Porter officials were excited in May 2023 that the town was approved for a federal grant to fund six electric-powered pickup trucks and the construction of at least two public charging stations.
But more than two years later, neither the promised Ford Lightning-150 pickup trucks nor charging stations have materialized.
It became a running joke at Porter Town Council meetings when Public Works Director James Spanier would give an update about the delayed delivery of the trucks. Then, he stopped talking about it.
“I’m not one to throw stones, but it’s not a smooth process from what we were told and how it came down,” Spanier said.
The federal grant would pay 80% of the cost of a Ford Lightning F-150, priced at $55,000 in 2023. That means Porter would have paid $66,000 for a fleet of six new electric pickup trucks. The grant would also pay 80% of a charging station’s price, which then cost $50,000
The town of Porter is not alone, as other communities in Porter and Lake counties have yet to receive what was promised from the $4 million grant awarded in 2023. East Chicago was hoping to get 14 electric vehicles and the city of Hobart was in line to get 16 electric vehicles.
“We have not received any of them that we were awarded,” said Jalen Robinson, public works director for East Chicago. “We’re kind of at a standstill.”
“We have not received them yet. It has been a bit of a mess,” Hobart Mayor Josh Huddlestun said.
Adrian Vera, the chief of staff for Lake Station, said that it should be understood that this grant went through a more complicated process.
Drive Clean Indiana, a nonprofit that advocates finding better environmental options, was the agency that first encouraged communities in Porter and Lake counties to apply for the funding, administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Vera said that Lake Station was the lead city to apply for the grant.
When asked why it takes so long, Carl Lisek, executive director of Drive Clean Indiana, replied: “Believe me, I ask that every day.”
Vera said that the grant process involved several players in the region. Some of the other communities involved were Portage, Hammond, Whiting, Schererville and Griffith.
The original source of the federal dollars coming to local communities was the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, said Charles Bradsky, transportation projects director for the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, or NIRPC. Then-President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Nov. 5, 2021, with one of the stated goals being to address climate change.
The grant process for the federal dollars went through the Indiana Department of Transportation before going to NIRPC, Vera said.
Robinson said that he’s heard the hold-up could be partially attributed to the state and regional agencies “going back and forth” on procedural issues involving the grant.
While the grant was made to Porter and Lake County communities in 2023, Bradsky said that people should understand the grant’s distribution wasn’t going to happen immediately.
As the transportation projects director, Bradsky said he manages scores of Federal Highway Administration projects in Northwest Indiana.
“I cannot put everything in year one,” Bradsky said.
The Ford Lighting-150 trucks also sometimes take months to deliver. Bradsky said the distribution of funds will be spread out through 2028.
Lake Station received three of its promised six Ford Lightning-150s just a few weeks ago, Vera said. Currently, Vera said the hope is Hobart could soon receive its first three electric pickup trucks.
When Porter received its grant share, the plan was for the six F-150 Lightnings to be distributed with three to the Public Works Department and one each for the fire, police and parks departments. The town was looking at the grant as a way to significantly save money for its vehicle needs.
The town of Porter strives to be conscientious about the environment, so the town officials were excited about the possibility of offering more charging stations for public use.
The potential locations for the charging stations included downtown and Hawthorne Park. The Indiana Dunes Visitors Center already has a charging station, but if the town got enough funding, there was the possibility of the charging station being expanded.
Spanier said he probably should have figured it would take time.
“It’s not surprising when you involve that many government agencies, especially the feds. They have all sorts of rules.”
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.