Council OKs streetlight conversion application

Washington state’s Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) is soliciting cities for streetlight conversation projects — and the city of Cheney intends to take them up on their offer.

At it’s final regular meeting in September Tuesday night, the City Council voted 7-0 to approve a staff request to apply for the grant that, if successful, would convert 535 existing high pressure sodium (HPS) light fixtures to the more energy efficient light emitting diode, LED, fixtures. At an average cost of $382 per fixture, the total estimated cost of the project would come to $204,535, of which TIB would cover $171,395.

Light Department Director Stephen Boorman told the council that the difference would likely be made up in Bonneville Power Administration energy conservation incentives or other grant funding, leaving the project 100 percent funded by outside sources.

Changing to LED fixtures will give the city some savings. According to information from the grant application, Cheney has already switched out 87 HPS fixtures to LEDs, providing a 48 percent reduction in electrical usage. Using this figure, Cheney estimates switching the remaining fixtures will reduce the annual amount of kilowatt hours used by streetlights by 235,280 kwh, providing $14,717 in savings per year.

Combined with the estimated $7,300 in annual maintenance, if awarded the grant Cheney’s total savings would come out to just over $22,000. Those savings could be more as LED prices continue to drop.

Boorman said the city would have to put the replacement work out to bid by contractors, as required by state law since the project would exceed $40,000. The project would include all city-owned fixtures, with the exception of those already changed and decorative fixtures.

“Anything on a roadway or parking lot will be covered by this,” Boorman said.

Light fixtures wasn’t the only topic at the Sept. 22 meeting as the council approved 11 other resolutions and an updated salary ordinance. The salary ordinance pertained to an earlier resolution authorizing acceptance of a contract between the city and the Teamsters Local Union 690 representing the Police Department’s dispatchers.

City Administrator Mark Schuller said Cheney has five full-time and two relief dispatchers. The three-year contract provided a wage increase of 1.75 percent in the first year, 2015, with a wage increase in the next two years based upon the local Consumer Price Index but with a floor of 1.75 percent and a ceiling of 3.5 percent.

Schuller said the contract also included some language clarifying several other points such as leaves.

“Basically, it was the wage increase,” he said. “Which was fully funded by the budget we passed back in December 2014.”

The salary ordinance that followed established the wage increases and conditions into the city’s municipal code, and will take effect almost immediately as council held all three readings and final passage at Tuesday night’s meeting.

“We are requesting all three readings tonight so that we can get those folks paid,” Schuller said.

Council also approved resolutions awarding a $102,222 contract to Cameron-Reilly Concrete for the Betz-Washington Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project, and a $124,835 contract to Accelerated Construction for work on a project replacing a water main running from Clay and Seventh streets to about 300 feet west of State Route 904.

Both projects are covered through outside funding.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].