Capital projects committee approves city-funded LED streetlight conversion, authorizes mayor to contract with PATH

The Hendersonville Capital Projects Committee voted unanimously to proceed with a city-funded LED streetlight conversion and authorized the mayor to enter into a contract with PATH as the selected contractor, subject to review and sign-off by the city attorney.

Sarah (capital projects staff) said the city has budgeted roughly $2,300,000 this fiscal year for replacement of public street lights in the NES service area and noted an additional $600,000 had been budgeted elsewhere for parts but was not included in her presentation. "This is something that the city has been talking about for probably 5 years or so," she said, adding the work would be a city project with no grant funding attached.

Sarah told the committee the project is in the initiation phase and staff expected to sign contracts within about a month. If contracting proceeds on that schedule, staff estimated breaking ground in January and completing the work by September 2026. Todd Vaughn was listed as the project manager present for the presentation.

Committee members pressed staff for operating-budget impacts and details about coverage. Sarah said first-year operating savings were estimated at $160,000, with an assumed 3% annual increase in power costs meaning savings could rise to roughly $280,000 per year over 20 years. She said the conversion covers just over 2,200 street lights in the NES service area and does not include lights owned by Cumberland Electric, which represent about 10% of the city's street lights.

Jeff Sasse asked whether NES would convert lights if the city did nothing. Sarah replied NES would convert lights as part of its own initiative over roughly five years, "but the benefit of doing the project now is the immediate cost savings," because the city would realize reduced operating costs earlier.

Sarah explained procurement relied on Tennessee statutory authority for certain energy-related municipal improvements and that PATH is an approved contractor for NES projects. The motion adopted by the committee authorized the mayor to execute the contract with PATH as the selected contractor, "subject to the city attorney looking at it and the conditions that he may or may not have," as the mover added.

The vote was unanimous.

Committee members asked staff to provide an update to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) as part of the COO's or mayor's report; staff noted routine maintenance, repair responsibility and decorative fixture options would be coordinated with NES. The committee also discussed decorative fixture choices and planning staff recommendations to reduce glare and improve dark-sky performance.