SEVA Meeting Minutes – March 2024

Seattle Electric Vehicle Association

Mar 12, 2024 meeting minutes
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The March 12, 2024 membership meeting of the Seattle Electric Vehicle Association took place at the Rivian Showroom meeting space, 4601 26th Ave NE, in University Village, Seattle.

At 7:09 pm, former Scribe Kevin Boze issued the cry and President Jay Donnaway called the meeting to order..

Our featured speaker was Alex Dilly, Deputy District Director for Congressman Adam Smith. The topic was Federal Investment in Electric Vehicles and Related Infrastructure. Her presentation deck with active links was distributed to the SEVA email group March 13. She discussed constituent services, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Particular to EVs, BIL includes $5 Billion for National EV Infrastructure (NEVI) to deploy interconnected EV charging infrastructure. WSDOT has a grant for 560 charging ports. Also included is public EV Charging and Alternative Fuel Corridors, EVs Busses and Ferries are funded. The IRA provides EV and Fuel Cell tax credits $7,500 for new and $4,000 for pre owned. Q&A- Jay observed that the $4k credit required a dealer, when many preowned vehicles sell direct. The income limit and requirement that the owner not be a dependent can prevent college students from getting the preowned credit. He thanked NEVI for being responsive and accepting the Tesla connector, making changes to allow “Bring your own cable”, and reminded us that Level 2 charging with legacy J1772 connectors is an equity issue and will likely be needed for another 20 years. Alex, of Kenworth, asked about Electric Trains and grid upgrades, particularly the wire itself. Ms Dilly said that wire upgrades were included in tribal and other progarams.

Grace provided a Policy Update. This year’s Washington legislative session is over. 1.) A bill to prevent direct sales (“anti-Rivian bill”) did not go anywhere. 2.) HB 1368 requiring Zero Emission School Busses after Sept. 2035 passed and is headed for the governor’s desk. Related – Colorado reports that their EV School Busses did better in the winter than the diesel busses. 3.) HB 5812 to Study Best Practices for fighting Electric Vehicle Fires passed 96-0 and is headed for the governor’s desk. Grace observed that EVs catch fire less than gasoline vehicles, most often after an accident. A member pointed out that a gas car catches fire in the US every 45 seconds and that ,except for cigarete butts, cars start more house fires than anything else.

VP Rob Mathewson introduced new committees that will help SEVA get more done to promote EV’s. They are; Policy, chaired by Grace; Membership – Open; Club Communications, Magdalena chair; Website and Tech, Ryan chair; Club Meeting Coord.-Open; Events, Rollie chair; Industrial Relations – Open. EVeryone is invited to participate! Please contact Rob. Rob Mathewson

Matthew Mesz of Coltura discussed Superusers. Gasoline usage is not going down fast enough. The top 10% of gasoline users, Superusers, burn 35% of the gasoline used in the US. This is more gasoline than the bottom 72% of drivers combined. Switching a Superuser to an EV yields five times as much CO2 reduction as switching the average non-Superuser. We need to convert more Superusers to EVs. Superusers 3.0

The Historic Electric Vehicle Museum in Kingman, Members who join now can get a grandfathered $25 annual rate and virtual access to the museum’s digital materials. Contact Jeff Finn. hevf.org

Rivian, our host for the meeting, requests that everyone sign the roster.
An EV Ownership Survey will be released soon for new and would be EV owners. This effort will lead to a White Paper. Rollie, Rob and Cathryn are supporting the effort.

Future Events – Jay mentioned that Mercier Island will have space for 10 cars April 20. Grace and Mark promoted Drive Electric Month events, April 20, 12-4 at the Reach Museum in Richland and April 27, 11-2 at PUD in Snohomish. Check the Plugin America Drive Electric for more information. Theresa Ramsdell announced an event at Tesla Bellvue April 20 with prizes if you bring a non-Tesla owner.

EV Racing. Charlie announced dates for the 2024 Drag Racing Schedule. A Street Automotive ET Gold Cup Series at Pacific Raceways in Kent. Bracket racing for EVs happens May 19, June 8 and 22, July 6, 13 and 27, August 24. To race, entry fee is $50, prizes $250 first, $150 second, $50 third and fourth.

Alex of Kenworth who also makes Peterbuilt and PACCAR trucks gave a short presentation. They are in their 3rd phase of Electric Truck development and also have Fuel Cell vehicles.

The meeting concluded at 8:20 and many members adjourned to the roof of the south parking garage for further discussions.

By Eric Eskilson, SEVA Secretary, with input from Grace and Rob.

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Zoom Meeting Recording(s):
: Live Meeting Recording
:* YouTube: SeattleEVA.org 20240312 Meeting