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Highland Park approves 5-year pilot for 60 solar streetlights after months of debate
Summary
City council approved a resolution authorizing a five-year pilot with Solartonic LLC and Solidarity to install and operate 60 solar streetlights; council members and residents debated long-term costs, ownership and contingency plans before a 3-2 vote carried the measure.
Highland Park City Council voted to approve a five-year pilot program with Solartonic LLC and Solidarity to install, operate and maintain 60 solar streetlights at no cost to the city, with the council taking the roll call and the motion passing 3-2.
Supporters said the lights offer a way to restore lighting quickly to neighborhoods that have been dark for years and that the pilot is funded so the city will not pay operating costs during the five-year period. ‘‘We have been without a significant amount of lights since, I believe, 02/2011,’’ resident Juan Shannon told the council during public comment, urging approval.
Opponents and several council members pressed for more detail on what happens after the five-year pilot. Resident Hart Swanson told the council that the agreement contains a separate 10-year term and said the city could face long-term payments: "there's a 10 year term, that the city is expected to basically remunerate this partnership at the tune of $54,000 a…
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