Dalton Gets Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Near Future

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — The town is a step closer to having two electric vehicle charging stations at the Community Recreation Association. There are two EV ports per station.  
 
The committee submitted a signed contract to the state so the town is ready to have work begin this month, Green Committee member Antonio Pagliarulo said a recent meeting. 
 
The engineer will visit the CRA to explore how to extract power from the upcoming station location. The station is expected to be completed in six months. 
 
During a town meeting in May, the town allocated $42,000 to fund the Green Committee's request for two charging stations. 
 
The project was delayed for two months due to paperwork requirements for the state Department of Environmental Protection, however this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. 
 
The town originally had planned a level 2 station with a 7.2 kilowatt system but the Green Committee was able to upgrade it to a 19.6kW system at no additional cost, Pagliarulo said. 
 
This upgrade more than doubles the speed of charging, but charging times vary based on vehicle type and weather conditions, he said.
 
There was no additional cost to the town since it will be reimbursed 100 percent — 80 percent from the DEP and 20 percent from Eversource. 
 
The two stations will cost $37,500 but the town will be getting a reimbursement of $24,200 for these chargers, Pagliarulo said. 
 
The reimbursement and remaining funds of approximately $5,500 from the town meeting vote will go toward adding stations at Pine Grove Park, though additional funds will be needed to cover that cost.
 
The Select Board was asked to consider two level 2 chargers with four ports for Pine Grove Park earlier this year; however the Green Committee is now considering proposing level 3 chargers, Pagliarulo said. 
 
Although there are not many electric vehicles in town currently, by 2035 it will be state law that dealerships will only be able to sell electric vehicles, Pagliarulo said. 
 
"In just over 10 years time, that's the law. It's going to happen and they're projecting Massachusetts will have hundreds of thousands of EVs within five years. It's going that way," he said. 
 
"... It's not a cheap proposition. But that's the direction in which this state and several states are going towards. So, I'd rather be ahead of the curve in terms of Dalton being ready to deal with EVs, especially given the number of rentals we have in Dalton."
 
Part of the reason the committee is exploring level 3 is because of the decreased time it takes to charge the car and there are funding incentives available to help cover the cost, Pagliarulo said. 
 
The committees will be researching how to address demand charges associated with the level 3 charging stations.

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Letter: Is the Select Board Listening to Dalton Voters?

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

A reasonable expectation by the people of a community is that their Select Board rises above personal preference and represents the collective interests of the community. On Tuesday night [Nov. 12], what occurred is reason for concern that might not be true in Dalton.

This all began when a Select Board member submitted his resignation effective Oct. 1 to the Town Clerk. Wishing to fill the vacated Select Board seat, in good faith I followed the state law, prepared a petition, and collected the required 200-plus signatures of which the Town Clerk certified 223. The Town Manager, who already had a copy of the Select Board member's resignation, was notified of the certified petitions the following day. All required steps had been completed.

Or had they? At the Oct. 9 Select Board meeting when Board members discussed the submitted petition, there was no mention about how they were informed of the petition or that they had not seen the resignation letter. Then a month later at the Nov. 12 Select Board meeting we learn that providing the resignation letter and certified petitions to the Town Manager was insufficient. However, by informing the Town Manager back in October the Select Board had been informed. Thus, the contentions raised at the Nov. 12 meeting by John Boyle seem like a thinly veiled attempt to delay a decision until the end of January deadline to have a special election has passed.

If this is happening with the Special Election, can we realistically hope that the present Board will listen to the call by residents to halt the rapid increases in spending and our taxes that have been occurring the last few years and pass a level-funded budget for next year, or to not harness the taxpayers in town with the majority of the cost for a new police station? I am sure these issues are of concern to many in town. However, to make a change many people need to speak up.

Please reach out to a Select Board member and let them know you are concerned and want the Special Election issue addressed and finalized at their Nov. 25 meeting.

Robert E.W. Collins
Dalton, Mass.

 

 

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