To the Editor:

I am a resident of Berne but I found the article “Knox offered $12K grant from DEC for a station to charge electric cars” in the Feb. 2, 2017 edition of The Enterprise very interesting.

The article states that the DEC grant of $11,835 towards the cost of two electric charging stations would be matched 20 percent by the taxpayers of the town of Knox, thus bringing the amount for two charging stations to $14,202. That's $7,101 per charging station.

By contrast, we have family members — 160 miles distant — who own an electric car. They asked us to install a receptacle capable of recharging their car when visiting. We did. It’s not fancy, no software to  buy or rent or upgrade, just a simple gray box mounted on the barn wall; I suppose it could be called a charging station. As I recall, the cost was about $150. Yes, one-hundred-and-fifty dollars.

Maybe I’m wrong but $7,101 per charging station seems excessive — and how many Knox residents would benefit from such an costly expenditure? Not too many per The Enterprise article.

Knox Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis stated that overwhelmingly townspeople prefer that their tax money be better spent elsewhere within the town and that “what most people want in Knox is a place to pump gas.”

I understand Amy Pokorny’s agenda and desire regarding the charging stations as they are tied to a potential $100,000 grant for the town; however, I disagree with her reasoning for them.

Charging stations at destinations such as shopping malls or parks like John Boyd Thacher State Park would make sense, as there is something to do, something to attract visitors.

Why would an electric car owner, especially one from off the Hill, choose Knox as a destination to recharge his or her car? What’s there to attract them? In Knox, you can’t even get a cup of morning coffee.

Per the The Enterprise, the charging station in the picture accompanying the article is often empty — a scenario I have witnessed at charging stations sprinkled within the Capital District area.

My guess is, as technology advances and electric cars achieve greater range and are less costly to own, they will become more popular and those empty charging stations will be filled.

Until that time arrives, if I were a Knox resident voting on Feb. 14, I would want my hard-earned tax dollars spent wisely and benefiting all residents. Just thinking out loud.

Robert J. Motschmann III

Berne