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Council reviews street-lighting repairs, city plans phased fixes and rewiring tests
Summary
City staff described a phased plan to fix 204 decorative street fixtures on FM 423, including improved couplers, diagnostic modules and an initial $200,000 budget allocation while wiring tests and a larger wiring-replacement estimate are completed.
City staff briefed council on a condition assessment and repair plan for street lighting along FM 423 and other corridors, outlining immediate repairs, procurement changes and a multi-stage wiring assessment.
Staff said the city has 108 locations and 204 fixtures (including 96 double-head and 12 single-head units) and showed examples of mounting and wiring failures that allow heads to detach in high winds. Staff described replacing the coupler/attachment with a high-wind rated unit already in use to prevent the fittings from slipping and falling.
Presentation slides showed per-unit prices the city had previously received for decorative fixtures; staff said prior lead times were about 24 weeks and that shifting to plain fixtures, changing fluting and buying directly from the factory could cut lead times dramatically and reduce per-unit costs. The presenter said a complete rewiring replacement (converting series runs to parallel) would be expensive—about $800,000 at the high end—but staff will begin targeted work (stated figure: about $61,000 for immediate tasks) and run circuit tests to identify additional wiring needs.
Staff recommended installing a $150 diagnostic/communications module on new fixtures so the city is alerted when a fixture loses power; the presenter said this is a one-time $150 module per light, not an ongoing subscription. Council members asked about solar fixtures; staff and councilors said batteries and maintenance make solar a less reliable cost saver for this application but agreed to price-check solar options.
Council asked about aesthetics and consistency; staff said the new fixtures are intended to maintain the current look while improving durability and that replacement would be phased so working fixtures are not removed prematurely. Staff reported a small pilot installation of about 25 new fixtures north of Westlake Highlands would begin in the coming week.
The council did not take a formal vote on a full replacement tonight; staff said they will return with wiring-assessment results and a phased plan and recommended spending the $200,000 included in the proposed budget to start repairs and testing.
