Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/309372
charging stations —installed with federal grant money — is only $865 a year. The commission had little criticism for the pro- posals. Vice Chairwoman Christine Robinson pushed for more charging stations in South County, saying the lack of plug-ins there has "left a bad taste in people's mouth." But the federal grant that funded the county's nine stations stipulated specific ZIP codes where the stations could go, none of them south of Bee Ridge Road. Cleveland tells The Sarasota News Leader the county will now take the lead in develop- ing concrete proposals for ways to encourage local EV usage. She calls Sarasota "the ideal place" for a robust EV program. Next up for her is to make sure the Collaborative's pro- posals are emphasized by county staff as the commission finalizes its next budget during upcoming workshops. The Sierra Club's EV program wasn't planned. It came out of the intense enthusiasm local EV drivers feel about promoting their cars, which Cleveland learned about when she began her work as a Sierra Club organizer. She met enthusiasts and began tapping into local networks of Chevy Volt and Tesla fans. "There were so many people ready and will- ing to get involved," she says. "It was just: Let a thousand flowers bloom." % A chart compares chemical emissions of gasoline-powered vehicles and electric vehicles. Image courtesy Sarasota County Sarasota News Leader May 9, 2014 Page 22