HOUGHTON — Houghton City Council members were skeptical of committing more taxpayer money for electric vehicle charging stations beyond the ones already being installed by the city, though they left open the possibility of leveraging outside funds.

Houghton is installing two chargers downtown, each capable of charging two vehicles. The breakers are ready for the stations, which are expected to ship soon, said City Manager Eric Waara.

Mayor Brian Irizarry prompted the discussion regarding adding more charging station capacity.

Level 3 chargers, which can fully charge a vehicle in 40 minutes, but will cost users about $20.

“People that don’t have chargers in their apartment townhome, maybe multi-unit dwelling, they’re going to have to be paying for these chargers, while residences with a charging station will be able to use a Level 2 charger, which will take longer, but they can plug it in overnight,” he said. “That’s going to be about nine hours, but it’s a lot cheaper for them.”

Councilor Mike Needham said the coming chargers are a good idea to kickstart electric charging in the area. But based on his recent visits to larger cities with more electric-vehicle infrastructure, many of the chargers are put in by businesses, he said.

“It becomes an attractive thing for that business,” he said. “People will go to this business instead of that business, because when they park, they can charge their car.”

He suggested waiting to do what larger businesses such as Walmart do.

Councilor Robert Megowen said there’s a tradeoff with the chargers, which he called “a necessary eyesore.” They can draw people to the downtown, they also reduce downtown parking by four spots.

City Manager Eric Waara said he let the council know about future opportunities to leverage outside assistance.

“If you don’t want to do it, you don’t want to do it,” he said. “But they are coming.”

Needham suggested Waara could also let the council know about opportunities that could be shifted to a private investor. In buying new vehicles for his work, he’s seen the federal government’s push, through executive order, for hybrid and electric vehicles.

“I have a feeling that will trickle down to them supporting private investment in some way,” he said.

In other action, the council:

* Heard from Police Chief John Donnelly the department has been working with Houghton-Portage Township Schools about a school resource officer position. The district has applied for a grant which would cover 50% of the cost. The city and district would then split the rest. The proposal includes a three-year deal.

• Approved $102,574.32 in payments to the Michigan Department of Transportation and U.P. Architects & Engineers for Phase 3 of the city’s water improvements.

• Approved $94,322.75 to MDOT and UPEA for Phase 3 of the city’s sewer improvements.

• Approved a $26,471 change order for the pier placemaking project. The changes include the cost of ground fault circuit interrupter breakers and the open pile design on the east end of the pier, which was necessary to avoid unforeseen AT&T cables crossing the canal.

• Approved amended council rules of procedure.