McAllen staff brief commissioners on citywide streetlight installations, partnerships with AEP

Marlene Garza, traffic operations administrator for the City of McAllen, told the City Commission Monday that the department has accelerated a citywide program to add streetlights in residential neighborhoods and on high-volume arterials and is coordinating closely with American Electric Power (AEP) to speed installations.

Garza said the city has budgeted more than $3,600,000 “to creating a brighter McAllen” and reported that the city installed 20 streetlights in fiscal year 2022–23 and 50 so far in fiscal year 2024–25. She said the department meets regularly with AEP — sometimes quarterly or every other month — and has a meeting scheduled with AEP the next day to review progress and outstanding needs.

Why it matters: Commissioners pressed staff for details because installation timing affects neighborhoods’ safety, construction impacts on private property and the city’s ability to meet internal lighting standards. Garza told commissioners that older districts with overhead poles can be completed faster and at lower cost, while newer subdivisions in Districts 1 and 2 require boring and private-property coordination that lengthens schedules.

Garza said Districts 3, 5 and 6 are currently under design and that Districts 1 and 2 were treated as pilot areas where AEP and the city learned how to coordinate on underground installs. “We’re getting better. Our system is getting better,” she said.

Commissioners asked for follow-up reporting. One commissioner asked for updates in the Friday packets and for quarterly or semiannual briefings; commissioners were told staff can provide recurring updates. Commissioners also raised neighborhood-specific questions — including Flamingo and North Tenth — and Garza said constituents may be routed to the city manager or assistant city managers and that staff will forward constituent inquiries to the traffic operations team.

Technical details and constraints: Garza described multiple steps required for new-construction installs, including right-of-way work, easement notifications to property owners and coordination to avoid damage to private property. She said the department notifies residents in affected areas before excavation and that residents have called to express appreciation for the outreach. Garza said the city uses a spacing guideline of 150 feet for high-speed arterials and 250 feet for residential streets.

Dependencies and risks: Staff said the schedule is dependent on AEP’s material availability and work schedule and can be delayed by storm response or AEP’s subcontractor capacity. Commissioners and staff noted that Magic Valley and AEP use subcontractors, which can affect timing.

What’s next: Garza said staff will continue coordination with AEP and expects more installations in the coming months, especially where overhead poles already exist. Staff offered to provide recurring progress updates to the commission and encouraged residents with questions to contact city staff for routing to traffic operations.