Oakmont welcomes EV charging stations

First came the goats, eating their way toward clearing out unwanted vegetation in Oakmont.

“That was very popular,” assistant borough manager Phyllis Anderson said. “They brought the community together. I had no idea that was going to happen.”

During the summer, quite a few local residents visited the banks of the Allegheny River to see nannies and billies munch on plants that otherwise would be eliminated through the use of herbicides.

“Not an option,” Anderson asserted.

Oakmont’s latest action with regard to sustainability may not have the mass appeal of a furry, cute Capra hircus, but it provides a vital resource for people who are shifting away from burning fossil fuels.

The installation of three dual-port charging stations for electric vehicles began Jan. 23, taking up seven of the 57 spaces — the port for people with disabilities requires two spaces — in Riverside Park’s Third Street lot.

“We did a tour of the town to see where the best place would be for the initial charging stations,” Anderson said, with locations near the municipal building on Fifth Avenue also receiving consideration.

Partnering with the borough on the project is Duquesne Light Co., which offers a Community Charging Program through which representatives of the utility company design and build the electrical infrastructure.

Oakmont received a state Driving PA Forward grant to help offset the cost, based on an application written by borough council member Jamie Leonardi. Estimates presented at an October council meeting, when elected officials approved moving forward with the project, placed the price tag at about $77,000.

As far as potential use of the ports, Anderson reported that as of the start of last year, nearly 50,000 electric vehicles were registered in Pennsylvania, with more than 10% located in Allegheny and Beaver counties. She also cited a 2021 Pew Research study concluding that nearly 40% of consumers are likely to give strong consideration to electric when purchasing or leasing their next vehicles.

Oakmont is a longtime participant in the Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification program, with designation as a Certified Silver Community in recognition of its policies and practices. Borough officials are “planning to elevate Oakmont’s sustainability efforts to the platinum status,” according to the municipal website, and have adopted a sustainability plan to reach the goal.

Projects on which Anderson is working include replacing incandescent bulbs with light-emitting diodes and procuring electric fleet vehicles, both through other programs offered by Duquesne Light, and working with the nonprofit Solar United Neighbors to place panels on homes and other buildings. Other efforts are in the areas of leaf and food composting, she said, along with possibilities of rain gardens and a community garden in the borough.

And yes, the grazing goats will return, toward the end of spring. In the meantime, Oakmont residents have contributed to their cuisine by donating post-Halloween pumpkins — “gourds for goats”— to Capricious LLC, the company that provides and manages the animals.

“We collected 14 truckloads of pumpkins,” Anderson said. “When the owners would bring the pumpkins back, the goats were all excited, because they’re delicacies.”

She described a similar collection of after-holiday Christmas trees as netting 10 truckloads’ worth.

“The community really came together,” she said. “Anytime I put a request out to support something for the goats, it’s overwhelmingly popular.”

An example took place when they were scheduled to return home for the season.

“We had a going-away party for them, and we invited the Riverview High School band and cheerleaders to come. We made an announcement the day before, and over 150 people showed up,” Anderson said. “We got 100 cookies from the bakery with pictures of goats on them to pass out. So cute.”

She was encouraged by Patricia Friday, a former president of borough council, to work on behalf of sustainability. And the current president, Lindsay Osterhout, asked Anderson to pursue Duquesne’s charging-station program for Oakmont.

As someone who looks to “leave the world in a better place than I found it,” Anderson is happy to forge ahead.

“It’s for the greater good of the community,” she said. “Everybody is going to benefit from it.”