STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza says it’s time for his city to be in front of the electric vehicle curve.
The city’s Plan Commission will consider a proposal this evening that would require any developer looking for city participation in a project to include EV infrastructure such as charging ports.
Wiza says the proposal is no different from any other requirement the city puts on developers. “We already require residential developments, apartments to have bicycle parking. We already tell developers that they have to build within a certain distance of the street, have sidewalk infrastructure, or [in some cases] specific colors or materials for fencing. All of these things already come into play.”
Wiza knows that we are still several years away from electric vehicles becoming more mainstream, but he feels that the time is now to start investing in charging stations and other infrastructure so they aren’t scrambling to play catchup in a few years when the vehicles become more common.
He also says the addition of more charging stations could bring some money into the city as well based on the city’s central location along Interstate 39 and US Highway 10, such as a family stopping for a meal or to do some shopping while they are on the road. “If it’s good infrastructure they’ll come here, even if they are passing through to somewhere else.”
The idea came from a recent story by a Milwaukee TV station that involved driving an electric vehicle from Milwaukee to Madison- then north to Point and back to Milwaukee. Wiza says the story didn’t paint an entirely accurate picture of the availability of charging stations in his city. Meaning he wants to raise awareness that there are publicly available plug-ins while also building up the availability of the new technology.
“I want to be on the front edge of this. I want to be leading this movement by example,” added Wiza.
He’s also in contact with local dealers to possibly replace some gas-powered vehicles in the city’s fleet with electric vehicles, especially for those departments that don’t drive out of city limits such as inspectors.
The Plan Commission will meet at 6:00 PM in the community room of the Police Department on Michigan Avenue. There will also be a live stream of the meeting as well.
Other topics Wiza discussed with WSAU’s Mike Leischner include:
Start of video- recent recognition for Executive Assistant Sandy Frasch
2:30- Comments on the situation in Eastern Europe and Wiza’s support for Stevens Point’s sister city in Russia
5:30- EV charging station proposal
14:10- Fundraising meals in Point this week
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