Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Nearly two years ago, Duke Energy representatives talked to Monticello city officials about plans to install better nighttime illumination within city limits.
Then nothing more was heard on the issue until recently, when it resurfaced at a Monticello City Council meeting.
On Tuesday evening, Dec. 4, City Manager Steve Wingate informed city officials that Duke Energy plans to return in the coming months with two new proposals.
“One is partial lighting of the city, and the second is for lighting the entire city,” Wingate said, giving no indication of when exactly Duke plans the presentation.
In January 2017, when Duke made the original proposal, the idea was to install LED streetlights in parts of the city.
Namely, it was to install trial lights in the commercial sections of US 19 north and south of town to gauge the reaction of motorists and residents to the change.
Also discussed then for possible inclusion in the upgrade was the small, mostly commercial portion of Railroad Street between US 90 and York Street, as well as other areas deemed appropriate.
Depending on the feedback from motorists and residents, the council then was to decide whether to expand the program and have the new lighting installed in other parts of town.
The two Duke representatives then – Danny Collins and Jarrett Daniels – told city officials that the street lighting conversion program was one that the electric company was promoting as an option to the traditional lighting.
The two described LED lights as more efficient and longer lasting than the HPS lights currently in use around town today. LED stands for light-emitting diode, whereas HPS stands for High Pressure Sodium.
“There is no requirement that a community must do it,” Collins said of the proposed conversion program. “But it’s been so popular that we wanted 
you to know about it.’
He cited the City of Perry in Taylor County as one of four or five communities in north Florida that had signed on to the program.
Daniels noted that although not as applicable in Monticello because of its low crime rate, law-enforcement agencies in larger communities appreciated LED lighting for both its greater visibility and the high resolution that it afforded to surveillance camera photos.
He credited LED lights with not only being more energy efficient and longer lasting, but said they also required less maintenance. And best of all, he said, it required no upfront cost on the part of the city, so long as it didn't deviate from the standard conversion package that Duke was proposing. That was, he clarified, so long as the city chose to leave the existing poles and change only the light fixtures with what he called the Roadway model.
If however, the city chose other than the standard package in keeping with the town's historic character, that would cost extra, Daniels said.
“We’re proposing a light-for-light changeout,” he said. “If you want something that better fits the town, we have options. But it will cost more if you want the different options.”
He repeated it in another way.
“There is no conversion cost the way we’re proposing it,” Daniels said. “But if you want to make modifications and switch out the poles, you will have to make an investment, as the fixtures and poles will have to be compatible.”
The city also, he said, could choose to accomplish the change-out in stages instead of all at once.
Basically, he said, the light output from the new lights would be technically comparable to the existing lights, only it would appear brighter to the naked eye.
“Because of the color difference, the LED lights will appear brighter, but it will be the same luminous output,” Daniels said. “We wouldn’t take a historic town like Monticello and make it look like South Florida. We wouldn’t do that.”
The LED lights, he said, would also be dark-sky compliant.
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