ELKHART — Slate Auto says it will begin deliveries of its future electric pickup trucks from its plant in Warsaw beginning in December.

Slate Auto’s Christian Kreipke, who serves as the company's Government Sales Lead, also said Wednesday that details about reservations and distribution will be announced on June 22 in Warsaw.

Kreipke made the comments during a speech on sustainability that was part of a luncheon hosted by MACOG, the Michiana Area Council of Governments, at the Matterhorn Conference Center in Elkhart.

The startup auto company is not aligned with any dealerships and is thereby cutting out the middleman to keep the pricetag to a minimum.

“The bottom line is, we chose to do direct-to-consumer (distribution) so we can control the price,” Kreipke said. “For a vehicle at this cost, it could easily get out of hand with increased price, service agreements.” 

The company announced last year that it intends to employ nearly 2,000 people with operations beginning this fall at the old RR Donnelley and Sons plant on Old Road 30.

More than 160,000 people have put down a $50 deposit.

Slate is seeking to disrupt the auto market with a lower-than-normal price point for its electric vehicles, which are highly customizable.

The vehicles don't rely on steel parts, won't rust, and are designed to last.

He said he envisions parents can eventually hand off the vehicle to their children, who can then customize it to their preferences.

"What we're really talking about here is building the future of sustainability on many, many facets from the powertrain and materials that are sustainable," he said. "EV tends to be really conducive to longer term because there's much less parts, there are a lot less moving parts, and they're a lot easier to fix."

James Turnwald, the executive director for MACOG, says it's good to have another major manufacturer in the region.

“To be able to then have, hopefully, a lower cost electric vehicle that the general consumer could purchase, I think that is wonderful, and I hope that they do very well,” Turnwald said.

So sustainability here goes just beyond emissions to now talk about having a vehicle that isn't going to contribute to the Rust Belt.

Many of the parts can be added or adjusted by the owner, or they can opt for a professional.

The Clean Air Luncheon celebrated air quality improvements in the region.

Three groups were honored — the South Bend Link Trail, Seed to Feed, and the South Bend City Church.

The South Bend City Church is working to advance energy efficiency with the renovation of its new location, a building that was once home to a South Bend Tribune printing press.

The church installed a 44kW solar array that utilizes Crossroads Solar panels, a local manufacturer of solar panels in South Bend that employs citizens returning to the workforce. 

The Link Trail is recognized for providing a bike and pedestrian option to residents. The city of South Bend, Visit South Bend Mishawaka, and the University of Notre Dame collaborated to develop the Link Trail, a shared-use pedestrian and bicycle trail connecting downtown South Bend to the Notre Dame campus. 

Seed to Feed is recognized for driving sustainability forward with impactful initiatives. The organization continues to transform local food systems through an innovative, community-driven model that grows and shares more than 100,000 pounds.

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WARSAW — Kosciusko Area Bus Service (KABS) is creating a new deviated fixed bus route system and is seeking public input.

To allow the community to learn more and provide feedback, KABS will host a public forum from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, at the Warsaw Community Public Library.

KABS has partnered with the Michiana Area Council of Governments and the Indiana
Department of Transportation to develop a new bus route system in and around the city of
Warsaw.

The new system will be in addition to the current on-demand service which will still be available in the city and throughout the county.

The new route will operate on a fixed schedule but can deviate up to two times per hour within a half-mile radius to accommodate passengers with mobility challenges or those in low-density areas. While high-traffic stops are already identified, KABS seeks input from the community on stops of high value to them. The forum will also provide an opportunity to learn about the system and offer feedback to ensure it meets community needs.

According to KABS General Manager Kristin Rude, “We have been researching ways to
improve transportation services to our community and believe a deviated fixed route is one way to do this.”

Rude added that she hopes riders and other community members will attend the forum to learn about the new system but also to offer their input on proposed fixed stops and voice any concerns or questions they may have.

KABS will be available to provide rides to and from the meeting. To schedule a ride, call KABS dispatch at 574.267.4990.

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WARSAW — Statistics provided by the city of Warsaw show the two electric vehicle charging stations established in 2023 are getting similar amounts of use and that that use in 2024 slowly climbed.

[caption id="attachment_104364" align="alignright" width="290"] A close-up of the charging station behind the Warsaw municipal parking lot near Jefferson Street. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

The stations are north of the courthouse and in the municipal parking lot near the Expressions Salon Day Spa.

The stations delivered just under 16,000 kWh, roughly the same between both stations with enough energy to drive about 50,000 miles, according to information provided by the city.

In 2023, there were 1,613 sessions, peaking in August at 185.

The service was used by 150 unique drivers. About 100 used the station at the Courthouse while 84 used the municipal lot.

The typical session length was 1.5 to 2 hours.

City planner Justin Taylor said the pilot program has been a "net positive" for downtown and supports the effort.

He said the slow rise is probably attributable to a combination of getting the word out about the service and the rise in the number of electric vehicles in the area.

“I think it makes sense with all the other efforts we’re doing to bring people downtown ... to offer it as an amenity,” Taylor said.

The city service has relied on a grant from the national Volkswagon court settlement in which the carmaker was fined for manipulating mileage.

Under the program, the city has covered the cost of charging each vehicle for the first two hours per visit.

But that program is coming to an end and the city will have to decide how to handle the service in the future.

“As a community, we need to decide are we going to continue to offer that first two hours free or are we going to look at charging hourly from the beginning — what does that look like,” Taylor said.

Winona Lake plans to establish four charging stations in a new parking lot adjacent to the town hall parking lot by the end of the year.

Taylor applauded the move.

“That’s impressive that they’re doing that. I think that’s a great amenity for that park,” Taylor said.

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WARSAW — The city of Warsaw is working with Fellowship Missions on a grant that would help cover the cost of removing the old nearby Jomac Products building where a new shelter could eventually be constructed.

If the city is awarded a Blight Clearance Grant through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), the former Jomac building would be demolished to make way for Fellowship Missions’ future plans.

On Friday, City Planner Justin Taylor requested permission from the Board of Public Works and Safety to apply for the grant for the property at 1624 E. Winona Ave., which is owned by Fellowship Missions. 

The maximum grant amount that the city could be awarded is $500,000.

He said there is a 10% match, but that would be covered by Fellowship Missions.

“OCRA requires the applicant to meet certain requirements, and it makes sense for the city to partner with Fellowship Missions to seek this funding,” Taylor said. “We’re also partnering with MACOG (Michiana Area Council of Governments) to do the grant administration and application process.”

He said it was a “very exciting opportunity for us to help demolish some blighted buildings and develop that new use for the site.”

The board approved the grant application.

After the meeting, Fellowship Missions Executive Director Eric Lane said they’ve been talking about the Jomac building “forever” but now they’re starting to make headway on it.

 The current plan is to “demolish it, greenspace it and then we’ve already got some design work to build a new shelter there.”

The new shelter, which will offer increased capacity, will eventually replace the existing shelter directly to the west. 

Once the new shelter is built, the old one will be shut down, everyone will move over to the new shelter and the old shelter will be demolished and become a parking lot.

“We’ve reached capacity, not only for people, but also services,” Lane said.

The deadline for the grant proposal is April 26.

Taylor also presented to the Board of Works a contract with Dogwood Hills Tree Farm for the removal and replacement of eight trees in downtown Warsaw. 

Total cost is expected to be $11,105.

“This is part of the multiyear effort to improve the trees downtown and create more biodiversity with our trees in the downtown,” he said.

After the board approved the contract, Taylor then presented a $1,500 proposal to hire a certified arborist from Dogwood Hills for the pruning and maintenance of the trees that the city has.

“They’ve also said that if we move forward with their proposal, over the years the $1,500 would come back to us in the form of a $500 credit each year,” Taylor said.

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WARSAW — If you Google Bargersville Police Chief Todd Bertram’s name with the word Tesla, you will find thousands of links, mostly because he’s done hundreds of interviews — many with police departments.

That's because Bargersville was the first police department in the U.S. to add a Tesla Model 3 to their fleet of patrol cars.

Bertram said the town south of Indianapolis is growing quickly and saw its population nearly double to 11,000 in just five years.

With a need for more police vehicles, he said town council challenged him to somehow find some significant savings to expand the fleet.

Today — four years later  — his fleet of 18 vehicles includes 13 Teslas.

And he still feels good about the transition.

The one type of police work it might not accomodate might be state police highway patrols because of the large amount of miles they rack up, he said.

[caption id="attachment_87924" align="alignright" width="280"] A view of a charging station at the Bargersville Police Station. Photo provided.[/caption]

“I would say 90 percent of the agencies across this country, it would work with and it would save them money,” Bertram said.

Winona Lake is one of the departments to reach out to Bargersville and is one of three towns in Kosciusko County that are considering applying for grant money through Michiana Area Council of Governments to purchase electric vehicles.

The others are Silver Lake and Pierceton.

Each of the three towns are looking to buy two vehicles.As much as $200,000 is available for each town and the grant covers all expenses.

Bertram said they initially faced resistance to the idea of buying EVs and that cost was one of the big concerns.

Bertram said they faced resistance at first because there was a perception that each car would cost $80,000.

He said they've begun transitioning from a Model 3 which is a sedan and cost about  $37,000, to a model Y which is more like an SUV and costs about $47,000.

He said he’s received hundreds of calls including many from Ohio and Connecticut police departments and even one from Alaska where the caller questioned the reliability of a Tesla in frigid conditions.

"They do great," Bertram said.

"We're treating these cars just  exactly like we treated the Dodge Chargers and the Durangos. We're not giving them any slack. I told them to do that. It needs to run like a normal car, don't baby it," he said.

One misperception is that the public views Teslas as a luxury car in part because of the faux leather, which he said holds up better when transporting drunks and people who some timetimes lose control of their bodily functions.

Dodge Chargers came with cloth interiors which had to be covered in plastic to protect the interior. Teslas, he said, clean up more easily.

“Yeah, we’re chasing bad guys with them. We’re transporting dirty butts in them. We’re doing everything with them," Bertram said.

Another general concern among many is the battery life.

The new Teslas' battery life is rated at 310 miles. In Bargersville, officers work 12-shifts and typically travel about 150 miles per day, Bertram said.

He said patrolmen are expected to keep battery life above 50 percent just to be safe.

The three towns in Kosciusko County announced their interest in the grant program for EVs in recent weeks.

Winona Lake is looking to buy two for the police department and are considering Teslas after speaking with Bertram.

Pierceton is considering EVs for its police department and another for a town pickup truck.

Silver Lake is seeking one for the police department and another for the utility department.

While there is still clearly hesitation among some about the use of EVs — especially for law enforcement — there is also a willingness to give it a try since it would cost town virtually nothing.

"We’re very interested. We were looking to replace a police vehicle and a town truck before we found out about this (grant) so we thought, free is free and we might as well give it a try,” said Pierceton Clerk-Treasurer Myra Mast.

Mast said town council members last year supported the notion, but she's unsure of the current situation because two of the three council members just took office this month.

Silver Lake Town Marshal Jason McGlennon said the town supports looking into it.

“I can’t say that I’m 100 percent sold on EVs but if we can get them for free to try them out, I can’t see that that’s a bad thing,” McGlennon said.

Leah Thill, director of sustainability for MACOG, said they've already focused on jump-starting the interest in EVs with larger communities and that this round of grant money is intended for small communities.

MACOG has invited officials to test drive the EVS Monday.

She said trying out the vehicles through the grant program is the best way to find out if it's a good fit for the town.

"It’s a great opportunity to pilot a new technology at very low financial risk to the community. If it doesn’t work out well, they don’t have to purchase more, they don’t have to go all in,” Thill said.

"If it can work in Silver Lake and Pierceton, it can work anywhere,” she said.

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WARSAW -- Winona Lake is in line for its first electric vehicle charging station.

Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) is applying for grant money from the U.S. Department of Transportation with the goal of establishing 20 to 25 locations across Kosciusko, Marshall, St. Joe and Elkhart countries.

The grant covers 80 percent of the cost and the host would be expected to cover the rest.

The proposed location in Winona Lake would be in the parking lot of the town hall.

Hosts can be government entities and companies whose parking lots are available 24/7 …  According to Leah Thill, MACOG’s director of sustainability.

Thill said they’re hoping to add charging stations in towns like Winona Lake, Argos and Middlebury that otherwise would not likely see the service made available.

The only two electric charging stations currently available for public use in Kosciusko County are near the courthouse in Warsaw.

Convincing the public to embrace electric vehicle options is still a work in progress.

About 90 percent of those who purchase an electric vehicle have a charging station at home.

Public charging stations provide a good backup, she said.

"We think there is a chicken and the egg issue," Thill said. "If we can bring charging (into the public square) we'll be able to see the cars that are already here and being charged at home and will reveal a good option that's here."

Thill was in Warsaw asking for (and receiving) support from the Kosciusko County Commissioners for a non-binding letter of support for the grant.

Anyone interested in hosting a charging station is encouraged to contact MACOG.

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