When building a structure that’s expected to stand for several decades, quite often the planners need to look into a crystal ball to see what the future holds.
While a crystal ball was not used during the Jan. 12, Sedona City Council meeting, staff and council did take a serious look at what should be included in terms of sustainability for the public parking garage set to be built on Forest Road in Uptown.
A city report states that following the council’s desire to reassess the project scope of work, public works staff met with McKenzie Jones, the city’s sustainability coordinator, to review and assess aspects of sustainability in the project scope of work.
The cost of the 270-space garage is estimated at $11.5 million, which includes construction and land acquisition.
In terms of sustainability, council discussed items such as solar, bike parking and water reuse. But the item that made up a large part of the discussion was electric vehicle parking. As the plan stands now, it calls for a minimum of 5% of the parking stalls to be equipped with electric vehicle recharging stations, associate city engineer Bob Welch said. He said if that percentage is to be increased, he suggested it take place during the design concept when the consultant will be on hand.
Councilwoman Jessica Williamson questioned whether or not the plan calls for each parking space having the capability of including a charging station — not in the beginning of the project but as time goes on and electric vehicles become more common.
“Not having charging stations is not an incentive to switching over to electric vehicles,” she said. “I want some portion — maybe not 100% — but some significant portion to be able to be retro-fitted at some later date. Technology changes so quickly that I feel we need to be in a position to be able to change. But I don’t want to commit to something that’s going to be outdated.”
She referenced the fact that Welch said the average parking garage lasts around 20 to 30 years but because of Sedona’s mild climate, the one being planned could last upwards of 50 years, he said.
City Engineer Andy Dickey said what the city can do is during the design phase come up with a cost analysis to see the price of adding the electric vehicle capability for the future for a large percentage of the spaces.
Jones said currently a Level II charging station is around $8,000 but a Level I station, which charges eight times faster, carries a price tag of $38,000 to $40,000 because of the infrastructure needed. Jones said that if solar panels are installed, it would help offset the day-to-day cost of the stations.
