Updated September 20, 2007.

The City Council is considering whether to add a fee to property owners’ utility bills that would pay for installing and replacing streetlights throughout the city on a regular basis.

An open house is scheduled Thursday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Waite Park for Northeast residents to learn about the streetlight proposal.

Currently, a resident who wants streetlights on their block needs to collect neighbors’ signatures and file a petition with the city. The cost is then divided and assessed to the property owners who benefit from the lights.

The proposal the City Council will eventually vote on would scrap that process. Instead, it would create a monthly fee on utility bills that would pay for a uniform system for installing streetlights and replacing them every 30 years.

Beverly Warmka of the city’s public works department said the streetlight fee would generate about $16 million per year. A preliminary estimate places the charge for property owners somewhere between $8 and $12 per month, Warmka said. 

The type of lighting installed would vary depending on whether it’s located in a central business, pedestrian or residential area. Areas first in line for the new lighting would include streets already under construction, areas without any existing lighting and spots with a high frequency of bicycle or pedestrian crashes.

More information is available at the city’s Street Lighting Policy and Information web page.  Dan Haugen

What do you think of the city’s streetlight proposal? Could your neighborhood use a little brightening at night? Leave a comment! Click the comment link to leave your opinion.

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