SEVA Meeting Minutes – May 2023
Seattle Electric Vehicle Association
May 9, 2023 meeting minutes
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The May 2023 monthly membership meeting of the Seattle Electric Vehicle Association convened at 7:03 p.m. May 9, starting in the parking lot of the First Church of the Nazarene. President Jay Donnaway called on Former Scribe Kevin Boze to issue the cry.
FEATURED PROJECT – Jay presented another GE Elek-Trak garden tractor that he and Ryan Fulchur have been working on restoring. This is a model E15 from 1972. It has all sorts of agricultural attachments, such as tillers and the like. It can run for about an hour on the battery set that Jay and Ryan installed, which has about half the energy capacity of the model’s original lead-acid cells. Jay noted that dead lithium cells can be recycled at JB Straubel’s company Redwood Materials in California.
The meeting reconvened in the church’s social hall at 7:18 p.m.
NEW MEMBERS – Trevor Jones is researching a project that would use a Tesla drivetrain and some 3-D printing. Juan came with his nieces and a nephew. Cos Roberts drives a Model Y, his wife has a Ford Fusion, and he met SEVA people at a car show.
EVENTS:
- Spring Car Show in Issaquah – At the all-electric car show May 7, John Lussmeyer displayed his converted F-250 after an all-nighter to finish its enhanced 150-mile-range battery pack. Many other amazing vehicles were shown, including three Rivians and a Model 3 with gull-wing doors.
- Earth Day shows – Phil Skoog said the Mercer Island sustainability fair on April 22 was a hit when a petting zoo was placed next to the EV area, allowing parents to bring their kids to see the goats while getting interested in the cars. Vice President Grace Reamer reported that the South Park event on April 22 wasn’t well attended, but rides were given and this worked out for people looking for EVs. Grace is working on getting new signs and banners.
- Upcoming events –
- The Kitsap Sustainability Fair is May 20, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Greenwood is June 24, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., cars to arrive at 6:30 with no entry after 7.
- EV Road Map will be in Portland May 16-17.
- EVS-36 will be in Sacramento June 11-14.
- Paul Kahle is again attending the Oregon Country Fair in Lane County, to be held July 7-9. He needs samples of batteries to display.
POLICY UPDATE – Grace reported only one EV-related bill passed in Olympia this session – the law attempting to crack down on EVSE vandalism. The Road Usage Charge never advanced; it may be introduced in the next session unless slipped in during the special session in May. In response to a question, Grace and Jay confirmed the partial sales-tax exemption is still available, but will expire July 1, 2025.
CHARGING UPDATES – Jay said that Volta pays site owners thousands of dollars for installing their EVSEs, even though nobody pays by the charge at those stations. Jay thinks this is an unsustainable business model. Jay discussed the demise of the old Blink and Chargepoint stations that require obsolete cell service such as 2G or 3G. Some of the Chargepoint stations can still be used, but they won’t debit users’ account balances because they can’t communicate. Many of the Blinks can’t be used at all. Jay hopes that Fred Meyer, which was an early leader in the Blink buildout, isn’t going to abandon EVSEs at their locations. Steve Maginnis has a 24-amp Blink home EVSE to give away to anyone who can unbolt it from his garage wall. It has a NEMA 6-50 plug and it might be able to be restored to 32 amps.
NAME BADGES – Grace distributed new badges to those who ordered them. Anyone who still wants a SEVA name badge can request one with an e-mail to vicepresident@seattleeva.org. The cost is $12 each, and one is free with each paid-up annual SEVA membership.
OUTREACH TIPS: Grace asked members to contribute their suggestions for answering questions at car shows. Here are some top tips:
- Grace tells people who think EVs are too expensive that with the huge difference in fuel costs, EVs will save money: “The more you drive, the more you save.”
- Kevin said that people saying that EVs catch fire are told that there are a thousand ICE fires a day.
- Told that EVs are a rich person’s toy, Kevin dramatically takes out a cell phone, saying that that was a rich person’s toy not so long ago, too.
- Larry Ryan tells those aghast at a “merely” 50-mile range that he drives 30 miles a day; how much do you drive?
- About charging time, Grace said to emphasize that it takes seconds to plug it in; it charges while you sleep.
- Grace said that many find learning to drive easier in an EV than ICE; Jay said that his daughter never drove an ICE until required to for her driving exam, but found the ICE vehicle flustering.
The meeting was adjourned in the vicinity of 8:30 p.m.
Submitted by Secretary Billy Kreuter and edited by Vice President Grace Reamer
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Zoom Meeting Recording(s):
: Did Not Stream Meeting