Council hears savings plan for East Village light‑pole rehab and LED fixture replacement

Councilman Carl Voss brought forward discussion of a lighting upgrade project for the East Village, describing an effort to rehabilitate existing light poles and replace luminaires with LED fixtures at substantially lower cost than the project’s original scope.

Steve Naber, Des Moines city engineer, told the council the original scope called for replacing all 60 existing light poles on East Locust Street. A local lighting expert and manufacturer work allowed staff to determine that rehabbing the pole bases, repairing foundations, repainting poles with protective coating and installing new LED luminaires would preserve the streetscape look toward the capitol while substantially reducing costs. Naber said the chosen luminaires are easier to swap out and will reduce maintenance burden.

"With the help of a local lighting expert, we did some further investigation," Naber said. "We're able to replace the base covers, do some foundation repairs, and then just actually replace the luminaires with LED lights." He added that the fixtures found would preserve the visual character and simplify future maintenance.

Councilman Voss framed the change as a major savings relative to replacing full poles, saying the full‑replacement option would have been “probably six times more costly.” The council moved and seconded the project and the motion carried.

The record shows council members expressed support for maintaining the historic look and minimizing lifecycle costs. No specific dollar amount for the revised scope was disclosed in the verbal presentation at the meeting; council action approved the item to proceed under the revised approach discussed on the record.