SEVA Meeting Minutes – September 2023

At 7:06 p.m., President Jay Donnaway requested the call to order. (Jay said that he was late because he rescued a princess from a Frankenplug.)

NEW ATTENDEES – Ian saw SEVA listed on Seattle City Light’s site. Andy just got a Tesla Model Y, and he’s curious about conversions. Mark Johnson met people at Bothell Sustainamania and he drives a Leaf.

ELECTRIFY EXPO – Vice President Grace Reamer reported that the national travelling Electrify Expo visited the Seattle area for the second year. It was much expanded this year. SEVA exhibited in the new showoff section for customized and converted vehicles. SEVA and the Tesla Owners of Washington club were able to participate this year as non-profits with information booths. Thousands of people paid $20 to attend the event at Marymoor Park and check out vendors and EV dealers, electric bikes and skateboards. About 28,000 test drives were conducted. Treasurer Charlie Tsai exhibited his BMW conversion, and SEVA members Larry Ryan, John Lussmyer and Kent Bakke also brought their vehicles. Steve Huff’s Faster Than Cancer electric dragster was on display. Awards went to Stephen Johnsen’s GMC for best truck, Peter’s Jaguar for best conversion, and Jason’s Carmen Ghia for best coupe. Stephen used SEVA’s brand-new projector to display photos. SEVA was invited back to the Expo next year.

FULLY CHARGED LIVE in Vancouver, BC. – Jay attended and reported that a well-maintained 1912 Detroit Electric was on display, now with an original-style Edison Iron battery. The event featured bigger companies making bigger trucks, for example, the Edison Electric with 750 kWh of batteries. A whitewater electric jet boat used Tesla components. The event filled up the Vancouver convention center.

NATIONAL DRIVE ELECTRIC WEEK –  The Steilacoom exhibit was Saturday, Sept. 16, hosted by Mayor Dick Muri. featuring more than 40 EV models. Seattle City Light’s test-drive event is at South Seattle College on Sept. 23. The first Auto R-EV-olution Exposition is at the Southcenter Mall on Sept. 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., put on by the Seatac/Tukwila Rotary. The Sustainable Ballard Festival is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 30 at the park outside the Loyal Heights Community Center in north Ballard, with space for up to five EVs.

FEATURED VEHICLE – Ian displayed a Kawasaki motorcycle conversion he’s completed. It uses 30 scooter packs and has regen, a QS138 3kW motor, 72-volt system, an 80-100 mile range, and can reach 65 mph briefly before the motor overheats. Its charger takes a 120-volt household connector.

EV FEST – Chuck Vanderlinnen attended EV Fest with a Genesis EGMP, which is as fast as, but half the price of, a Tesla Model S Plaid. It has a massaging front seat, and heated front and rear seats.

SEVA SCOPE AND NAME CHANGE CONCEPT – Grace announced that SEVA’s board has decided to propose consideration of a change of name and scope for SEVA. Some find the Seattle name to have an unfavorable connotation. Of the current board, only Secretary Billy Kreuter even lives in Seattle; Jay, Charlie and Grace, and a lot of members, come from pretty far away. Broader representation will give more authority. There’s a need for statewide coordination. The name could be changed to WEVA, “Washington Electric Vehicle Association”, if that doesn’t conflict with Wenatchee. Jay says that weva.org is an available domain name. PSEVA (for Puget Sound EVA) was suggested. The board could be expanded, bringing in members from several regions of the state. The expanded scope could include a newsletter covering events and interests around the state. The change could help unify the voice of EV advocacy across the state. The arguments against this change included that other organizations may resent representation by a Seattle-centric organization. Mark Yormark said he saw a lot of possibilities, but we need to retain the structure of a non-profit 501(c)(3). Who gets to determine policy if the board is statewide might be debatable. It was suggested that voters for organizational decisions should be members paying dues to the organization. The board will work on a formal proposal for a change, and discussion should continue at next month’s meeting as well as online. No objections were voiced, but Steve Johnsen said that he had reservations.

Jay adjourned the meeting at 8:31 p.m..