Brighter and more cost efficient LED street lights are expected to be shining over numerous Kent roads later this year.
City officials are planning to spend about $2.6 million to replace the nearly 2,600 city-owned street lights that will save Kent about $230,000 a year in electricity costs.
The City Council’s Operations Committee approved the ordinance for LEDs on April 7. The full council is scheduled to consider the measure on Tuesday, April 21.
Kelly Peterson, city special projects/transportation manager, said Kent had the opportunity to apply for an energy efficiency grant from the state Department of Commerce and decided to seek it to help pay for LED street lights as well as a new heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system for the Riverbend Golf Complex clubhouse on the 18-hole course.
“We were successful with the grant application, receiving the maximum award of $500,000,” Peterson said in an email.
The city plans to use $375,000 toward the street light project and $125,000 to help replace the Riverbend HVAC system, which will be done this year at a cost of about $752,000.
The council’s Public Works Committee asked finance department staff if the city had the resources to internally finance the street light project at a cost of about $2.6 million, city finance director Aaron BeMiller said to the Operations Committee. He said the electricity bill cost savings would be used to help pay back the long-term internal financing for the project.
“Public Works has been talking about this for some time about how to make this project work,” said Council President Dana Ralph prior to her committee vote to approve the proposal.
To finance the project, the city plans to borrow $1 million from its sewerage operating fund, $800,000 from its self-insurance fund and $445,000 from the general fund under extra money set aside in a Strategic Investment fund.
Once the project is finished later this year – its expected to take about six months to replace the lights – the city will receive a $445,000 rebate from Puget Sound Energy for the more efficient lights. The city will put that money back into the Strategic Investment fund, which is monies set aside for projects after the general fund budget hits its 10 percent annual savings amount.
That leaves the $1.8 million to be financed over nine years, paid back at 1.2 percent interest through the savings in the annual electric bill.
“There will be no service reductions or capital projects slowdown because of the financing,” BeMiller said.
Not all residents, however, will see the new street lights in their neighborhood.
“There are about 6,000 street lights on the city’s roadways,” Peterson said. “We own nearly 2,600 of these lights and all of those will be replaced with LEDs. The other lights are owned by Puget Sound Energy or other agencies and are not a part of this project.”
Crews will replace lights even before they burn out because of the energy savings and grant programs, Peterson said.
“LED lights use around one-third of the energy of the existing lights,” he said. “LED lights also require almost no maintenance because they last for about 20 years. Swapping all the lights out now also reduces the costs of the LED fixtures as well.”
The current lights have lamps that must be replaced every four to five years on average and ballasts that must be replaced every eight to 10 years on average, Peterson said.
Crews are expected to start the replacement program this summer.
The city didn’t install the LED street lights as part of the Southeast 256th Street widening project, including new street lights, recently completed on the East Hill.
“The 256th Street project was designed and under construction prior to the LED street light project being identified,” Peterson said. “Moving forward, all new projects will include LED street lights.”
But the 23 street lights along the new section of Southeast 256th Street will be replaced as part of the LED project, Peterson said.
Renton, Olympia and Vancouver are cities that have recently replaced old street lights with LEDs. Peterson said Renton also used state grant money to help pay for its project and that the city is paying back its loan faster than projected because of the cost savings.
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