MONROE - Monroe resident Thomas Smith said he sees the convenience of electric vehicles when he's in Alabama for the winter.
He brought a request to Police Chief Fred Kelley for a city ordinance allowing neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) on city streets.
"You use them to go to the golf course or grocery shopping or anything," Smith said.
Reaching a speed of 25 mph, a licensed and titled NEV can be driven where the posted speed limit is 35 mph or less.
Smith said friends in the south use them on and off the golf course.
"They're two-speed. So they just drive them to the golf course and use them as a golf cart when they get there," he said.
The vehicles can be fully charged from a household current in six hours.
"If you go downtown, when you come back, you just plug them in again," he said. "They'll go about 30 miles on a charge."
NEVs come in two-, four-, and six-passenger styles. Dearth Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep owns a 2002 GEM E825. GEM, Global Electric MotorCar, is a division of the Diamler-Chrysler Company.
According to sales manger Bob Dearth, the dealership bought the GEM a couple years ago on Ebay from a restaurant in Iowa City.
"They thought they'd use it to carry people from their parking lot, like the hospital does here," he said. The vehicle was first owned by a city for its mayor to "run around in," and take visitors around the city, Dearth said. Neither idea worked out.
"They're more of a novelty than a necessity," Dearth laughed.
Dearth uses its GEM to go between the dealership's lots.
"It's handy if somebody want to look at different colors and different vehicles, but can't walk well," Dearth said.
Dearth said they have no plans to sell the GEM. Wisconsin has two GEM dealerships, Portage and Union Grove. The closest NEV dealerships are in Janesville, Beloit and Stoughton.
To operate the vehicle, Dearth said one has to turn the key on, take the parking brake off, flip the switch from neutral to forward, and press on the accelerator. Operating on a 72-volt battery, the vehicle is quiet, with comfortable high-back seats and a window in the ceiling.
Dearth said the GEM has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and a range of about 30 miles, depending upon the number of stops and speed it is driven. It receives "a periodic charge of one to two hours and occasionally a day to charge it up good, he said.
Several cities in Wisconsin are passing ordinances allowing NEVs on their streets. Mineral Point has a pending NEV ordinance.
Dave Meudt, chairman of the ordinance committee in Mineral Point was looking ahead when he brought the issue to the attention of his committee a couple months ago.
"A couple years ago an area resident brought it to our attention, but it never went any further. That resident doesn't live here anymore, and I think that's the reason why," Meudt said.
Now, especially in light of rising fuel costs, Meudt said committee members showed interest in passing an ordinance. The issue is tentatively scheduled for the City Council's July 1 meeting.
Wisconsin Department of Transportation allows NEVs to operate on public roads, provided the NEV is titled and registered through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), is operated by a licensed driver and is operated only on local roads specifically approved for NEV operation by local ordinance. Those roads must have a speed limit of 35 mph or less.
The DMV title fee for NEVs is $53. The biennial registration fee is $23, but is prorated, with expiration on April 30 of even-numbered years.
He brought a request to Police Chief Fred Kelley for a city ordinance allowing neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) on city streets.
"You use them to go to the golf course or grocery shopping or anything," Smith said.
Reaching a speed of 25 mph, a licensed and titled NEV can be driven where the posted speed limit is 35 mph or less.
Smith said friends in the south use them on and off the golf course.
"They're two-speed. So they just drive them to the golf course and use them as a golf cart when they get there," he said.
The vehicles can be fully charged from a household current in six hours.
"If you go downtown, when you come back, you just plug them in again," he said. "They'll go about 30 miles on a charge."
NEVs come in two-, four-, and six-passenger styles. Dearth Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep owns a 2002 GEM E825. GEM, Global Electric MotorCar, is a division of the Diamler-Chrysler Company.
According to sales manger Bob Dearth, the dealership bought the GEM a couple years ago on Ebay from a restaurant in Iowa City.
"They thought they'd use it to carry people from their parking lot, like the hospital does here," he said. The vehicle was first owned by a city for its mayor to "run around in," and take visitors around the city, Dearth said. Neither idea worked out.
"They're more of a novelty than a necessity," Dearth laughed.
Dearth uses its GEM to go between the dealership's lots.
"It's handy if somebody want to look at different colors and different vehicles, but can't walk well," Dearth said.
Dearth said they have no plans to sell the GEM. Wisconsin has two GEM dealerships, Portage and Union Grove. The closest NEV dealerships are in Janesville, Beloit and Stoughton.
To operate the vehicle, Dearth said one has to turn the key on, take the parking brake off, flip the switch from neutral to forward, and press on the accelerator. Operating on a 72-volt battery, the vehicle is quiet, with comfortable high-back seats and a window in the ceiling.
Dearth said the GEM has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and a range of about 30 miles, depending upon the number of stops and speed it is driven. It receives "a periodic charge of one to two hours and occasionally a day to charge it up good, he said.
Several cities in Wisconsin are passing ordinances allowing NEVs on their streets. Mineral Point has a pending NEV ordinance.
Dave Meudt, chairman of the ordinance committee in Mineral Point was looking ahead when he brought the issue to the attention of his committee a couple months ago.
"A couple years ago an area resident brought it to our attention, but it never went any further. That resident doesn't live here anymore, and I think that's the reason why," Meudt said.
Now, especially in light of rising fuel costs, Meudt said committee members showed interest in passing an ordinance. The issue is tentatively scheduled for the City Council's July 1 meeting.
Wisconsin Department of Transportation allows NEVs to operate on public roads, provided the NEV is titled and registered through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), is operated by a licensed driver and is operated only on local roads specifically approved for NEV operation by local ordinance. Those roads must have a speed limit of 35 mph or less.
The DMV title fee for NEVs is $53. The biennial registration fee is $23, but is prorated, with expiration on April 30 of even-numbered years.