Galesburg will get its first public electric vehicle charging station in 2025, an addition that local officials see as a major amenity and potential draw for the city.
Aldermen on Monday approved bids for the Simmons Street Parking Lot and Streetscape project. Included in the project will be Galesburg’s first public EV charging station.
Galesburg City Manager Eric Hanson tells WGIL, “I’m just excited. Whether or not there’s a lot of electric vehicles in town currently, the country is clearly trending in that direction. People do come to town with EVs, and now have the capability that gets them here and keeps them here.
“It’s technology that most communities have had for multiple years, so I think it’s a step in the right direction. I think we’ll see some more of these things down the road. The positives outweigh the costs, and I think it’s something we’ll continue to look at going forward.”
The bid for the EV charging station in the Simmons Street parking lot is for $35,770.75. Hanson said the cost could be partially offset by grant funding.
Council member: ‘People will come here for those’
Fifth Ward Council member Heather Acerra said she believes the addition of an EV charging station will be a tourism draw for Galesburg. She noted friends visiting Galesburg for the Labor Day holiday weekend were forced to stop in the Quad Cities to charge their electric vehicle.
She and Mayor Peter Schwartzman recommended the city also look into adding a turbo version of the EV charging stations.
“People will come here for those, and they will spend time here, buy lunch and spend their money here,” Acerra said.
The EV charging station will be located at the southeast corner of the Simmons Street parking lot.
Ken Springer, president of Knox County Area Partnership for Economic Development said he believes the addition of an EV charging station is “a smart idea.”
“I’m aware of several communities that have incorporated EV chargers into their downtowns,” Springer said. “The Town of Normal was an early adopter of EV infrastructure and when I worked in Uptown Normal, I would regularly meet people who were shopping or grabbing lunch while their car recharged.”
Randy Newcomb, executive director of Galesburg Tourism and Visitors Bureau, added, “I believe that any amenity we can offer visitors is a bonus for Galesburg. With the increase of electric vehicles, it only makes sense for Galesburg to have charging stations available for locals and visitors.”
The city received a $2 million Rebuild Downtown and Main Streets grant in 2022 to make improvements to Parking Lot H and the 200 block of East Simmons Street.
Improvements to Simmons Street between Kellogg and Prairie streets will also be made as part of the grant funded project. This will include a new asphalt surface, curbing, sidewalks, lighting, and landscaping.
Gunther Construction, a division of UCM, Inc. of Galesburg, was awarded the bid Tuesday with the base bid amount of $2,341,464.87. This bid was approximately $660,000 lower than the low bid received in June.
Local match funds will be used to cover the difference.
Project will begin construction this fall
The Council approved the bid by a 6-0 vote — with Third Ward Aldermen Evan Miller absent Tuesday.
The bid also included four alternate bid items.:
- Alternate 1 includes a 24’x10’ pedestrian canopy for $76,577.57.
- Alternate 2 includes the EV charging station in the lot for $35,770.75.
- Alternate 3 includes a dumpster enclosure on the north end of the lot for private dumpsters for $32,740.83.
- Alternate 4 includes a screening panel for the electrical services in the lot for $15,730.92.
City engineer Aaron Gavin said It is anticipated that the project will begin this fall, and the contractor has 100 working days to complete the project.
“Once we’re able to have initial meetings with the contractor to discuss a project schedule, we’ll be pushing out additional information regarding project timeline, especially to downtown businesses that may be affected by the work,” Gavin said.