A new charging station was installed April 8 in the downtown Crystal Lake Metra station parking lot near the gazebo in Depot Park. The charger was paid for with a grant from Environmental Defenders of McHenry County with the city paying $4,500 for the installation.
The downtown Crystal Lake commuter lot now has a charging station where electric vehicles can be plugged in for up to four hours while owners take the train or shop downtown.
The project – a partnership between the city of Crystal Lake and Environmental Defenders of McHenry County – is emblematic of the partnerships between McHenry County municipalities and local environmental groups, said the nonprofit’s spokeswoman, Destiny Seaton.
“We have a great relationship with Crystal Lake,” Seaton said. “They are receptive to different issues we try to raise awareness on.”
The Juice Box charging stations, installed earlier this month in the Metra commuter lot, cost just less than $2,000, and were paid in full via a grant from the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, whose grants also helped fund charging stations in Woodstock several years ago.
The city contributed just more than $4,500 for the actual installation of the chargers, Mayor Haig Haleblian said.
He noted a local electric vehicle user already was taking advantage of the charging station during the ribbon-cutting Thursday.
“The mayor wants more. They were very excited,” said the nonprofit’s executive director, Cynthia Kanner. “We want to really establish more of these stations in the county.”
The nonprofit, which operates bookstores in downtown Crystal Lake and Woodstock, is working next on finding a grant partner to build charging stations in the city of McHenry, Kanner said.
Just more than 1,000 electric vehicles are registered in McHenry County, according to the Illinois Secretary of State. That is almost 10 times the total from when the department first started counting in November 2017.
A presentation last week to city officials by former Crystal Lake sustainability committee chairman John Kavalunas sought to review some of the concerns drivers have about switching to electric vehicles, including range anxiety, cost or batteries wearing out.
The average battery range of electric vehicles as of 2020 in the U.S. was 240 miles, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
It’s important that we maintain green space and don’t overbuild. We should build with a surgical knife rather than a sledgehammer and just put projects in because someone wants to do that. Green spaces mean maintaining the quality of life that we in Crystal Lake enjoy.”
Haig Haleblian, Crystal Lake mayor
Kavalunas said the presentation was well received, with committee members asking questions like what steps were necessary to install home charging stations.
“My sense is Crystal Lake is not ready to be the first one out of the gate,” Kavalunas said of a more complete push for electric vehicle infrastructure.
“They are always concerned about funding. But the city is heading down that path, and they are open to it. But we have to deal with climate change. We have kicked this can long enough.”
In addition to the charging station, Crystal Lake’s sustainability committee promotes a number measures to reduce carbon emissions, including placing anti-idling signs at Crystal Lake schools and Metra station parking lots, said assistant to the city manager Nick Hammonds, who coordinates with the committee.
The city also implemented a green business program last year to recognize local businesses who use sustainable practices, Hammonds said.
While Hammonds was optimistic a second charging station could go up near the Metra station later this year, Haleblian said he thinks the biggest challenge to more electric vehicle infrastructure is where to place the charging stations but said he thinks it’s “the wave of the future.”
Haleblian, who said he often likes to jog around Crystal Lake’s namesake lake, said eco-friendly transportation, including walking and biking options within the city, was an integral component to current and future planning efforts.
“I think people today are far more conscious about biking to work or walking and biking downtown,” Haleblian said. “I think as time goes on, this will be more and more important.”
As the city continues to grow – about 500 acres of vacant land are targeted for development over the next two to three years – the city and its planners hope to maintain and even grow the number of outdoor amenities within the city, Crystal Lake Economic Development Director Heather Maieritsch said.
“It’s important that we maintain green space and don’t overbuild,” Haleblian said. “We should build with a surgical knife rather than a sledgehammer and just put projects in because someone wants to do that. Green spaces mean maintaining the quality of life that we in Crystal Lake enjoy.”
That’s why Three Oaks Recreation Area, a former gravel quarry, became a park instead of a housing development, Maieritsch said.
The city would like to encourage walking or biking within the city as much as possible, Crystal Lake Community Development Director Katie Cowlin said, noting foot traffic helps support retailers and restaurants and builds a “daytime” population for commercial areas like downtown.
Pockets of space remain open for development in or near the downtown area, Cowlin said.
The mayor wants more. They were very excited. We want to really establish more of these stations in the county.”
Cynthia Kanner, Environmental Defenders of McHenry County executive director
One such lot will be the 99-unit apartment complex at 95 E. Crystal Lake Ave., with construction for that building expected to begin later this year.
Cowlin also pointed to the recent Church Street Apartments housing development, which tenants moved into last year, as an example of a successful infill project.
While Seaton described McHenry County overall as a “leader in environmental issues” and cited positive working relationships with the county government and local municipalities, she described some pushback from local leaders over environmental actions that could potentially hurt the economy.
While a plastic bag tax was successfully reinstated in Woodstock last year, a stronger push to ban other single-use plastics has drawn concerns from restaurants and other businesses, Seaton said.
It’s still an issue the group is pushing, including during a recent Algonquin Village Board meeting. The nonprofit is lining up its next stop, Kanner said.