OKEECHOBEE — The City of Okeechobee will soon have an electric vehicle charging station. It will be the first within the county and will be an asset for electric vehicles passing through on State Road 70 said City Administrator Marcos Montes De Oca at the Okeechobee City Council meeting on March 3.

“Obviously, we want to put it downtown. One of the requirements from Florida Power and Light is that there has to be something near there, something for the person to do.” They looked at all the parks and selected the city hall park because parking is already an issue west of 441 and these would be reserved spots just for the charging station. They are also planning to do change that parking area to add ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) spaces.

“Gosh, this might put us in the 21st century,” Mayor Dowling Watford joked.

Anuj Chakshi the electric vehicle program manager from FP& L explained these will be fast charging stations and should only take about 20 to 30 minutes to get a substantial charge on a vehicle. It is a more universal charge for the non-Tesla vehicles but there is an adapter Tesla owners can purchase if they choose to do so.

For more news from the city council meeting, see the Friday edition of the Lake Okeechobee News.