Title
Authorizing the City to enter into an agreement with the City of Minneapolis outlining each City’s commitments and responsibilities related to the EV Spot Network and Evie Carshare Service (“Evie”).
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul (“City”) is leading the EV Spot Network/Evie Carshare (the “project”) project, in partnership with the City of Minneapolis, Xcel Energy and HOURCAR; and
WHEREAS, the project will deliver 70 electric vehicle (EV) charging hubs across Saint Paul and Minneapolis, with each hub providing both public EV charging and EV charging dedicated to use by an electric vehicle carshare service that will be operated by HOURCAR; and
WHEREAS, the City is leasing the electric vehicles for the carshare program and is partnering with HOURCAR to operate the Evie carshare service in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, beginning in 2021; and
WHEREAS, the project will provide EV carshare as an additional transportation option in the Twin Cities to complement transit, biking, and walking, as well as public EV charging; and
WHEREAS, the project will provide EV carshare service to ten lower-wealth, majority BIPOC neighborhoods across the two cities where carshare is not currently an option; and
WHEREAS, the project will produce no local emissions, supporting improved air quality in our neighborhoods and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation; and
WHEREAS, carshare has been shown to reduce the need for car ownership while increasing transportation options, consistent with the Transportation Chapter of the City’s Comprehensive Plan; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul has been awarded a federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) grant of $4 million for the project through the Metropolitan Council’s Transportation Advisory Board regional solicitation in the 2021-2024 Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul - via the American Lung Association as the lead applicant - is a subrecipient of $3,650,237 in Department of Energy funding to support deployment of the project; and
WHEREAS the City has budgeted $750,000 from the Parking Fund for the required local match to the federal CMAQ funds to complete the project and the City of Minneapolis has budgeted and committed $350,000 toward the project; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul committed to completion of the project under Council Resolution 20-1370; and
WHEREAS, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved Xcel Energy’s participation in--and contribution of--“make-ready” electrical infrastructure for this project (Docket No. E002/M-18-643); and
WHEREAS, in this agreement the City of Saint Paul is the project lead and will lease the electric vehicles for the Evie carshare service, contract with an electric vehicle charging equipment vendor to install the charging equipment, and contract with HOURCAR to operate the Evie carshare service; and
WHEREAS, each City has an agreement with Xcel Energy to install the “make-ready” electric infrastructure to power the charging equipment both Cities, and with the exception of USDOE grant dollars covering some of the initial maintenance costs of the charging equipment, each City will own and maintain the EV Spot Network charging equipment within its boundaries and each City will permit the operations of the Evie carshare service within its boundaries; now therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby authorizes and directs the proper city officials to enter into the Agreement with the City of Minneapolis outlining each City’s commitments and responsibilities related to the EV Spot Network and Evie Carshare Service (“Evie”).