City of Alton - Committee of the Whole Meeting
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ALTON – Alton City Council members are set to vote on adopting a “Vehicle Electrification Plan” prepared in coordination with Ameren Illinois.
Committee of the Whole members on Monday unanimously approved a resolution to adopt the plan and authorize the execution of a Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Alton, Reach Strategies, and Ameren Illinois. The item now goes to the City Council this Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025 at 6 p.m.
Andi Campbell, deputy director of Planning & Development, said Ameren develops these plans with local communities to offer guidance and recommendations on improving charging infrastructure at various locations across the city. Potential locations for such improvements in Alton could include the Alton Square Mall parking lot, local parks, grocery stores, the police station, and City Hall.
Campbell said the plan also includes recommendations to start electrifying the city’s fleet of Police, Parks, and Public Works vehicles. However, she said adopting this plan would not mandate the city to immediately implement these changes, and any future installations or vehicle purchases would still require City Council approval.
Adopting this plan would not cost the city any money, Campbell said, but would secure $75,000 in funding from Ameren since Alton qualifies as a low-income or Equity Investment Eligible Community. She said the city has broad discretion over how to spend the $75,000, which could go towards charging infrastructure improvements or public outreach.
Alderman John Meehan asked if these charging stations would require some form of payment to operate. Campbell said the city’s goal is to make this charging infrastructure accessible to the public, indicating Alton is “not looking to make any money off of it.” This would not apply to charging stations installed by private property owners instead of the city, which may require payment to operate.
Committee Chairman Michael Velloff asked who would be responsible for maintaining any future charging station installed at City Hall. Campbell said those details would depend on whether the city partners with a public or private entity, but that adopting this plan doesn’t compel the city to take any such action. She indicated the city could enter a public/private partnership under which a third party is responsible for maintaining the charging stations at City Hall.
Committee members unanimously voted to adopt the agreement, sending the item to the City Council for final approval this Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025 at 6 p.m. Follow the discussion and vote on this and other agenda items live on Riverbender.com/video/live.
A full recording of the Nov. 10, 2025 Alton Committee of the Whole meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
