since we first established the fee schedule. >> I will now tell a joke. That was the joke. >> Please don't. >> Thanks for your patience.

>> You could tap dance. >> There we go. Council, thanks for your time today. Uh thanks for the introduction there, council member. Uh we come to you with uh some EV charging updates and a proposal for setting fees for EV charging in the in the city of Bellingham.

So, we'll cover fuel costs and some charging statistics with our u newly kind of beefed up uh charging network. Talk a little bit about guidance that we have for over the sidewalk charging. A little bit on our EV car share program that's in its nent stage right now.

And then we'll end with a proposal for rate setting. Big why behind this is our greenhouse gas commission emissions and our commitment to reduce emissions down to really zero by 2050. Our last greenhouse gas inventory shows that 40% of our total community emissions, that's Bellingham as a whole, come from transportation.

And so investing in uh allowing people to walk, bike, bus, and for those single occupancy vehicles that do require a car, getting those those trips electrified is an important part of our strategy to reduce our emissions down to down to zero.

You've seen this slide before. I won't go into detail. Over the past fourish years, we've added 90 new plugs, so to speak, in the city of Bellingham so folks can charge their EV. Most of those are level two chargers that add about 25 driving miles per hour of charging.

Those are quoteunquote slower chargers. And we do have a handful of fast charger fast charging uh EV chargers that add about 10 driving miles per charging minute. Some of our chargers are solar powered at our at our parks around town.

Again, over 90 new plugs. And the results of investing in this infrastructure through a Department of Commerce grant are seen on the screen there. The blue line is the monthly kilowatts dispense and then that that orange line dotted line is cumulative kilowatts dispense over time.

And we're now in uh the 700,000 kilowatt range uh which is amazing. The monthly kilowatt uh dispense just keeps going up. We don't really see a plateau just yet. And we can overlay the projects that we had to install these chargers on this graph with that uh phase one of the of the project there.

A modest increase with phase two where we installed really 90% of the chargers. We see a great increase in the community response to these uh to these chargers. So we really think this is a if you build it they will come sort of scenario.

No plateau yet on on that uh that increase charging but we are monitoring it on a on a monthly basis. Uh we think it's important to talk about the affordability aspects of EV charging with gas around 530 a gallon.

Uh it's it costs a lot per mile to drive a a electric or sorry internal combustion vehicle vehicle that uses gas or diesel. That's around 18 to 21 cents per driving mile to power to to fuel a gas powered vehicle.

If you can charge at home, you're dropping that cost down to four to 6 cents per driving mile. Great decrease there. If you are needing to use our public two uh chargers, our level two chargers, that's around uh 7 to 10 cents at the current rate.

Our public level three charging at the current rate is 8 cents to 11 cents. And with the proposal that we'll be making today, that per mile charge for electricity is 12 to 17 cents. still under what it costs to uh fuel a gas powered vehicle.

And those level three chargers are our fast chargers. We have just a handful of them. They are much more expensive to build and to and to maintain. And it's a really a premium product for getting a a quick charge.

So even with that premium product, our prices are lower than than than uh using gas to fuel a vehicle. Uh we do recognize that getting into uh another car, whether it be a new or a used car, is challenging for for most folks.

And so we want to get EV technology into the hands of folks in the community. Uh with that that idea, we've applied for a grant from Puget Sound Energy. We received 630K from them to create an EV cooperative with the idea that we'll have at least three vehicles stationed at three locations around town.

the Bellingham Food Co-op resources and the opportunity council with those nonprofits using the vehicles and those vehicles also being uh be able to be used by the community. So, community member can get on their phone, they can uh make a reservation and they can use these vehicles that are jointly that are really owned by the the co-op that we're setting up, but will be used both by the nonprofit and and the residents.

And the hourly rate there, we're we're hoping to be well below the averages that you see out in the community. Right now to to uh rent an EV might be $15 to $20 per hour and we're really looking to come in at the $8 to $9 per hour range.

So much more accessible. the idea just getting EV technology into the hands of more folks and making those trips that do require a vehicle cheaper than than owning your own vehicle with the idea that transportation uh might be more of a of a service versus a good that is that is owned for folks that do have vehicles.

Now, we have uh encountered some questions from the community about how to charge over the sidewalk. Some folks are fortunate enough to have a driveway that they can park into. Many folks don't have that that accessibility there and charging over the sidewalk becomes necessary for an EV.

And we've worked with our folks in public works and our American Disabilities Act representative to come up with guidance that will help both charge those cars and make sure that the sidewalks are are fully accessible.

So, we now have guidance online for the uh cable covers as they're as they're uh called. uh use of those cable covers to cover these uh cover the the cables there. Recognizing that the cable covers are expensive, anywhere from $200 to $350 total, we have a rebate program for folks that are uh 50 uh 80% AMI and uh and lower.

Um if you are in the 30% AMI range, the uh the the rebates essentially cover the the total cost of the of the cable covers there. So again, wanting to make this uh this technology more accessible to to everyone.

We'll get into the proposal now for our charging fees. And the economics here are on the screen. Our costs include the price of electricity that we pay to PSSE fees that we pay to charge point for warranty software and then they take 10% of each of the the transactions that that we make or the community makes using the charge point system.

There are some costs associated with vandalism, not much thus far. And we have through the ordinance, the establishing ordinance reserve the right to collect fees for system development and operational costs.

We haven't in included that in the cost just yet, but we may at some point in the future. Revenues for the system are the kilowatts that are purchased for both our level two and level three chargers. And then city fees, this is the session fee for that we $1 per session that we charge for the fast level three chargers, the handful that we have there.

And then an overstay fee to make sure people are uh freeing up that resource for other people to use. with these costs and these revenues. Our our annual deficit is around 11K and the proposal that we're making today will help to rectify that situation and help us collect enough revenue to cover all of our costs.

So you see on the the board here a table with our uh current average charging rates in Bellingham, our current city rates and proposed rates. So for level two, the last uh survey that we we conducted on our our rates here in Bellingham, the average cost was around 27 27 cents per kilowatt hour.

Our current rates are 25. And we're proposing to keep that rate there so that that more folks have accessibility to that uh that that level two slower charging. On level three, these are the fast chargers that I mentioned before.

that s that average cost is4 cents in Bellingham. If you look around Bellingham and and the uh Watcom County in general, our current city rates are 25 cents per $1 session fee. And we're proposing to raise that to 40 cents plus a $1 session fee.

We think that'll bring in around $15,000 per year in revenue. So we'll go from being in the red to being in the black by a little. Our overstay and parking fees will stay the same. and those won't those won't change.

Uh we're also proposing to increase this cost every year using the consumer price index for Seattle Tacoma Belleview area. Um an example of how we might use that would be a rate analysis that's done in December 2026.

Let's say we're talking about our level three rate at that time might be 40 cents. If the CPI is 5 cents, 5% that's a 2 cent increase and our new rate then becomes automatically in 2027 42 cents. So we're looking to build in a way to increase that that cost should the CPI go up over time.

And then one last slide here on the global EV end of things here in uh in 2026 now 25% of all new cars that are sold globally were were EVs. We do see a contraction of the the US EV market a little bit between 25 2025 and 2026.

If you zoom out and look at the rest of the world, there's a lot of EV happening in uh in other other places. uh most notably China uh Europe and a number of other nations. If uh in terms of the global vehicle stock, 5% of the total global vehicle stock, this is uh used cars uh uh that have been around for you know 20 30 40 years.

5% of that total global vehicle stock is is now electric. And so that's where that that market penetration of EVs is is happening. Again, a little bit of a contraction here in the US, but the rest of the the world seems to be going gang busters for for this ED technology.

That's it for me on the presentation end of things and uh welcome your questions. >> Thank you, Seth. Uh committee members, >> I'm going to go ahead and start with a small thing. you gave an example of the CPI rate adjustment and you talked about um looking at that in December.

The ordinance refers specifically to September. However, okay, so I don't know with practicality. The section two by annual fee adjustment says the finance director shall calculate it in September based on August to August for effective rate changes that would take place on January 1st.

You just mentioned December. Is December a better time. I don't know. They kind of want to ask the finance director what is a workable schedule for that. >> Yeah, I think that schedule matches with our when we look at utilities in general and we make adjustments for for water and sewer.

I believe that's the that's the same time period and I think that's why it was set to work with that that same schedule. >> Okay. The thing I'm referring to is not the January 1 date, but the September because this mandates our finance director to do this work in September.

That's fine. Okay. I just want to check because you mentioned December instead. >> Oh, got it. Okay. >> Okay. That was that was a small thing. Any other discussion by the committee? >> Yeah, Jason. >> Um I just don't know very much about electricity rate setting.

I'm assuming that's kind of our biggest cost. Um, and so I'm wondering, um, is CPI sufficient in some years? Might that be more than others are increasing their rates or should that be an up to and leaving it with discretion to go a lower if we become uncompetitive or >> Yeah, great question.

So around 40% of the total cost of the each kilowatt delivered to the to the public comes from the electricity. So that's that's a a large portion of the the cost of that that delivered uh product there.

CPI seems to be in increasing over the past couple years around 5% per year. 5 6 7% per year. So um there's a little bit of a difference between those two rates. We'll see if CPI works. That was the our our best shot at at sort of pairing those two uh together.

Uh CPI doesn't have to go up. If CPI doesn't go up, then we don't have to increase this. But the the intent was to make a easier way to have that that that pairing happen happen year to year. >> I believe there's what's called a core inflation rate where they specifically subtract out food and and energy costs.

Fuel I think maybe just fuel because they are more volatile. Maybe over the long run they trend similarly, but I don't know. The CPI is fine with me, but but energy can be an outlier. It definitely an outlier this year >> for for sure.

Any further discussion? So, most of that was discussion about the vehicle share and and uh the over over curb charging. Um but there also is an attached resolution. Lisa, >> I'm going to move approval.

And I appreciate the changes because this was going to come to us previously and I think it was designed that administratively the the fee could be set and I kind of had issue with that because I feel that's council's job is to determine you know fees through budgetary.

So I'm much more comfortable hooking it to CPI and assume that um if it's not sufficient or if we find that we're overshooting considerably and that fund is expanding um the information as stated in here will be available on the web.

So we'll be able to track it if council has an interest and you know knows to take a look at it yearly to make sure we're not building up the fund too much and need to revisit it. So, I think it uh CPI is a a good alternative to the previous uh version.

And of course, we could always make that change if we're shooting over or under. So, I'm I'm comfortable to start out with that as a way to administratively not have to do this on a yearly basis. So, um good solution.

So, anyway, I will move approval. We have a motion to recommend approving the resolution setting the fee schedule for public own EV charging stations. I know that section two, the language there is mandatory that the rate will be adjusted or shall be adjusted based on CPI.

So that it isn't that the administration will have the choice to go by CPI or not or skip it the year or not. they will have to adjust it according to the CPI. But as you say, we can always then revoke that requirement with another resolution from the city council.

Any further discussion? All those in favor of approving the resolution signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. Any opposed? I'll bring that forward with unanimous recommendation. Seth, thank you so much. >> Those are the only two items for the public works and natural resources committee.

So, the committee is adjourned and I return the meeting control back over to our council president. Thank you very much, Council Member Liiloquist. Um, we will take a brief break. The next committee is community and economic development.