TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Jonathan R. Lewis, ICMA-CM, City Manager
TITLE: Repeal of the Streetlight Moratorium
Recommended Action
Direct the City Manager to reinstate the installation of streetlights by request of residents as of today in accordance with 31.29(A)(1)(a) of the Public Works Policy PW-31 dated April 10, 2014 and proceed with any steps necessary for budget funding availability.
Background Information
The City has had, for a long time, a policy for procedures in approving installation of streetlights by request of residents (see the attached materials from the 3/22/10 R & D District meeting).
However, at the 9/24/12 Road & Drainage District Meeting a motion was passed by Commission to "approve a Moratorium on street lighting until after a Workshop has been held to decide how street lighting will be handled in the future and to make the Workshop a priority."
The moratorium was prompted by conversations at a budget workshop regarding increasing costs for street lighting. According to the 9/24/12 staff item summary sheet (attached) at that time the average annual budget for new street lights was $7,500, the overall budget for residential street lights already installed was $308,400 including those on arterial and collector roads, and that the District funds the street light program from its non-ad valorem assessment.
Street lighting was an item of discussion at a workshop held on 10/26/12. According to the staff item summary (attached) at that time there were 1,350 street lights on local roads and 497 on arterial and collector roads (excluding Toledo Blade and Sumter Blvd) and for Fiscal Year 2012 the District's actual cost for streetlights was $321,866. No direction was given at that workshop to repeal the moratorium however additional information was requested by the Commission which was to be provided at another workshop.
On 3/29/13 the Residential Streetlight Program was again discussed. Much of ...
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