Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Sunday, March 30, 2008

Electric car in the works for Whitehall

By REID MAGNEY | La Crosse Tribune

WHITEHALL, Wis. — The city of Whitehall wants to go green with an electric vehicle, but the state is giving the city a red light to using it on some highways.

Whitehall, which has its own municipal electric utility, wants to promote the use of neighborhood electric vehicles — beefed-up golf carts that meet federal safety standards for low-speed vehicles.

“The cost of energy to operate an NEV is about 40 to 50 cents a day,” said City Administrator Lynn Johnson. “You can’t even start a gasoline engine for that cost. We want to promote this as a viable option for transportation.”

So the city decided to buy an NEV for about $12,000 from Columbia ParCar Corp., a Wisconsin company, to use for trips around the community to read electric meters and do other errands. The city’s electric supplier even is offering them a financial incentive to buy it.

City officials, however, have learned they won’t be able to use the NEV everywhere in Whitehall.

The problem is when the Legislature passed a law last year to let the DOT regulate NEVs, it made it illegal to operate them on county highways such as Hwys. 53 and 121, which run through the heart of Whitehall, said state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma.

“Even though our highways through town have street names, technically they’re nonconnecting highways and maintained by the state,” Johnson said.

The city has contacted the DOT about a waiver, Johnson said. And while the DOT was understanding, rules are rules. The NEV can cross those highways, but not drive on them, he said.

City officials decided to go ahead and order the NEV. In the meantime, they’ve contacted local legislators — Vinehout and state Rep. Barbara Gronemus, D-Whitehall, for help.

“What we need is a law that acknowledges that county trunk highways are also the main streets of many small towns,” Vinehout said. “With minor changes, we can make it work the way it was intended.”

Reid Magney can be reached at (608) 791-8211 or rmagney@lacrossetribune.com.