Sustainability and Resiliency Committee Minutes - November 22, 2022

The meeting of the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee was Tuesday, November 22, 2022 held in the City Commission Chambers at Fargo City Hall at 3:00 p.m.

Present:
John Strand (chair), Fargo City Commissioner
Tim Mahoney, Fargo Mayor
Bruce Grubb, Fargo PT City Administrator
Mark Williams, Fargo Assistant Director of Planning and Development
Ben Dow, Fargo Director of Public Works
Shawn Ouradnik, Fargo Inspections Director
Bekki Majerus, Fargo Facilities Director
Brenda Derrig, Fargo Engineer
Paul Matthys, Cass County Electric Cooperative Representative (Ex-officio)
Shawn Paschke, Xcel Energy Representative (Ex-officio)

Absent:
Jennifer Sweatman, At-Large Member of the Public
Greta Gramig, At-Large Member of the Public
Casey Steele, At-Large Member of the Public
Blake Mikesell, Fargo School District Representative (Ex-officio)
Dave Leker, Fargo Park District Representative (Ex-officio)

Approval of the Agenda:
Mr. Grubb moved the agenda be approved, as presented. Second by Ms. Derrig. There was unanimous approval by all members present.

Approval of the September 13, 2022 Minutes:
Mr. Matthys moved that the minutes from the September 13, 2022 meeting be approved. Second by Mr. Dow. There was unanimous approval by all members present.

Presentation by C.L.E.A.N on Electric Vehicle Chargers:
Mr. Grubb said the Citizens Local Energy Action Network (C.L.E.A.N.) started a petition to encourage the Fargo City Commission to consider making electric vehicle charging equipment placement a requirement at new and at some existing multi-family buildings. He said the group collected about 400 signatures, then reached out to the City Commission asking about presenting the petition at a meeting. He said Commissioner Strand advised the group that a good first stop for them would be the SRC.

Sonya Kaye, representing C.L.E.A.N., said there are not many apartment buildings in Fargo that have the charging infrastructure needed for EV ownership. About 90 percent of EV charging is done at home, she said, and apartment residents should have the same opportunities to own EVs as homeowners. She said there are three levels of charging, with level 1 the slowest and level 3 the fastest. Level 2 charges at a rate between levels 1 and 3 and there are different plug types for the different charging levels, she stated, and level 2 charging equipment makes home charging quicker and makes EV ownership and daily driving feasible. With her own EV, she said, in order to charge 60 miles worth of range it would take 10 or more hours with a level 1 charger. With a level 2 charger, she said, it takes one to two hours to complete the same charge. When comparing EVs to gas powered cars, there are variables including the price of gas and the price of electricity, she said. EVs save almost 8 cents per mile and maintenance is equally significant due to the fact that EVs have 80 percent fewer moving parts, making them less prone to breaking down, she said. C.L.E.A.N. is proposing a City Ordinance or building code that all new apartment buildings have a minimum of 20 percent of reserved tenant garages or tenant parking spaces equipped with a NEMA 14-50 outlet or equivalent by 2024, she said, and existing apartment buildings retrofit at least 10 percent of tenant parking spaces and garages with a NEMA 14-50 outlet or equivalent by 2025. She said the cost for installation of this plug type is $400.00 to $1,000.00 and other equipment can be purchased from hardware stores and is relatively inexpensive. There may be programs that can help keep costs down for building owners, she said, and in Minnesota Xcel has a pilot program which allows EV owners to optimize their time of use rates without the added expense of a separate electric meter. She said data is transmitted and shared through a smartphone app specific to the particular model of level 2 charging equipment and C.L.E.A.N. anticipates Xcel will bring this program to North Dakota customers. She said there were concerns the cost of new infrastructure would increase rents; however, the costs incurred would be one-time and with the help of the City and potential incentives, the costs can be kept to a minimum. She said building owners are currently eligible for a 30-year tax credit for any charging infrastructure installed in their buildings; however, the credits will be different in 2023. Electricity usage will likely be metered or measured at the parking spot so the cost of electricity will be paid solely by the resident using it, she said. This will be a savings over what a resident would pay for gas, she said, and it is expected almost everyone will be buying an electric vehicle within 10 years and whatever expenses are paid now will benefit many residents for years to come. She said to make this initiative even more palatable for building owners, C.L.E.A.N. would like the City to consider tax incentives to help defray costs further. She said there are many myths about EVs, including they are not affordable, they do not have enough range, there is nowhere to service them in Fargo, the batteries degrade quickly, batteries will clutter landfills, the grid cannot handle the load, EVs do not pay for road maintenance and it is too cold in North Dakota to own an EV. She said while the sticker price may have been out of reach a few years ago, prices now are on par with the price of gas-powered vehicles, especially with federal tax credits. The current range of a Tesla is 250 to 500 miles depending on the model, she stated, and the range of the Nissan Leaf is about 226 miles and as battery technology improves, range will continue to improve, range will be less of an issue as public charging stations are added under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan. Fargo Nissan and Moorhead Metroworks have EV technicians, she said, and Minnesota State Community and Technical College is developing a training program for EV techs, Tesla has its own servicing program. While it is true there is some battery degradation over time, it is minimal and less of an issue with newer battery technology and the latest models of EVs have liquid cooled lithium ion batteries that outlast the life of the vehicle. She said many companies are expanding EV battery recycling, which is less expensive than mining for new materials, and recycling batteries may mean some will get a second life by replacing faulty cells or being used for other projects. There has not been much recycling so far due to the fact that the majority of EV batteries are still in use, she said. EVs can actually increase the reliability of the grid, she stated, with most charging at night when there is low demand and EV batteries can serve as an emergency backup source where electrons would flow from the EV back to the grid. North Dakota EV owners pay a road use fee of $120.00 per year, she said, and pay vehicle registration fees. In extreme temperatures, she said, EVs lose about 40 percent of their range and gas-powered vehicles also lose range in the cold. She said EVs do need to be plugged in at extreme temperatures, while gas-powered vehicles also need to be plugged in at extreme temperatures, and EVs have built-in block heater technology that keeps the battery from freezing in moderately cold temperatures. She said as design and technology improve, so will the ability to withstand extreme temperatures.

Mr. Dow said some Public Works facilities are negatively affected when trying to implement EVs and the associated costs of rehabilitating existing structures. He said with apartments built in the 1960s or 1970s, changes will be expensive for owners.

A Fargo resident said she moved to Fargo last summer and contacted many apartment owners, looking for one with an EV charger or one that would let her pay to put one in. She said there were no buildings or condos in West Fargo or Fargo with EV chargers.

Mr. Matthys said Cass County Electric installed the first level 3 chargers in North Dakota and is installing level 2 chargers at all of its facilities. He said the company has three EVs and is compiling empirical data to share with members. He said the size of a general apartment’s service is typically 200 to 400 amps and most of the 17,000 apartments Cass County services in Fargo are metered individually.

In response to a question from Mr. Matthys asking if the chargers are going to be placed at parking spots and paid for by apartment owners, what is plan to meter usage and what is the plan to get the infrastructure there to serve that load, Ms. Kaye said C.L.E.A.N. is not looking at level 2 charging stations, what they want is the outlet so a person can use level 2 charging equipment.

In response to a question from Mr. Matthys asking what is the load per charger and has a load calculation been done, Ms. Kaye said C.L.E.A.N. wants the utility to provide that information. She said all cars are going to be electric within the next 10 years so C.L.E.A.N. is confronting the issue now so it does not become a huge issue down the road when utilities are not prepared for it.

Mr. Matthys said Cass County is working on planning for infrastructure for EVs. He said if level 2 chargers are added at Cass County’s 17,000 apartments, the City requires 2.2 parking spaces per dwelling unit, so that is 38,250 parking spaces and 10 percent of that is about 3,825 level two chargers, which is like adding six million-square-foot hospitals if those chargers were all served at one time. He said this is a significant load for Cass County or Xcel Energy, and there is a lot of behind the scenes work that needs to happen first to get the infrastructure in place.

In response to a question from Mr. Matthys asking about the statement regarding additional strain on the grid and clothes dryers and is that existing clothes dryers or is that adding new clothes dryers,

Jake Lauer, an electrical engineering professor at NDSU, said adding an electric charger in the garage is equivalent to adding a clothes dryer in the garage. He said worst case is if everybody ran their clothes dryer at the same time they charge their car; however, he does not think that is the issue, that is more for Cass County Electric and other utilities to monitor and perhaps have guidelines so a person does not run their clothes dryer and charge their car at the same time.

Mayor Mahoney said he remembers when the City was going to run power lines underground and it sounded like a great idea at the time until it was discovered that on average, every homeowner would have to pay $20,000.00 to change the grid in their homes; therefore, the real costs need to be known.

Mr. Matthys said Cass County works closely with the Greater Red River Apartment Association and that group should be included in any conversations,
Commissioner Strand said it is good to begin to connect and network and figure out who needs to be at the table. He said this is something new and we do not know all the challenges going forward. The City cannot dig its head into the sand and pretend this is not coming, he said.

John Bagu, Community Electrification, said his company did level 3 charge stations in Dickinson, N.D., which allows EV owners from Fargo to travel across North Dakota to Montana. He said people in Fargo are now benefiting from EV infrastructure and the more infrastructure the better due to the fact that there are not a lot of EV vehicles now; however, the numbers are growing.

Ms. Majerus said many of the older apartments have outdoor surface lots where there is no security and her concern is if someone spends $350.00 on charger equipment, it will walk away. She said tenants in low income apartment buildings are not buying even the cheapest EVs and perhaps higher end apartment buildings and condos where there are already tenants with EVs should be first due to the fact that costs will get passed on to tenants.

Commissioner Strand said going forward stakeholders need to come together, including economic development people and those who can talk about incentives. He said people will want to move to places where these new technologies are available, the same as apartments that offer internet service. He said it will be an easier discussion to talk about new buildings rather than requiring it in existing buildings.

Ms. Kaye said the main goal is to get the ball rolling. She said as far as low income buildings, do not leave them out completely. She said she purchased a 2014 Nissan Leaf for $10,000.00 and there are going to be cheaper used EVs on the market that lower income people might want to be driving. She said if a phased approach is decided, reduce the percentage of requirement, maybe one or two spots or if a landlord owns multiple buildings, have at least one building that has some options.

Ms. Majerus said she lives near a particular area and she does not see those tenants spending even $10,000.00 on a car. She said she does not want to burden them with rent going up and furthering the gap.

Mayor Mahoney said he and Mr. Grubb are working with Chevrolet who wants 10 charging sites built on public areas and he would like the SRC to help with that discussion of where a good place would be in the City to put some of that infrastructure. He suggested a subcommittee with Planning and Engineering.

Mr. Ouradnik said building codes are reserved for life or safety issues, not wants and desires, and this would not be an appropriate amendment to the building codes.

In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking how to get these discussions started, Mr. Grubb said there are some things that need to be figured out, such as who pays for what, there is a Land Development Code rewrite occurring, the City requires so many parking stalls per unit, it seems like this is a site planning issue, and anytime the City wants to regulate things it needs to go to the City Commission. He said he would not recommend going to the City Commission yet, there are a lot of things that need to go to the City Attorney to figure out what can and cannot be done legally.

Mayor Mahoney moved that Mr. Strand and Mr. Grubb set up a subcommittee to look at the issue and get appropriate people at the table to talk about it and bring it back to the SRC at a later date. Second by Mr. Ouradnik. There was unanimous approval.

Mr. Grubb discussed a potential expansion of the SRC membership to include a liaison from the Transit Department. If the SRC is expanded it could be as simple as asking the City Commission to approve additional appointments, he said, and whether they would be staff members or members of the public at large or a combination. He said for the public members, they would go through a solicitation process. He said a simple online statement of interest can be filled out, then have a file of people available for future openings. He said another suggestion was to bring a representative from the Youth Commission.

Next Meeting
Mr. Grubb said the next meeting will be January 10, 2023.
The meeting adjourned at 4:11 p.m.