The Town will forgo looking to install an electric vehicle charger with grant funding.

The decision was made by town council at last Tuesday’s meeting, after council reviewed that a new grant would see 46 per cent, or up to $5,000 of the cost of a new EV charger.

Previously, the Town had expressed interest in 2022, when the project was fully-funded.

“We weren’t successful the first round. What came up this week was, there is other grant funding, but it looks different,” said Mayor Elisa Brosseau. 

“We aren’t denying that there may be a need for it in the future. But we don’t want to jump into something because there’s a little pot of money.” 

The grant would’ve come from the Southgrow Regional Initiative – Electric Vehicle Charging Program, with the money being used for a networked level 2 connector, which the Town was seeking in its original grant application. 

Currently, there are a couple EV charging stations located in Bonnyville, including at Bonnyville Centralized High School, Bonnyville Dodge, Comfort Inn, and Ducharme Motors.

The Town got a look at what the install would cost, and it was estimated at $22,153.

Council elected not to make a motion, providing town staff the direction not to move ahead with a grant expression of interest.

The difference in a level 2 connector and a level 3 connector was also highlighted by councillor Byron Johnson, which effects the number of kilowatt hours used and the length needed to charge.

“If, for example, our economic development and strategic planning, its decided that this is the way we want to go for tourism, we want to attract those with electric vehicles, we may revisit it.”

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Correction: A previous version of this story said an EV charger is located at The Neighbourhood Inn. That is a misprint and has been corrected.