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Friday, August 31, 2018

Ocean City Opts To Convert Street Lights To LED; Annual Savings Estimated At $296K

OCEAN CITY — Ocean City is going all in on a plan to replace street lighting with LED fixtures after resort officials reviewed some options this week.

During Tuesday’s work session, the Mayor and Council heard a presentation from City Engineer Terry McGean and Delmarva Power officials about options for replacing the street lighting in most areas of the town. The presentation included three basic options, from simply doing nothing, to allowing Delmarva Power to replace the street lights with LED fixtures piecemeal at a rate of about five percent a year, or, finally, having Delmarva Power replace all of the street lights in one major project to be accomplished over a period of a year or so.

After reviewing the costs estimates for each option, it was essentially a no-brainer to go for the third option and the council ultimately voted unanimously to upgrade all the existing lights. Currently, there are a little over 1,300 street lights in Ocean City owned and maintained by Delmarva Power that are paid for by the resort. The town pays for the power distribution and other assorted costs for operating the 1,300-plus lights to the tune of around $575,000 a year.

By way of background, the town owns, maintains and pays for many street antique-style street lights in areas such as the Boardwalk, along Baltimore and St. Louis avenues and some areas of Philadelphia Avenue in the downtown area. There are other street lights owned and paid for by the State Highway Administration (SHA), including those in the recently-replaced median section from Convention Center Drive to 62nd Street, or the section equipped with a median fence prior to the current summer season, along with the street lights on the Route 50 and Route 90 bridges.

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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Next headline: Salisbury puts rainbow lenses on all their streetlights. Costs taxpayers $300k.

Anonymous said...

If any knowledgeable OC employee(s) reads this blog, I have a question:
Before investing in LED's, why can't the town invest to BURY all the elevated wiring along Coastal Highway?
I wouldn't ask this except for the fact that it was done in "Olde Towne" years ago with tremendous success. It looks great downtown! Why can't it be done uptown?
And while you're at it: Look at OC with some 'fresh eyes' and you may see what a disgusting sight it is to see the dumpsters at the top of some of the streets along the boardwalk. The most beautiful public thoroughfare in the state, and the main sight is trash. Horrible.
Look what Bethany has done.... Perfect.

Anonymous said...

and, how long will it take the tax payers to save that 297 thousand dollars? the O.C government scammers neglected o mention that, didn`t they. i can assure you that it won`t happen a year or even in 5 years. the O.C. government rednecks won`t tell you hoe much more it cost for an LED bulb or how many years it will take to save that 297 thousand dollars. the O.C. redneck goverment got dazzled by a big city LED light bulb salesman that sold them a ton of expensive LED bulbs with the promise of a 297 thousand dollar savings in 50 years. LOLOLOL. ignorant redneck rubes.

Anonymous said...

They are already thinking of ways to spend that "saved" money

Anonymous said...

How much is that installation, and parts cost? What is the life and maintenance of the new lights vs the old. Never mind it sounds good, let's do it.

Anonymous said...

Are the LED lights the ones that do not give off enough heat to melt snow and or ice?

Anonymous said...

Is this why, for the fourth Saturday in a row, OC has locked some of their public restrooms? What a lame way to save money for bulbs!

Anonymous said...

Sadly someone is obviously getting a kick back over this one. As for the rest rooms being locked it id due to the drug use and vagrants. O.C. has become a sh*t hole. "Build it they will come" THEY will destroy it.

Anonymous said...

If the PUBLIC rest rooms are being locked because of the vagrants, the Town might just as well get out of the tourist business and turn out the street lights. At least visitors will have some privacy while peeing in the bushes.

Anonymous said...

So, what's the cost of the led conversion, replacement bulbs? It''s at least that. Roughly 6 bucks per bulb, depending...

Anonymous said...

I wonder who is related to the company that will be doing the work? Or getting a kick back.