Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the village of Athens is projected to be the first municipality in Greene County to have electric-vehicle charging stations, Conservation Advisory Chairman Joshua Lipsman said. The Thomas Cole National Historic Site opened the first charging stations in the county this summer. The Athens charging stations are funded by a $10,000 grant from the Athens Community Foundation and will be installed in the municipal lot on North Franklin Street, Lipsman said. “What we’ve learned is there are electric-vehicle aficionados that find where the charging stations are and plan their travels based on that [information],” Lipsman said. “As soon as COVID lifted...people will come and park their electric vehicles near these charging stations or at charging stations. Hopefully they will shop and eat. It’s good for the village, it brings people who will spend dollars, it brings attention to the village and more importantly, it’s good for the environment.” The village board has yet to decide if it will rent or buy the stations, Lipsman said. Once that decision is made, the stations will likely be operational in two to three months. The board has not yet discussed if there will be a fee to use the charging stations, Deputy Mayor Gail Lasher said. The station at the Cole historic site is open to the public at a fee of $1 per hour for the first four hours and $4 per hour for any additional time. Read the full story at Hudson360 [dot] com.