PETERSBURG – At the Aug. 8 Upper Township Committee meeting, a heated argument ensued about paying a bill for the upgrade of an electric vehicle charging station at the Upper Township municipal building.
Recently hired business administrator Gary DeMarzo took umbrage at what dissenting Committee member John Coggins inferred was an upgrade because of DeMarzo seemingly owning and driving a Tesla.
“This is not my Tesla charging station,” argued DeMarzo.
Chief Financial Officer Barbara Ludy said the bill totals $2,490. The outlet has already been upgraded by Anzelone Electric, a Court House company.
Coggins then explained a list of reasons why he would not support payment of this bill. Chiefly, he argued that unless the Township could recoup costs, the charging station should not be available to the public.
The bill was ultimately approved for payment with four Committee members including Mayor Curtis Corson voting to pay and Coggins voting against it.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, some residentsspoke in favor, suggesting it was good to have a place for residents to charge, mitigating “range anxiety.” Some worried that a “feeding frenzy” would ensue, giving away energy free of charge. Another resident made the analogy that the Township was doing the same thing as providing free gas to those who might show up from anywhere.
The Herald posed several questions to Corson, Coggins and DeMarzo, about the unclear rationale for upgrading the charging station.
Why was the station upgraded? Does the township have documentation for the upgrade of the station? What are the ongoing operational costs to the taxpayers?
Corson, Coggins and DeMarzo did not respond.
Barbara Murphy-Leary, a resident of Upper Township for 38 years, launched a blog in April 2022 out of frustration due to the lack of transparency and truthfulness by the Upper Township Committee,
“Along with (the blog) came a Facebook page. What has happened since then has been inspiring as well as enlightening. The community response has been encouraging. Both the website and social media page have grown but what I have discovered is that many are afraid to speak openly, whether at a meeting or online. They fear retribution from our elected officials and the administration,” Murphy-Leary told the Herald.
“As for the process of Mr. DeMarzo’s hiring and the charging station implementation and expense, we must hold our municipal governing body officials accountable and get answers to taxpayers’ legitimate concerns and questions,“ she continued.
After the controversial vote approving payment of the bill, discussion ended on a more positive note. Municipal Engineer Paul Dietrich mentioned that the Township is pursuing grant opportunities to establish more EV charging stations throughout the municipality.
