PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council gave its preliminary authorization Tuesday night for the city to borrow $8.1 million for capital projects and another $14.3 million for capital projects with the water and sewer system.

 

A plan on the city side of the ledger to convert all of the street lights to LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, at a cost of $3 million raised many eyebrows.

 

Councilor at Large Melissa Mazzeo called the plan a "slap in the face" to all of the residents who have had to live with broken streetlights, in some cases for years. There are numerous lights throughout the city that aren't working but the Department of Public Services hasn't found the cause of the problem, whether it be underground wiring or some other type of shortage beyond a bulb

 

"I feel we should be taking all of this money and fixing the lights that aren't working," Mazzeo said.

 

Instead, the $3 million plan doesn't allocate any additional funds to fix those but instead provides everybody living on streets that are currently lit with even better lighting. And those with broken lights will remain in the dark.

 

Ward 5 Councilor Donna Todd Rivers understands that argument well. She said she fielded a dozen phones calls on Tuesday alone from residents and nine of them were talking about street lights. But, the lights that need more than a bulb replacement never seem to get fixed.

 

"At some point, we need to stop saying we will get to it, we need to stop saying it is difficult to solve and since it is difficult to solve then we aren't going to do it," Rivers said. "If we can afford to appropriate this $3 million,  then I'd rather take care of what we have."

 

Commissioner of Public Services David Turocy said, "this isn't an either or proposition." He said the department will continue to investigate and fix wiring problems. If anything, changing out all of the bulbs will help those efforts because he will have a "ground zero" look at which ones aren't working. If all 5,326 light bulbs are replaced, the ones that aren't working must have further electrical problems.

 

He says now is really the time to do that particularly because the city is in line to get a rebate for 30 percent of the material and installation cost with the move through a state grant. 

 

Rivers responded by saying, "It almost sounds like we a buying something because we have a coupon for it," which is a practice she doesn't embrace. 

 

Turocy said he'd be proposing to do the conversion whether or not there was a state grant. Mayor Linda Tyer backed Turocy up by saying it makes sense now more than ever because of the proposed Eversource rate increase.

 

Turocy has estimates showing the city would be saving $250,000 per year in electricity and $100,000 in reduced maintenance. That would pay back the investment in seven to nine years, depending on the amount of the state grant. 

 

Councilor at Large Peter White said the lights will last a minimum of 20 years, so the overall savings free up money to put toward fixing the wiring issues on poles that don't work.

 

"I think by doing this we can save enough money to take care of those issues too," White said. "To me, this seems like a win-win to save money and take care of our issues."

 

Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi opposed it, but mostly for a different reason. The city still hasn't put lighting on the north side of Tyler Street. In 2014 the City Council voted to allocate funds to do that but the expense never happened. Now, Turocy couldn't commit to using some of this new $3 million authorization to install lights there.

 

"We have not ruled out other options for adding streetlights to Tyler Street," Turocy said but said there are other options to fund the lighting project.

 

Ward 4 Councilor Christopher Connell said the city has been lacking in taking care of the basic things, such as ensuring the lights are on. He approved the project but said, "we've got to come up with a fast plan" to fix all of the lights that are out.

 

In another portion of the capital budget, Connell suggested using funds to install an air exchange system in the basement of City Hall. Three years ago, the city moved all of the inspectors working in the basement, as well as some other departments, into a leased space at 100 North St. Since then, the City Council put forth $100,000 to fix a water infiltration issue under the front stairs of City Hall. 

 

Director of Building Maintenance Brian Filliault said there is still some more work needed on the stairs but he believes with another $100,000 of investment into that and the air exchange, the issues with the basement can be resolved.

 

"Maybe it is time to stop paying $100,000 for a lease over at 100 North St.," Connell suggested.

 

Connell's suggestion didn't come with a motion to add anything into the budget, so it never went to a vote.

 

The budget also calls for $80,000 for resurfacing of basketball courts, which Parks and Open Spaces Manager James McGrath said is part of a rotating effort to improve the park system. The basketball courts are the most used areas of the city's park system, he said.

 

"We are trying to systematically address all of the issues across the city," McGrath said.

 

The capital budget also calls for $2.5 million in street repairs; $500,000 for stormwater improvements; new vehicles for various departments including a new street sweeper and new plow truck; the installation of bathrooms at Durant Park; environmental abatement in schools; the restoration of the Capitol Theatre marquee; the city's contribution to the Westside Riverway Park project; new turnout gear for the Fire Department; new voting machines; and some $425,000 in technology for the Police Department.

 

The sewer and wastewater project passed without a word. Those projects are paid for through the rates for those users.