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Contractor outlines plan to inventory and repair Old Orchard rooftop lighting
Summary
A contractor working with the Old Orchard Business District described a plan to inventory rooftop holiday lights, identify power and photo‑cell controls, and coordinate repairs and new installs with building owners.
A contractor hired to service decorative rooftop lighting told the Webster Groves Business District Commission on Feb. 11 that he has completed a preliminary survey of the Old Orchard business strip and will work with building owners to restore and install exterior, photo‑controlled outlets.
The consultant, identified in the meeting as Dan Schwegel of Show Me Electrical, told the commission he and his crew ‘‘have surveyed it’’ and are now trying to confirm which buildings need new power brought to exterior locations and which existing strings are controlled by timers or photo cells. "I do know which buildings don't have them. I don't know which buildings actually do have them, and if they're on a timer or a photo cell," Schwegel said.
City and district volunteers have already made temporary repairs to some north‑side strings, Schwegel said, and one strand installed last year remains in good condition. Other strings have repeatedly failed when wet because water reaches the bulb and seal, triggering the ground fault interrupters (GFI), he said. Schwegel described recurring GFI trips and sections where strands have deteriorated: "Eventually, the water gets in between the bulb and the seal that's there, and it just starts triggering it all the time." He said crews have spliced in new sections as temporary fixes but expect a full replacement for some runs within a year.
Schwegel asked for help from board members and district contacts to speed work at night and avoid wasted site visits. He requested business names or building contacts to match to addresses such as the stretch around 8110–8184 Big Bend Avenue and said the photo‑eye outlet for a group of buildings is on top of 8120 Big Bend. Schwegel provided an office contact, Mindy (mindy@showmeelectrical.com), for owners or managers to report outages and arrange access.
District members described a staged approach: finish Old Orchard, then move on to Old Webster. The contractor said he will prioritize "low‑hanging fruit"—strings that are reachable with ladders and those that previously received district funding—before scheduling larger lifts for taller buildings. Commission members agreed to provide building owner contacts and compare existing lists of storefronts and managers to aid the contractor's inventory.
The commission also discussed lamp mismatches between earlier and later bulk orders and the need to inventory bulbs and strings. Schwegel said he will produce a count of needed lamps and strings after a more thorough daytime inventory and testing of photo cells.
The commission did not vote on any contract at the meeting; Schwegel and district staff agreed to exchange contact lists so the contractor can begin scheduled service and installations.
The rooftop lighting work will proceed in phases and depend on access to private rooftops, availability of lifts for taller buildings, and coordination with building owners for new exterior wiring.
