Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Sunset Empire Transit Center will be the first site in Astoria to get an electric vehicle charging station added to its parking lot.

After several discussions – most in executive session – the board of directors approved the 15-year lease agreement Thursday with Aero Vironment, Inc., a company from California trying to stay a step ahead of the curve for the pending electric car trend. 

Not all were in favor of the agreement, however.

“I’m not against a charging station, but there are other places that I think it would be better off and I don’t see this as the best place,” said board member Carol Gearin. “I don’t think that this is the best spot. I don’t think it’s a good business deal; we have no out on this lease and we’re committing ourselves to 15 years and for that alone, I would say it’s not a good business deal.”

Gearin provided the board with a two-page typed list of reasons for her concern.The list included questions like who will police the parking lot? And if a car is damaged, who holds the liability?

She said she feared staff would be bothered constantly by people charging their cars, who came into the transit center for questions about restaurants and shopping recommendations.

“While it may not be a big thing now, it could become a big thing,” she said. 

Executive Director Jay Flint told the board he had spoken with Astoria Police Chief Peter Curzon about the issue. The police department was in support of the project, given that the department has its own electric car and thinks it is great, he said.

Flint said he felt comfortable with the agreement because of all of the state support the project has garnered.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the Oregon Department of Transportation a $2 million grant from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER II) program for 30 charging stations, 50 miles apart throughout the state, with one in the transit center’s parking lot. The $2.75 million project is supported from the federal level of the Department of Transportation to the Oregon governor’s office.

The transit center will get a 5 percent commission on revenue sales from the site and will have three five-year lease terms, which the transit center cannot exit from until after 15 years because of the investment in the equipment instillation, estimated to cost between $80,000 and $100,000. The company installing the equipment can exit after five years at its choosing.

“I’m not debating whether an electric car is good or not; I can see it being very good,” Gearin said. “I just don’t see it as a good business deal because we’re tying ourselves up for 15 years. If we had an out, the same way they do, I maybe would feel differently. I just don’t think this is a good business deal.”

The sites will have different charging times associated with different costs and will be payable via credit or debit card by the user, similar to a gas pump. Fast charge – a level three – gives an 80 percent charge for a car battery in 25 to 30 minutes. A level two charge can take six to seven hours.

Although Gearin presented concerns for those terms and conditions, board Chairman Ron Bline was highly in favor of the program, telling Gearin what the board’s role is – a board that is not composed of transit experts, but rather volunteers.

“I think what we have to focus on is that we have been presented a contract because the state is trying to build and infrastructure so that people will be able to use automobiles and have a place to charge it,” Bline said. “Our sole consideration right now is, does this district want to participate or not? I don’t want to argue about the worthiness of charging stations or electric cars. 

“We’re presented a contract. Is it in the best interest of the district to do this or not? Should it be located in a different spot or not? That doesn’t have any relevance to this contract. We have been made an offer to particiate in this program and do we want to or not? And to sit and argue about the worthiness or the future of electronics or electric vehicles or one of a million other possible locations in this town is not what we’re doing today.”

He added, “We’re volunteers, we’re not attorneys, CPAs, transportation experts, highway engineers. We’re citizens interested in the good of this district. And so now we have an obligation to make a choice.”

In the end, Bline and board members Rae Goforth, Paul Lewicki and Julie Gassner voted in favor of the agreement, while Gearin voted against it.

Board members Victor Kee and Marcia Fenske were absent.

“I think we have a responsibility to do what we can to promote all modes of transportation,” Lewicki said, adding that risk is always associated with business decisions.

He later added, “I, for one, appreciate all of the research Carol did on this. It was really informative and I’m embarassed that I didn’t get so far into it. You did a wonderful job and I appreciate your passion that you feel on this.”

Gearin said she hopes she’s wrong. Bline jokingly added he hoped she is, too.

Other sites for charging stations include Burgerville in St. Helens, a city of Clatskanie parking lot, an RV park in Tolovana, the outlet mall in Lincoln City and a city of Newport parking lot.

This story originally appeared in Daily Astorian.