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Holmen residents could be whirring from their homes to the grocery store in electric cars if the Holmen Village Board fashions a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) policy during its July meetings.

Police Chief Mike McHugh said an NEV policy is on his drawing board. He quickly pointed out the proposed ordinance would not allow golf carts or similar vehicles.

“Environmentologist” Tom Shee of La Crosse’s International Motorwerks said NEVs share some of the electric technology of golf carts but they must be road-worthy in the eyes of the state Department of Transportation. “They must have a windshield, wipers, headlights and taillights, a horn and a special suspension,” Shee said.

Shee explained the Wisconsin-made vehicles he sells during a test ride in downtown La Crosse. The demo model looks like a delivery van that shrunk like a wool sweater in a dryer.

The tiny truck says “whee” and scurries along with the traffic, downtown traffic congestion keeping it under its 25 mile-per-hour top speed. By state law, it is electronically restricted to 25 mph or below.

McHugh said Holmen is tinkering with a NEV policy because there have been inquiries from residents. If it adopts an ordinance, it would follow La Crosse and Onalaska in letting the little electric vehicles on village streets.

McHugh is investigating what is needed for an ordinance and also what needs to be done so La Crosse County will allow NEVs on county highways that are in the village.

The proposed ordinance would allow NEVs to be operated on any road in the village with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less.

Operators of NEVs must have a valid driver’s license and the vehicle must be licensed by the state.

Because they can’t be on roads with speeds posted at more than 35 mph, NEVs cannot travel on some Holmen roads, such as Highway HD and Highway 35.

NEVs are not for everyone, said Shee. “People could use them to go on errands, go to church, make deliveries, drive to work and so on,” he said.

More likely customers for NEVs are businesses and government. International Motorwerks has sold vehicles to colleges and sees municipalities and power utilities as potential customers.

Energy costs and environmental concerns are a motivation. Shee said the itty-bitty delivery van he is showing around costs about two-cents per mile as opposed to about 20-cents per mile for a pick-up truck. “You plug it in to a regular outlet at night and it costs 50-90 cents to charge while you sleep,” Shee said.

Holmen police recognize there will be a demand for them. “People will want them just to scoot around town,” McHugh said. “Because they are smaller, other motorists will have to be more cautious around them.”