GUELPH/ERAMOSA – Council here has authorized the purchase of an $80,000 electric vehicle, which officials say makes the municipality a leader in the pursuit of a sustainable future.
On March 21 council heard from parks and recreation director Robin Milne on the feasibility of replacing a current gasoline-powered fleet vehicle with an electric vehicle.
“There’s a large opportunity there for us to showcase municipal leadership in electric vehicles,” Milne explained.
“There’s not a lot of municipalities that are using full [electric vehicles] right now.
“I think for us – small rural municipality to showcase electric vehicles – I think that’s something that this council could be proud of.”
The replacement of a 2011 panel van was proposed and approved in the 2022 parks and recreation budget for $60,000, which was to be funded through the parks and recreation vehicle reserve fund.
In addition to the vehicle purchase price, the report noted the budget also included tool and equipment shelving and ladder racks.
Last summer the parks and recreation department explored the option of an electric cargo van as the first electric vehicle to be added to the Guelph/Eramosa fleet, the report presented to council noted.
As staff looked at replacement options, Milne said they learned manufacturers were not offering Government Price Concessions (GPC) on electric vehicles.
GPCs, he noted, often provide a significant reduction in the purchase price of the township’s vehicles.
In January, Milne said staff decided to move forward with the township’s budgeted plans to purchase a gasoline-powered cargo van and issued a request for quotes (RFQ) for supply and delivery.
At closing time, the township received one bid for a vehicle purchase price of $64,655, plus HST.
However, the dealer indicated it would take more than 365 days provide the vehicle, meaning the township wouldn’t get it until 2023.
In follow-up consultations with dealerships, Milne said manufacturers are currently not offering GPC on any fleet vehicles due to supply chain issues.
Staff then decided to cancel the RFQ and opted to re-issue it later in the year once 2023 model-year pricing was available to dealerships.
However, on March 5 the township received an email from Milton Ford Lincoln indicating the E-Transit all-electric van staff had ordered in August was going into production in April, with delivery estimated at the end of that month.
Asked why the township had ordered the E-Transit in August while also pursuing a gasoline-powered vehicle at that time, in an email, Milne responded, “being well aware of the global supply chain issues of vehicles, we placed a no obligation order for an e-transit in August 2021.”
At the March 21 meeting, Milne told council the E-Transit purchase price is $69,105, with an additional $10,000 required to equip the van with tool shelving, resulting in an increase of about $20,000 for the total capital expense.
Milne said the purchase of the electric vehicle would put the township roughly $20,000 over budget, but he noted with the current price of gas hovering around $1.70 per litre, it could also save the township $3,500 to $5,100 in gas per year.
As fuel prices fluctuate and continue to go up, councillor Mark Bouwmeester recognized the viability of moving forward with the purchase of an electric vehicle.
“It’s not just because it’s an electric vehicle,” Bouwmeester said. “I think the numbers behind it make sense.”
Councillor Corey Woods said while he supported the purchase of the electric vehicle at the township level, he worried about the long-term impact of power supplies as more people opt to purchase electric vehicles.
“I’m going to support this at the township level, I just worry that if the number of electric vehicles doubles, what’s that going to do for the price of electricity and upgrades of the entire system?” Woods asked.
Councillor Bruce Dickieson said the electric vehicle purchase is “a no-brainer” for him.
“I know personally, we ordered a vehicle a year and a half ago and … it’s nowhere in sight … yet,” he said.
“So I mean if you can get one, to me, the numbers look good and I think it’s a great idea.”
Mayor Chris White said “the economics make sense to me,” adding he understands rising costs – even for used vehicles – are due to demand and supply issues.
“So I can appreciate why there’s a variance in the budget,” White added.
“It’s a vehicle we clearly need and it will be certainly interesting to see how this works out over the years.”
Council received the report regarding the 2022 capital fleet replacement and authorized Milne to proceed with the replacement using an additional $20,000 from the parks and recreation equipment reserve fund.
Due to the global supply chain issues, council also authorized Milne to sole source the purchase of the replacement cargo van, which the township anticipates will be ready at the end of April.
