Planning panel approves Bright Electric, Downtown Decorations for Main Street holiday lights despite $12,600 gap

The Southbury Planning Commission approved contracts July 1 to electrify streetlight poles and install illuminated wreaths and garlands on Main Street, endorsing the streetscape subcommittee’s recommendation despite the selected package exceeding the decorations budget by about $12,600.

The commission’s vote follows a subcommittee presentation that tested fixture power and solicited bids. Don, the subcommittee presenter, said the team found current streetlights draw about 73 watts and “we had about 27 watts that we could allow each pole to additionally consume,” a limit bidders were required to meet to avoid tripping circuits. The subcommittee recommended a repeating pattern—wreath, garland, garland, wreath—to balance aesthetics, labor and cost.

Why it matters: the adopted package would decorate roughly 150 poles in this phase and aims to improve Main Street South’s winter appearance while limiting additional electrical load on aging circuits. The committee emphasized sealed LED fixtures, coaxial connectors and weatherproof receptacles to reduce maintenance and water intrusion risks.

Tom Weldon, who led the bid analysis, summarized the procurement. He said Downtown Decorations’ 36-inch wreaths use 280 lights and consume about 20 watts each, and their garland pole wraps use 230 mini-LEDs at about 15 watts—both within the subcommittee’s wattage constraints. Weldon also reported that American Christmas submitted a high-quality sample but could not guarantee the power limits and had a $106,140 quote; by contrast the recommended package met specs and warranties but pushed the project above the subcommittee’s available decoration funds.

Commissioners asked about lifecycle and maintenance. Weldon said sealed LED bulbs are rated about 15,000 hours—roughly 10 seasons if used only during winter months—bows are estimated to last about 10 years and wreath frames carry multi-year warranties. The subcommittee also noted shipping (FOB Southbury) and seasonal storage are material costs; they inspected the library basement as a potential storage site and estimated about $2,500 to build secure shelving if needed.

On funding, Dan from the Finance Committee told the commission a discretionary engineering line could cover the shortfall: “he’s willing to come up with the $12,000 out of that line to cover this project. So, you guys will be fully funded,” Dan said. With that assurance on the record, the commission moved and voted to award the RFPs to Bright Electric for the electrification upfits and Downtown Decorations for decorations.

The contract award includes vendor warranties, sealed LEDs and delivery timing intended to allow brackets and assemblies to be installed in time to accept deliveries around early November. Commissioners discussed conducting a test wrap on a pole or two during installation to confirm spacing and visual results before full rollout.

The meeting concluded with the vote to approve the recommended vendors and adjournment. Implementation details—installation schedule, formal contract execution and storage arrangements—are to be coordinated between town staff, the selected contractors and the streetscape subcommittee.