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Moab council approves Rocky Mountain Power LED conversion with comfort lenses
Summary
Moab City Council approved a Rocky Mountain Power agreement to convert city-area streetlights to Dark Sky‑compliant LEDs, selecting a slightly costlier 'comfort' lens option to reduce glare. Council authorized a $90,578.50 agreement and directed the mayor to sign.
Moab City Council voted Aug. 26 to convert Rocky Mountain Power‑owned streetlights inside city limits to LED fixtures that meet the city’s outdoor‑lighting code.
Council selected the option that includes a “comfort” lens — a diffusing lens intended to reduce glare — approving a Rocky Mountain Power agreement for $90,578.50 and authorizing the mayor to sign.
City staff presented the conversion as part of Moab’s continued implementation of Dark Sky goals and the city’s outdoor‑lighting code. City staff explained the technical terms used in the proposal: “lumens are brightness, watts are the power used, Kelvin is the color of the light,” and emphasized the city’s 3,000‑Kelvin limit in the code. The city previously replaced LED modules in city‑owned decorative fixtures; the Rocky Mountain Power work covers the remaining “cobra head” and post‑top fixtures the utility owns and maintains.
Alexi, a city staff presenter, said Rocky Mountain Power offered two package options: a standard LED lens and a comfort (diffused) lens. Alexi said the comfort lens increases initial cost by about $1,500 overall and “it would be a possibility to try to make the switch ... slightly more comfortable and also reduce glare.” The city’s staff estimate showed both options meet Dark Sky requirements and have equivalent annual energy savings; the comfort lens option lengthened the projected payback from about 3.14 to about 3.19 years.
Council members discussed where the comfort lenses would be used, whether shields should be installed house‑side or street‑side and whether shields should be paid by the city. The council heard that shields cost roughly $85 per fixture including labor and that an initial, city‑funded bulk installation of shields on neighborhood (level‑1) fixtures might cost about $21,000; staff estimated a targeted, request‑driven installation could cost closer to $12,000 depending on demand. Staff proposed a compromise: install comfort lenses now and open a public request period for shields after the conversion.
Council member Jason moved to approve the agreement including the comfort lens; Colin seconded. After brief discussion the council voted to approve the agreement and authorize the mayor to sign.
Staff noted Rocky Mountain Power’s inventory work may also identify lights without an assigned customer account; the utility indicated it will remove lights that have no responsible party unless a property owner claims the fixture.
If residents want shields or to preserve an unassigned fixture, staff said Rocky Mountain Power crews can be assigned to install or retain fixtures as long as a responsible party is identified.
The city will coordinate with Grand County where feasible so county‑owned or county‑maintained lights can be evaluated in the same work order window.
The city did not set a separate requirement that the utility remove any currently functioning lights other than those identified as unassigned.
The council vote approved the Rocky Mountain Power LED conversion agreement and authorized the mayor to sign. Staff said the LED conversions would occur in the fall and that shield requests could be collected and scheduled for installation in a follow‑up round.
