SEVA Meeting Minutes – September 2026

Seattle Electric Vehicle Association

September 8, 2026 meeting minutes
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202609_September_Power_Outlet
The September meeting was called to order by President Stephen Johnsen at 7:05 p.m. at the U-Village west parking garage.

NEW ATTENDEES:
Kent and Madeline have a Chevy Bolt, after starting with a Prius. Rob Pace is working on a conversion of a 1977 Triumph Spitfire and is using equipment recycled from a conversion that SEVA past president Jay Donnaway worked on long ago.

EVENTS – September is National Drive Electric Month – National Drive Electric Month
– Sept. 11, electric transportation fair in Moscow, ID.
– Sept. 19, 10-3, Sustainability Fair in Milwaukee, OR.
– Sept. 29, fleet truck event in Portland, OR.
– Oct. 4 – Plug-In North Central Washington hosts its fourth annual EV line-up 7:30-10 a.m. at the Pybus Public Market in Wenatchee.
ALSO COMING UP SOON:
– Sustainable Ballard is on Saturday, Sept. 26 at the Loyal Heights Community Center, from 11 am to 4 pm,, and they would like to have 3-4 electric vehicles there.
– Oct. 4, event at Revolve Motors in Renton.
– Oct. 10, ride and drive event in Cle Elum will pay owners to bring their cars.
– Oct. 17, Tesla Owners Washington fall foliage drive.
(It was noted that Dick Muri has retired from hosting the annual fall EV show in Steilacoom.)
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BATTERY RECYCLING DISCUSSION – Members noted that it is becoming difficult to find recycling options for lithium batteries, and those that exist can be expensive. Damaged, defective or recalled batteries are more difficult to recycle. One Green Planet in Renton still takes lithium for free.

IN REMEMBRANCE – Stephen remembered Steve Schwab, who passed away recently, and was involved with the Eluminator and Cobrajet 1400 conversion projects and also transported vehicles to race tracks.

NEW EV DEALER – Stephen reported that the Outpost EV dealer in Enumclaw is now open, and is the largest dealer of new and used EVs in the state with 110 vehicles in inventory in early September. They even have four Brightdrop vans. No fast chargers are located in the area though, and a plan to add a charging station did not get a grant.

CYBERCAB – The Tesla Robotaxi “Cybercab” is now on the road in Texas, and Tesla claims it is the most aerodynamically efficient car. The gold-colored two-door cabs with distinctive aerodynamic wheel covers are starting to show up on Seattle roads now, too, but are still being driven by a human driver. Charging of the automated car is still a question.

TROLLEYS – SEVA Secretary Grace Reamer gave an overview of the 1925 Issaquah Vallley Trolley that recently resumed operation after six years in storage. Stephen added that the Yakima Valley Trolley is applying for grants and funding to restore the tracks and replace overhead wires. He is working on building a battery trailer to replace their generator car.

OCTOBER MEETING – In October, SEVA will return to indoor meetings and will convene on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at Kent Bakke’s Ballard Marine Building, 1526 NW 46th St., Seattle.
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Zoom/YouTube Meeting Recording(s):
: YouTube: SeattleEVA.org 20260908 Meeting