Melrose Police Getting New EV Charging Station

MELROSE, MA — City councilors accept the city's first grant of the year, money that will fund more than half the cost of an electric charging station for police.

Tuesday night saw the first Appropriations & Oversight and City Council meetings since the lawmakers were sworn in earlier this month. The lone item on the agenda for the former was accepting a $12,093.60 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for an elective vehicle charging station with two ports.

The city will be on the hook for the remaining $10,692.40, which will come out of the Department of Public Works facilities budget

The grant, made possible through the Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Incentive Program Workplace & Fleet Charging Program, will help fund charging station equipment, installation and network software license.

The station would be attached to the Melrose Police Station garage for the sole purpose of charging police fleet vehicles. The charging station will not be available for public use.

Melrose last year became the first city on the East Coast to have pole-mounted electric vehicle chargers, establishing several more throughout 2021.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi and Instagram at Melrose Happening. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.